CORDELIA
We are not the first
Who, with best meaning, have incurr'd the worst.
For thee, oppressed king, am I cast down;
Myself could else out-frown false fortune's frown.
Shall we not see these daughters and these sisters?
Who, with best meaning, have incurr'd the worst.
For thee, oppressed king, am I cast down;
Myself could else out-frown false fortune's frown.
Shall we not see these daughters and these sisters?
No, no, no, no! Come, let's away to
prison:
We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage:
When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down,
And ask of thee forgiveness: so we'll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues
Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too,
Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out;
And take upon's the mystery of things,
As if we were God's spies: and we'll wear out,
In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones,
That ebb and flow by the moon.
We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage:
When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down,
And ask of thee forgiveness: so we'll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues
Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too,
Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out;
And take upon's the mystery of things,
As if we were God's spies: and we'll wear out,
In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones,
That ebb and flow by the moon.
That speech by King Lear in Shakespeare’s play of the same
name, has resonated down through the years with the essence of old age which,
regrettably, has been lost in our modern age.
However, it seems to be even more poignant in this time of COVID-19. Lear responds to the daughter who has
remained true to him as his world has been disintegrating around him throughout
the play. Little by little, through Lear’s
folly rather than wisdom, he has made assumptions and followed his ego rather
than seeking the higher wisdom that is possible for people who “grow old, instead
to merely sinking into the aging process,”[1]
to quote Helen Luke who was an exemplar of someone who did just that, ‘grow old’.
As noted by Luke, Cordelia has the passion of youth and wants
to go out and confront the evil that has overthrown the ruling value represented
by Lear. No, no – a thousand times no,
is his response showing that as a result of all his trials and tribulations, he
indeed has grown old, “Come, let us away to prison.” The question for us today is our staying in
place and self isolating a prison or a refuge.
It can be either depending on how we decide to see it. This is a time, which seems to be more suited
to introverts who seem to be more easily embracing this self-isolation, as a
refuge than a prison. At least that is
my experience and the experience of Lorna as we are both strong introverts. I’m not sure how the extroverts who are used
to living in a world made for extroverts, are fairing. I would suspect it is more of a prison for
them.
Lear asks some engaging questions for these times; “Who
loses and who wins; who's in, who's out;” I don’t know for sure who are the
winners and who are the losers in this time of pandemic. I suspect that it will be the usual suspects
that win - those with the resources and influence seem to be able to win regardless
of the circumstances. The team of NBA
basketball players that were all able to be tested while those on the front lines
of dealing with the pandemic couldn’t. It
has become more evident in this time who is in and who is out in our society
during the pandemic. The essential
workers have been recognized and acknowledged. The front-line workers, the people who
deliver the supplies and food, who work in the food store, and all the health
care workers including cleaners, to those who pick the crops are now recognized
as essential in our society. Many of
them are the lowest paid as it is clear that their remuneration has little or
nothing to do with the essential nature of their work.
It has, unfortunately, been brought front and centre what
value we give to the aged in our society.
The fragility and inadequacy of the institutions where so many of our
senior citizens spend end of their lives has been put in the spot light. If that recognition is turned into action in
the new normal of our lives that may be something positive that comes out of this
dark cloud of COVID-19. I live in hope
that our society will grow in wisdom as a result of this rather than simply
sinking back into the old ways of doing things.
I live in hope but am not hopeful - if that makes sense.
Blessings in your journey in this time of COVID-19; stay
safe and keep the distance.
No comments:
Post a Comment