Family Trust in William Shakespeare's Plays

Family Trust in William Shakespeare's Plays

Family is meant to care for each other, love each other unconditionally, and support each other. Of course, as any holiday at home can prove, complete support is not always possible. Sometimes family members hurt each other and even, in worst-case scenarios, kill each other over issues as important as protecting another or as petty as fighting over a boy. In Shakespeare’s Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and The Winter’s Tale, if family members operate with selfish motives, they hurt the hero and contribute to his fall; but if the family supports each other with only love, the hero can redeem himself from his fall and even succeed in finding lasting happiness.

Othello portrays a man out of his element: he is of a different race than his companions and is not in his homeland. Therefore, he has no family with him. Desdemona becomes his family through marriage. She explains this transition with, “But here’s my husband,/And so much duty as my mother stowed/To you, preferring you before her father,/ So much I challenge that I may profess/Due to the Moor my Lord” (1.3.184-188). Desdemona describes the process by which her mother became her father’s family to show how she now has allegiance to Othello over her father. Since she is his only family in a strange world, Othello should trust his wife. Early in the play he even says, “My life upon her faith” (1.3.293), meaning that his own well-being rests upon her honestly. When he doubts her, he betrays their bond of love; he kills her, bringing tragedy to the society. Then, to return order, he kills himself. All the tragedy could have been avoided if only Othello treated Desdemona with the love and ...

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...m. Macbeth warns audiences against manipulating loved ones with selfish motives. Hamlet shows that one must seek out true familial support and honor those who uphold it. Romeo and Juliet illustrate the power of love to end long-lasting feuds of pride and hate. King Lear proves that one must atone for one’s prideful acts before it is too late. Finally, The Winter’s Tale takes elements from all five tragedies and lets the heroes discover their wrongs in time for society, their families, and themselves to forgive and live happily ever after. Shakespeare teaches his audience and readers that pride is a common fault that fate and others often try to manipulate heroes with, but that a true hero can overcome it. If he is lucky, he can even learn his lesson in time to right some of his wrongs and truly benefit from the power of love that can only come from his family.