King Lear: Family Reunion

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     Madness, family discord, reconciliation. They're familiar themes. One of my favorite parts of King Lear is at the end Act IV Scene 7 when the king reunites with his banished daughter Cordelia, after being betrayed by his other daughters and romping around the countryside losing his mind. It must be really emotional played out on stage. Here are lines 65-76, 83-85):

LEAR Methinks I should know you, and know this man;

Yet I am doubtful; for I am mainly ignorant

What place this is; and all the skill I have

Remembers not these garments; nor I know not

Where I did lodge last night. Do not laugh at me;

For, as I am a man, I think this lady

To be my child Cordelia.

CORDELIA                    And so I am, I am.

LEAR Be your tears wet? Yes, faith. I pray, weep not.

If you have poison for me, I will drink it.

I know you do not love me; for your sisters

Have, as I do remember, done me wrong.

You have some cause, they have not.

CORDELIA                                       No cause, no cause.

...

CORDELIA Will't please your highness walk?

LEAR                                                                You must bear with me;

Pray you now, forget and forgive. I am old and foolish.

        This is the kind of family dynamic I want between King Durim and Princess Lili. I have a huge plot revision in mind for that story, but I have hardly touched it since my revisions a few months ago. I'm a bit nervous, so I've been putting it off. I know, that's bad. I keep on telling myself sternly that there's not enough time in the world to waste being afraid of messing up, but myself doesn't always listen.

And There Was Light

     I don't know about you, but I love Christmas! It's my favorite holiday. Today, I think I will be occupied all morning cleaning the freshly painted bathroom (mint green!), making last-minute presents, and baking sweets (not getting any writing done...) before the rest of the family gets here. In all the excitement, I don't want to forget it is the coming of the Light that I am celebrating.

 Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

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Happy Christmas, everybody

and all the best in 2014!

The Delights of Downton

    Here's something for you to mull over. What do Downton Abbey, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and high school bands have in common? I'll give you a minute.

     When I was small, I wished and wished that I could be a maidservant and wear a cap, a collared dress and a white, frilly apron. I wanted to walk around with good posture and curtsy to the ladies and gentlemen. I wanted to serve tea and carry trays of delicacies.
    Watching Downton Abbey is reviving my dream! If you've never seen it, it's a period drama that begins in 1912. It's about the intertwined yet separate lives of the Grantham family and their servants. There are some bits I would leave out (and some casting changes I would make), but all in all, Downton is my dream show. I understand why everyone loves it! Besides the alluring historical setting and everything that comes with good writing (conflict, suspense, secrets, irony, etc.), there's a special key aspect about Downton that makes it so lovable.
     Was that minute long enough?
     I've thought about it, and I think the answer has a lot to do with Downton's success. The show, the movies, the books, and the organizations all have in common a large but selective group of friends. Or in other words, a "fellowship" or a "family," the kind of thing to which we all want to belong. Downton hits that spot by following not only one or two but 16 close-knit primary characters. They all interact with each other according to their personalities, like a family. Not only that, an array of viewers can relate to their favorite or second-favorite be it self-sacrificing Bates, gullible Daisy, spirited Lady Sibyl, or down-to-earth Matthew Crawley.

In your mulling, what did you come up with as a common factor? What else do you think contributes to Downton's appeal?