Re: Staging Cordelia: Drama and Theatre -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 17:40:47 01/28/08 Mon
Author: Caitlin
Subject: Re: Staging Cordelia: Drama and Theatre
In reply to: CS Holden 's message, "Staging Cordelia: Drama and Theatre" on 15:05:15 01/28/08 Mon

Thinking in terms of staging, I think that having the scene set at a round table would do a fabulous job of portraying what you're struggling with. If Cordelia is to be a fellow participant, she is therefore held at the table along with not only her sisters, but her father and onlookers as well. Everyone would be seen as involved in this little game that Lear has created, even he himself.

However, considering the wording of the play, I'm inclined to believe that no matter how one might try to construct a scene in which Cordelia is an active participant, she is somehow going to be outside of the rhetorical system. That's my view at least. She's not speaking with the elaborate eloquence of her sisters. Yes, she might be playing into the game, but still, I can't help but think that there is just something inherently different about her even from the start.

Another staging problem one might run into is the spacing and positioning issue. With an odd number of daughters, one will always be slightly different from the others. If you have Cordelia on the right and Regan and Goneril on the left, there is a difference. If one positions her furthest away - say Goneril and Regan on either side and Cordelia next to one of her sisters, she is still going to be staged apart from everyone else.

What an interesting conundrum.

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