| Tempestuous Affiliations Relationships of duty and obedience have much epitomized the civilizations of old through their prodigious exploits and rise to greatness. All eminent societies have had intimate affiliations between leader and subject established by duty and obedience to allow them to work like finely tuned machines (creative indeed). The relationships of various individuals in a society effectively act as microcosms of the world in which they live, and therefore the bond of duty and obedience exists between them as well. Shakespeare’s The Tempest accurately depicts the microcosm aspect of duty and obedience through Prospero’s small island community, and also displays the connection on the larger scale with the Dukedom of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples. Prospero’s small island community (or PSIC, as I like to refer to it) consisted of four individuals: Prospero, the self proclaimed ruler of the island, Miranda, his daughter, Caliban, the formerly sole inhabitant of the island, and Ariel, a spirit that was trapped in a tree. The interactions between these individuals can best be described by the Confucian relationships of ruler to subject and parent to child. To explain the ruler to subject relationship, how the ruler came to have power over his subjects must be established. Prospero came to have power over Caliban because the pathetic wretch could never hope to overcome Prospero’s magical prowess, while Ariel “willfully” submitted himself to Prospero’s whims because he was freed from his arbor-prison, which was a debt and, like in the days of chivalry, had to be repaid (though the play does not take place in those days) (Shakespeare 15). These subjects, Ariel and Caliban, owed their services to their master and their obedience was imperative for accurate execution of those services. But much in the Confucian relationship, Prospero had the duty to protect his subjects from harm, which was done simply because there was nothing of peril to be protected against. The rapport between Prospero and Miranda exemplifies the Confucian relationship of parent to child. In this relationship the child must obey her father while the father has a duty to provide for and protect the child. An exemplar of Prospero’s protection was the information disclosed of the incident in which Caliban attempted to destroy Miranda’s virtue (Shakespeare 19). Prospero stopped the vile knave’s deed and then confined him to a meager portion of land thus further protecting Miranda from future infractions from the degenerate slob. The compliment of the relationship was fulfilled by Miranda through her compliance with her father’s will from which she never strayed. These relationships provided for the clockwork operation of this societal microcosm. A slightly larger commune than PSIC was Prospero’s former Dukedom, which also contained remnants of the great Confucian ideals that helped ancient China prosper. Within this land Prospero governed over his subjects, on of which was his brother Antonio. The great relationship of ruler to subjects was meant to respected in this environ, but was not the case. Though Prospero was a benevolent ruler he neglected his subjects in favor of his studies, which he had a duty to tend to as all rulers do (Shakespeare 9). Upon noticing this neglect Antonio saw the opportunity to usurp the throne from his brethren and did so. This would seem to be a breach of the illustrious Confucian thought, but was not for it coincided with the excellent Sino ideal known as the shift of divine right, which meant that because of his neglect Prospero no longer had the right to rule if was capable of being overthrown. In this case Prospero had the duty to now obey his brother, the usurping duke, because he had fallen out of favor. Of course, Antonio had a duty to protect his dear subject and brother for Prospero posed no immediate threat to the dukedom because he was too enraptured in his studies to effectually cause trouble (or even know he had been overthrown) (Shakespeare 10). Antonio was not in the right in the extradition of Prospero because it put his dear brother in peril when simple isolation to the confines of his study would have secured any future uprising. Hence, Prospero lost divine right because of the neglect of his duty, while his brother dutiful as ever usurped him and claimed the right as his own but failed in the duty of providing protection to his new subject. The obvious dysfunction of the attachments undoubtedly resulted in poor functioning of the dukedom. Finally, the largest civilization subject to bonds of duty and obedience portrayed in The Tempest was the Kingdom of Naples ruled by the goodly King Alonso whose subjects consisted of various advisors or servants, familial entities, which included his son Ferdinand and his brother Sebastian, and the aforementioned dukes of Milan (Shakespeare 1). As king Alonso commands the obedience of his subjects as well as their services to insure the fine running of the kingdom, but he also has the obligation to protect all loyal subjects, which was not always done. One such failure in this respect was in the exile of Prospero because since the exile was unjust and endangered the life of his subject it should have been stopped but was not (Shakespeare 10). Of course, there were disappointments on both sides for Alonso’s “loyal” subjects planned to dethrone in a most dastardly way even though he had done nothing which would signify the loss of divine right. Sebastian and Antonio, who being subjects of Alonso and were required to obey him, plotted to murder him whilst he slept, which was indeed a breach of the Confucian relationship between ruler and subject (Shakespeare 37). At this point Alonso fails a duty to his subjects in which those harmful to the throne, and therefore harmful to the community, for he does not apprehend and weed out the vile miscreants attempting to bring about his death, and thus hindering the health of the kingdom (Shakespeare 38). These inadequacies in the Confucian relationships between king and subjects unquestionably cause turmoil in otherwise well off civilizations. Lack of the Confucian ideals of duty and obedience is an impediment to any community, as shown by PSIC, the Dukedom of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples. Wherever these ideals are neglected economic disorder and societal disillusionment undeniably exist. Verily, all great civilizations thrive due to their adherence to the ancient Sino ideals of duty and obedience. |