Connection: King Lear and My Dad

Before you get the wrong idea about the connection I'm going to make, you should know that I'm not referring to my dad in real life. Rather, I am referring to the similarities between Lear and the character he's playing in a show that he's doing right now. The play is called "Drinking Alone" and it's about a dysfunctional family that's getting together for the first time in five years. It's mainly a comedy, but there are some very serious moments that made me think of King Lear.

In the play, my dad is the father, Ivan, who is estranged from his kids. When he comes to visit them, they kind of ignore him and, though his son Joe lets Ivan stay in his house, it is very grudgingly and he's not very nice to him. Throughout the play Ivan struggles as he realizes how much his kids hate him and, as the story progresses, the audience realizes that he has been largely misunderstood and that, while he is a jerk, he doesn't really deserve the harsh treatment he has gotten from his kids. This relates to King Lear because the audience/reader has mixed emotions about the character. On one hand, they were mean, unreasonable, and foolish toward the beginning of the story, so the scorn from their sons/daughters is not entirely undeserved. On the other hand, though, you really feel for them and hope that they are able to reconcile with their family. In "Drinking Alone", the reconciliation does eventually come at the end of the story. Somehow, I doubt it will be that neat and tidy in King Lear.