The Politics of Family

Shakespeare’s Richard II deals very much with the idea of family, more specifically—ancestral ties and their place in England at the time. To be of noble ancestry was to inherit power directly, and this power was often sought after. While family may affect the possibility of obtaining a noble title, its connection to power compromises the importance of family because there is a high chance that family members are pitted against one another.

Richard II himself is in the center of quite a few family affairs. He begins by organizing the death of his own uncle, the Duke of Gloucester. He then is involved with family when he must banish his own cousin Bolingbroke—the presence of a familial tie does make Richard lighten the sentence on his cousin and his cousin alone. Does he do this at the pleas of his cousin himself, or does Richard do this because he knows his uncle (the father of Bolingbroke) will die soon? Bolingbroke would rather duel Mowbray than accept the punishment of his cousin, who he knows will be influenced by their familial bond: “Pale trembling coward, / here I throw my gage, / Disclaiming here the kindred of the King, / And lay aside my high blood’s royalty, / Which fear, not reverence, makes thee to accept” (1.1 68-72). This is a sign of the importance of ancestry in society—it affects status and certain privileges; sometimes, a duel would actually be the best way to avoid the favoring of an individual because of family.

After Richard stops the duel and banishes both Bolingbroke and Mowbray, Bolingbroke’s banishment is reduced. He may be favored to this extent, but is still forbidden to return at his father’s death. Not only is it the emotional aspect of the death of Bolingbroke’s father is a factor, but Bolingbroke would receive the title of Duke of Lancaster—it is also a political matter. It affects John of Gaunt (Bolingbroke’s father) and Bolingbroke both emotionally and politically, and therefore, the familial conflict will be much stronger than a purely motional or a purely political matter. John of Gaunt goes as far as to accuse Richard’s banishment of Bolingbroke as a cause of his illness and death: “Watching breeds leanness, leanness is all gaunt./ The pleasure that some fathers feed upon/ Is my strict fast; I mean my children’s looks” (2.1 78-79). Richard’s lack of sympathy at John of Gaunt’s death shows the bad blood between family and its emphasis on politics in the nobility as opposed to familial love. Richard, therefore, should not be surprised when Bolingbroke returns to take his place in the nobility by force.

Bolingbroke and Richard’s uncle, the Duke of York, is reluctant to take the side of Bolingbroke in gaining his title because he knows there are political, not only familial, consequences. One of his nephews will triumph, and his best place is to be with the victor of the dispute. He says to Bolingbroke “It may well be I will go with you—but yet I’ll pause, / For I am loath to break our country’s laws. / Nor friends nor foes, to me welcome you are. / Things past redress are now with me past care” (2.3 167-170).

In Richard II, family is mixed with political dealings, and the drama is increased. Characters are torn between their family and their betterment in the nobility—these do not always coincide.