Realism of 'King Lear' and 'Rear Window': A Comparison

A point of realism in 'Rear Window', is the state of the society. During the time that 'Rear Window' was set, 1954 New York, society was facing issues and problems. WWII had ended a decade earlier, and men were coming back from war. During WWII, women gained power and prevalence, because the men who were usually holding all of the high positions and power, were off fighting in the war, allowing women to gain power and higher social status, by working. When the men came back from war, they expected everything to fall back into place, the way things were before. However, the women were not willing to give up this newfound power and sense of self-worth. 

This can be seen in the relationship and conversations between Jeff and Lisa. They talk about getting married, and who would have to relinquish power (e.g. change job/lifestyle) for the other. Lisa is an independent woman with a high position well-paying job. She is perfectly self-sufficient and does not need anyone to support her. Jeff is a retired air force pilot, who now works as a photographer for a magazine. He is also self-sufficient, but less well off than Lisa is. This makes Jeff feel intimidated. The fact that Lisa’s possession of power unsettling Jeff, is highly realistic.

Similarly, in ‘King Lear’ the state and balance of power is also highly realistic. In ‘King Lear’, while the women have some power, it generally does not exceed beyond the home. When women marry, they relinquish all of their power to their husband. Goneril and Regan gave up the power they had (by being daughters of the king) when they got married. Their grasp for power when Lear is giving his away is realistic. Women at that time were repressed, and forced to adhere to the desires and orders of their spouse or father. So, when they are given power by Lear, the fact that they exercised it so happily, is quite realistic.

In ‘King Lear’, the setting is unrealistic. It is unrealistic because it is out of time. It is set in a pre-Christian period, where the people were pagan. They worshiped the stars etc. In the period in which the text is set, modern countries exist. This is not realistic because the modern nations (England and France) in the play, have not been pagan for many centuries. This makes the setting unclear. The play is out of time. It does not comply with the timeline of history.

On the other hand, the setting of ‘Rear Window’ is very realistic. The film is set in New York in 1954. Every aspect of the environment, the issues, and the character’s beliefs. The setting of the text is so realistic, that the plot could have conceivably happened in real life. The things that make the setting so realistic, is the fact that we are given an exact time and place, and a clear background of each character.

In ‘Rear Window’, each of the characters are very realistic and believable. Each of the characters has a background and backstory. For example, Jeff and Tom are retired air force pilots, who flew and fought in World War II and Stella has been an insurance company nurse for many years. The characters are realistic because they provide insight into real world issues and topics. Marriage is the biggest topic they discuss. Almost all of the characters have something to say. Another thing that makes the characters realistic, is their interaction with each other. Their dialogue and their body language, are both highly believable. The characters seem to be real people. They appear genuine and realistic.

In comparison, the characters in ‘King Lear’ are slightly less realistic. We are not given much backstory for each of the characters. We are only given bits and pieces of background information, instead of like in ‘Rear Window’, where the characters each have a stated background. The dialogue between the characters is also slightly more unrealistic. Although the language is quite antiquated, even for the time is was written, I think that the language is a bit too flowery to be realistic. I don’t think that people would have used such elaborate language as used in the text.

In conclusion, I think that ‘King Lear’ and ‘Rear Window’ are realistic. They both portray their worlds believably. The characters, the setting, the topics, all blend together to create something that works well. By combining these things, Shakespeare and Hitchcock have made texts that have elements that can be applied and compared to today’s world. This makes both texts believable.