Exploitation of Human Weakness by Shakespearean Villains

Through manipulation and indifference, Shakespearean villains have mastered the art of exploiting the minds of their targets. In a sense, they are dexterous at using the victim's character flaws to their advantage. These villains take the upper hand at any opportunity that presents itself, get ahead in society by any means necessary, and will take no chances on impeding the progress of their mission(s). They are cold-blooded killers whom curiously have either a motive or reason behind every one of their executed actions.

Throughout Jane Smiley's novel, A Thousand Acres, Ginny and Rose Cook become aggressive and disrespectful toward their father, Larry Cook. They begin to harbor feelings that their father perpetuates even further by his insanity, eventually forcing them to be completely indifferent toward him. For example, during the "cleansing" storm, through which their father is ultimately left in despite their attempts, Ginny tries to express her and Rose's feelings: "We didn't stick you there, Daddy. It's the nicest house, and you live there. You've lived there all your life" (Smiley 195). But he wouldn't have any of it; he continues to curse them for what he believes to be infidelity on their part and goes on to explain that "I'd rather stay out in the storm. If you think I haven't done that before my girl, you'd be surprised" (Smiley 193). He didn't leave them with any open options and is very incoherent with what he wants in the first place. Despite the fact that they have no way to reconcile, "They never lose their cool: they are certainly harsh and unattractive women, but they have a kind of brusque common sense that bears him down every time" (Sandler 103).

At this point Ginny notices that something is astray with her father's mind because she just gives in, "Fine. Do what you want. You will anyway" (Smiley 195). This just goes to show that during the blunt confrontation with their father, she realizes the he is too strong-headed and that there is no choice but to act accordingly. Her justification is understandable, if he didn't care about her or her opinion, why should she care about him? Of course she did approach the situation logically because she didn't completely sever all emotional ties with her father at that moment. Instead, she begins to turn from a "caring" daughter into an indifferent one; taking the first baby step toward true villainy.

Another contributing factor to her emotions, on top of her father's insanity, is the authority role her younger sister. Rose's dominating character and ability to manipulate words is what gives her the upper hand over her older sister. For instance, she claims that she is able to "recall" certain events from their childhood that later in the play spark certain bursts; causing more harm than good and persist to deteriorate the already distant relationship between Ginny and her father:

[Rose] He was having sex with you. [Ginny] He was not! [Rose] I saw him go in! He stayed for a long time! [Ginny] . . . Oh Rose. How am I going to believe that you twenty -one years ago. . . [Rose] It's true. [Ginny] Ok, say it's true. Did I ever mention it at the time? [Rose] He threatened you. . . [Ginny] . . . then (Smiley 204-205).

Rose is the instigator. She has the traits of a common Shakespearean villain but is too weak to actually carry them out, thus she does it through her older sister, Ginny. In essence, Ginny is like a helpless pawn and her sister, Rose, is the player moving her piece any way she wants to.

Eventually, Ginny outgrows Rose's control and can't be pushed around anymore. The moment Ginny realizes that her sister is only using her for selfish benefit; she closes all aspects of open-mindedness, "Even when I tell you the truth, it's not to hurt you. It's because it's the truth, and you have to accept it. But I'm not going to sacrifice you the victim of my mean streak . . . or pretend I'm not doing it at all when I am. . . I didn't believe her. . ." (Smiley 328-329). Ginny understands that something drastic must be done, and takes matters into her own hands. Her new focus is to unsuspectingly kill her sister with a poisonous hemlock, while she executes the deed without any attachment or guilt involved with what she was doing. Rose manages to push her sister to her character limits turning her evil, "I also felt a sense of pleasure and pride in my planning" (Smiley 339). With this reality, Ginny's begins to approach life differently and even forms a little more indifference toward everyone she thought she loved.

In addition to her recently found character entity, Ginny somehow knows the only way to avoid any further conflict is to get away from the "bad agent" and that's exactly what she does. She leaves Ty and moves to St. Paul because of inner character struggles between themselves, she leaves the farm to let it rot away like her relationship with her father, and most importantly she leaves her old life behind to start a new one. As the years go on though, her new life begins to take off slowly. Somewhere in her schedule she manages to get a last whiff of her old life when she tries to correct what has been wronged: she sees her sister on her death bed and show pity for her; divorces Ty to "free" his soul; and takes two orphan children into her custody. Unfortunately her steps toward redemption aren't enough and she is left with no emotions to share and a large stain of regret on her soul. She can now only perform her duty and dully live out her pointless life, because ultimately she is a sitting duck on water that is waiting to be put out of its misery.

Pertaining to villainy, she is only a mild case scenario; because she technically overcame her habit. She is able to keep her evil feelings at bay by avoiding confrontations with those whom she dislikes. In laymen's terms, she only has tendencies with no attempted risks to back them up. She is a rookie by nature, and has a lot more to learn and understand before qualifying for the title of a genuine Shakespearean villain.

One can also find this reoccurring characteristic of self helplessness in the Shakespearean play, Macbeth. The character, who coincidently has the same name as the play, is someone who's easily influenced by outside forces. From the very beginning the three witches predict his fate, "All hail Macbeth! . . . thane of Glamis. . . All hail Macbeth! thane of Cawdor. . . All hail Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter," (Macbeth 1.3.48-50). What he doesn't take into account is that the principles and beliefs of that time [God has a plan for everyone] doesn't mean that he can't take his