ADULTHOOD’S TYRANNY: AETONORMATIVITY, YOUTHFUL RESISTANCE, AND THE CRISIS OF ADULT AUTHORITY IN KING LEAR AND A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

Abstract

This paper examines the destabilization of aetonormativity in William Shakespeare’s King Lear and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Aetonormativity is the idea of cultural and structural privilege of the adult as the norm and marginalizing the youth or elderly as deficient and deviant. This study juxtaposes the rigid patriarchal court of Athens with the highly aetonormative court of Lear. This paper investigates how Shakespeare stages conflicts between adult authority and youthful autonomy to expose the instability of adult centric power systems. This research is guided by three core questions. Firstly, this study concerns itself with examining how intergenerational conflicts reveal aetonormativity as an unstable structure. Then, it tries to uncover how the representation of obedience, silence and defiance challenge the aetonormative assumptions. Lastly, this study highlights the difference between the genres of comedy and tragedy in portraying Shakespeare’s critique of aetonormative authority. The methodology of this paper relies on rigorous textual analysis and close readings of Shakespeare’s plays. The study integrates the idea of Aetonormativity as posited by Maria Nikolajeva along with the broader framework of Critical Age Studies (CAS) to reveal Shakespeare’s critique on the adult authority as the established norm. By reviewing myriad scholarly works, this study posits a unique approach to Shakespearean studies. The study concludes that comedy offers a temporary rupture in the aetonormative authority through the forest’s liminal space. In contrast, the tragedy exposes aetonormativity as a failing system that both marginalize youth and others the elderly. The subversion of aetonormativity in the case of King Lear ends in death and destruction. The close textual scrutiny reveals that Shakespeare’s drama suggest that true epistemic authority resides not in the adult norm but in the dismantling of the aetronomative structures.