King Lear

In Grade 5, our reading primer told the story of a rich old man who asks his three daughters to profess their love for him. The two eldest are flowery and fawning in their avowals of filial devotion. The youngest replies that she loves her father as fresh meat loves salt – and for this seeming impertinence she is banished. Years later, the old man is a wandering tramp after his elder daughters betray him. Unbeknownst to him, he winds up at the wedding feast of his youngest daughter, who recognizes him. When he asks for something to eat, she gives him unsalted meat, at which point all is revealed and years of heartbreak are washed away in a happy glut of fleshy viands doused in sodium. I was long sure that the story in the reading primer must have been a simplified version of King Lear. Now however, nearly 40 years after reading the story, 20 years after studying King Lear in university, and only a few days after taking this photo, I have learned that it actually comes from a folktale-type (e.g. Cap O’Rushes) agreed by most scholars to have been one of Shakespeare’s inspirations for King Lear. In fact, Lear’s daughter Cordelia says, ‘I love your majesty, According to my bond; nor more nor less.’  There’s nothing about salt. I must have known this once …