The parallels between Jane Smiley’s Caroline Cook and
Shakespeare’s Cordelia are evident very early on in her novel A Thousand Acres. Both characters are
strong-minded women that demonstrate a degree of virtue throughout their
respective stories.
Caroline’s older sister Ginny, the protagonist of the novel,
describes Caroline on page 33 of ATA claiming
that “She was always looking for the rights and wrongs of every argument”. In chapter 6, Ginny tries to convince Caroline
to apologize to their father, Larry Cook. Caroline had angered their father by being
hesitant towards his offer to retire and divide his farm evenly between his
three daughters. Ginny, who is excited about inheriting the acres, approaches
her younger sister after Sunday Mass hoping that she can ease tensions between
the two.
Caroline is certainly an intelligent women. Unlike her other
two sisters she decided that life on a farm did not suit her. Therefore, she
became a lawyer, got married, and moved away from their hometown. Her drive and
independence demonstrate the strength of her character, which is reminiscent of
Cordelia’s.
Caroline, who was in turn upset with her father, does not feel
the need to apologize. She believes that she was only looking out
for Larry's and her best interests. When Ginny asks, “Can’t you just make
allowances”, Caroline says, “It’s time we stopped making allowances”.
Caroline only agrees to talk with her father to appease
Ginny. Thus far in the novel Caroline has proved repeatedly that she only has
her father's and sisters' best interests in mind. Similar to Cordelia, Caroline
has the strength and presence of mind to do what is best for her family.
