A Thousand Acres

Rose is one of the main antagonists in the novel and is based on the character of Regan in King Lear. Rose is the middle Cook daughter and is extremely vindictive and malicious. She has two daughters, Pammy and Linda, but is not very maternal, instead allowing Ginny to take on that role. She is highly critical of both Larry and Caroline and often acts in petty ways. For example, when Caroline gets married and does not invite anyone in the family, Rose sends a costly gift to Caroline to tell her she knows about the wedding. Out of the three daughters, Rose is the most excited about inheriting the farm.

Rose is recovering from breast cancer at the beginning of the novel. While she does not want to be babied because of her illness, she is self-conscious about her new body. However, she is very open about talking about sex. She is very specific and blunt with Ginny about Larry sexually abusing her, and she is upfront later when telling Ginny about the lovers she has taken, including Jess.

Rose is described by Ginny as “immovably selfish.” It is unclear if she wants to be with Jess because she loves him or if she wants to be with him simply because Ginny wants him, too. She holds off on selling the farm because she is convinced she can become “a land baroness.” She always has a plan and does not mind hurting her loved ones to execute that plan. Additionally, she is okay with spreading family secrets and openly talks about what Larry did to her with people. She desperately wants Larry to be held accountable for the pain he caused her.

Rose ultimately dies from a recurrence of breast cancer. She leaves the farm to Caroline and Ginny to protect Pammy and Linda from its curse. This is one of her most maternal and caring acts. Though Rose has not shown genuine love or care for many of the people in her life, she does protect her daughters in the way that her mother wanted to but could not.

Larry is one of the main antagonists in the novel and is based on the character of King Lear in King Lear. Larry’s family has lived on the farm since the 1890s. Larry is an almost mythical character in the community, garnering fear and respect from almost everyone in town. He is a shrewd businessperson and an extremely hard worker. He insists on following traditions and longstanding schedules, such as eating the same food on the same night each week. He can also hold a grudge, which is evident when he disowns Caroline for simply questioning if transferring the farm to his daughters was a good idea.

Larry has arguably the largest transformation in the novel, as he goes from a fierce and feared farmer to a confused, displaced old man. While some characters think he is faking his mental health condition, he often seems confused and disconnected from reality. Following the storm, his mental health and paranoia get worse, leading Caroline to take him in. In a departure from King Lear, Larry dies before Caroline, suffering a heart attack in the grocery store.

Larry sexually assaulted both Rose and Ginny as teenagers but viewed this abuse “as a kind of biological fact” (190), implying that he simply has sex with his daughters because his wife has died. Regardless, he is particularly violent toward Rose and Ginny, often dehumanizing them to maintain power over them. One of the key ways that Smiley subverts Shakespeare’s King Lear is by creating a Lear equivalent whose past abuse explains his daughters’ rejection of him, making their choice more sympathetic and his ending less tragic. 

Caroline is a secondary antagonist and is based on the character Cordelia in King Lear. She is the youngest Cook daughter. She is an ambitious lawyer based out of Des Moines who does not care much for farm life. She often appears out of place on the farm, dressing and acting like an outsider. Ginny comments frequently on Caroline’s clothing and appearance; for example, at the hearing, she notices Caroline and Larry’s “charcoal gray suits from Minneapolis or maybe New York, their oxblood briefcases, and their hundred-dollar shoes. Caroline had her hair smoothed back and pinned up, leaving her forehead and neck clean and bare as pride itself” (317). In addition to dressing like an outsider and someone of a higher social class, Caroline marries a fellow lawyer, Frank Rasmussen, and cements her existence and identity independent of the farm.

Caroline has more of a daughter relationship with Rose and Ginny than a sister one. This is primarily because the two women raised her after their mother’s death. Ginny often describes Caroline as a “doll,” which emphasizes the fact that Ginny and Rose treated her like a doll since they did not know how to raise a child. Additionally, Larry treats her like his doll, doting on her even after he develops a mental health condition. Caroline’s reputation as being a “doll” allows her to act in subtly malicious ways. She is known for being an excellent performer who benefits from having an audience, which could explain why she is so eager to take their family drama into the courtroom.

Caroline is initially disowned by Larry for not wanting to take part of the farm. The two ultimately reconcile, with Caroline becoming his fierce defender and advocate against her sisters. This reflects Cordelia’s role in King Lear. There is one notable dissimilarity between Caroline and Cordelia. In Shakespeare’s play, Cordelia is known to always tell the truth. While Caroline tells the truth most of the time, she struggles to see the truth. When she and Ginny meet to clean out Larry’s house, she begs Ginny not to tell her anything that will ruin her childhood, implying that she is unable to see how her childhood was troubled. Her inability and unwillingness to see the truth becomes more rigid the closer she becomes to Larry. The dynamic between Caroline and Larry constitutes a subversive interpretation of Cordelia and Lear: Whereas in King Lear, Cordelia’s unshakable belief in her father makes her a hero, Caroline’s implicit belief in even Larry’s disprovable lies creates further harm and prevents her from seeing the truth.

Ty is based on the character of the Duke of Albany in King Lear. He is married to Ginny and is an extremely hard and dedicated worker. For the most part, he appears to have a happy life with Ginny, and he enjoys spending time with her. He handles the hog operation on the farm, which is something his father did on his farm. He is not normally ambitious; however, he decides to take on debt to expand the hog operation, which ultimately leads to the farm’s demise. Ty often plays the role of peacemaker in the family. As Larry and Caroline attempt to get the farm back, Ty appears to side with them, feeding them information. When he is confronted by Ginny for his betrayal, he explains that he “[is] on the side of the farm” (341). He is extremely loyal to the farm, following in Larry’s footsteps. At the end of the novel, he asks Ginny for a divorce before he goes to Texas to find work in a hog operation.

Pete is based on the character of the Duke of Cornwall in King Lear. Pete is married to Rose and is known to be hot-headed and physically abusive toward his wife. He always makes a lot of plans for change but rarely keeps them because of his temper and lack of follow-through. Ginny describes Pete as being “an alternating current of elated certainty and angry disappointment” (30). He is often described as being ambitious and initially wanted to live anywhere but the farm. Pete dies in a car accident after Rose tells him she is going to leave him to be with Jess. It is unclear if he drove the truck into the quarry intentionally or accidentally. He was drunk at the time and appears to have a substance misuse problem throughout most of the novel.

Jess is based on the character Edmund in King Lear. Jess serves as both Rose and Ginny's romantic interest. Additionally, he is seen as an outsider to the farm community after he deserts the army and goes to live out west. While there, he became interested in organic farming. He comes back to the farm excited about the changes he could make but ultimately has his ambitions squashed by Harold.

Like Edmund in King Lear, Jess is extremely charismatic. Almost all the characters in the novel like him, finding him charming and wise. He initially is most interested in Ginny, spending excessive amounts of time with her and confiding in her. However, he begins spending less time with her when he begins his affair with Rose. It is unclear if he initiated the affair with Rose, but he ultimately stays with her for a few years. However, he leaves Rose after reconciling with Howard and being too afraid to settle down and farm with her. Jess serves as a motivating force for many characters. He motivates Ginny to take agency of her life, Rose to leave Pete, and Pete to ultimately kill himself, either accidentally or on purpose.

Harold is based on the character of the Duke of Gloucester in King Lear. Harold is Larry’s neighbor and best friend, but the two are very competitive. He is a gossip and loves to stir up drama, often while pretending to serve as a peacemaker. He is the father of two sons, Jess and Loren, and is physically abusive to them when they act in ways he does not like. Harold, much like the Duke of Gloucester, is blinded in the novel. While Pete plays an indirect role in Harold’s accident, it is implied that Harold’s accident is the result of his hubris and greed. No one else felt the need to side-dress the corn crop and “It was not something he did every year” (231). He is blinded by chemicals in the process and is unable to find any water to wash his eyes out, leading to his partial blindness. He can no longer farm and eventually moves into town as a result of the accident.