When you leave the theatre after a performance of King Lear you do not ask "Did King Lear actually exist?"
or "Is this account of Lear and his daughters historically accurate?"
[Rather] you ask "What does this play say to humanity today?"
This is a paraphrase of philosopher Mary Midgley who was talking to Howard Jacobsen about the Genesis creation story. It was supplied by Peter Bore in Australia in SoFiA Bulletin Jan/Feb 2014
