While reading
The Tragedy of King Lear, I cannot help but feel pity for the King. Although he
is a vain and arrogant man, he does not deserve the treatment of his two
daughters, Goneril and Regan. Especially Goneril. There is an obvious power struggle between
Goneril and her father. Using her father’s age as an excuse, Goneril constantly
takes away King Lear’s power. She claims “old fools are babies again” (I.III.
20), and she threatens his power and the number of knights he has. Lear is
extremely offended by this, because the less knights a king has, the less power
he holds. Lear knows this.
Regan, the second eldest, sides
with Goneril. We see this when she throws Kent in the stocks for the night,
after attacking Goneril’s messenger. Lear’s two daughters, Goneril and Regan
lied when they were asked to profess their love for their father. However,
Cordelia is the one daughter who truly loves her father. By sending her away in
the midst of a temper tantrum, King Lear lost his only loyal daughter. King
Lear realizes this fault, but he does not do anything about it. Why won’t the
King find and apologize to his daughter? I hope Cordelia returns to shield her father
from his two vile and spoiled daughters.
I agree with you but to a certain extent. King Lear can easily play the victim but he can also play the arrogant father. I feel that it is hard not to feel bad for King Lear. He is an elderly man who happened to put too much faith into the wrong people. Not many people would assume that their own daughters would turn against them and use their own father for their own personal gain. Goneril and Regan are definitely being inconsiderate and cruel but sometimes parents can not help but look pass their child's flaws. I think that parents have faith in their children no matter what.
ReplyDeleteBut, I also feel that since King Lear is older he should be wiser. I understand putting faith in his two eldest daughters but he should know their personalities. He let his anger take over and pushed away the only daughter that truly loved him. Deep down King Lear was always aware that Cordelia is the one who loved him most but his arrogance and stubbornness made him deny it. If he could have looked past his anger and tried to understand Cordelia's side he would not be under this much stress. In the end, King Lear has no one to blame but himself.
I think one of the most interesting questions you raise here is: Why won't the King find and apologize to his daughter?
ReplyDeleteI think this really needs to be focused on. He could solve all his problems. As Jessie asked in her post below - do words matter. And in all actuality, maybe they do! How many times have I watched Dr. Phil (I know, terrible real world example, but work with me here) and the child said to the parent, "You don't love me enough." The parent will go on a tirade about how much love they show, and the child will say, "but you never say it"
Lear could apologize, it would make for a much simpler play. But some people cannot verbalize it. I know people in my own life who apologize by instead of saying "I'm sorry" but by cooking dinner.
I think we really need to think about why Lear refuses to apologize because it is a bit baffling, but maybe he isn't belligerent, but rather - deeply hurt.