Blog About All

The division of Britain by King Lear was the underlying cause of the undoing and eventual death of King Lear and almost everyone around him. Amidst the chaos created by the division of the kingdom, various characters came to different conclusions about themselves and the situation that had occurred. King Lear and the Earl of Gloucester are two characters who find themselves in similar situations, where they do not love the one who loves them back. However, the results of their actions end differently for both.

King Lear sees that he is the underlying cause for the mess that has occurred in his kingdom and also recognizes that Cordelia loved him, while Regan and Goneril did not. In the end, he dies in order to pay for his actions that have done so much wrong.

King Lear’s decision to divide the kingdom was supposed to be an easy one. His plan on finding which daughter loves him backfires on King Lear, because of his ignorance. His expulsion of Cordelia from the kingdom places his throne in the hands of his two daughters, who do not love him. He, in essence, never did love Cordelia; else he would have recognized her silence as her love for him. He places his love and trust in the wrong individuals, and because of that, everything around him begins to fall apart.

Lear’s two daughters, Regan and Goneril, were blatant liars about their love for Lear from the start. Both of them were married, and yet the love they professed for their father was too extreme for a fatherly love, and was rather an incestuous love. Goneril cries out, “Sir, I love you more than the word can wield the matter; dearer than eyesight, space and liberty; beyond what can be valued, rich or rare… Beyond all manner of so much I love you” (Shakespeare 5). The love she describes is an intimate love that is said between lovers, not between father and child. With the fact that she is married, one can see that she is merely saying this to impress upon her father. Regan also does the same as well. It is quite obvious that they are both lying, but King Lear is blinded by the fact that they said they love him to actually think about what they actually said. His pride is built up by their flattery and as such he wants the same from Cordelia, however he does not get it. He gets a true love from her; a love that is proven by actions and not by words. He cannot see past his pride that she loves him. One can almost say that he must not actually love her at this point, because he cannot see such love.

Cordelia’s love for him is unfaltering and unconditional. Not only does she forgive Lear for his actions, but she also gets France to invade England to try to restore the throne back to Lear. She laments to the King of France (her husband) with cries and tears to get him to invade her homeland: “Therefore great France, my mourning and importuned tears hath pitied” (Shakespeare 107). Lear finally recognizes that she loves him and when she dies, he dies too. He dies because this is his way of taking responsibility for everything that has happened because of his decision to disown Cordelia and give the kingdom to Goneril and Regan.

Lear’s guilt for everything that has happened is seen in various parts. When he sees Cordelia again after he disowns her, he tells her, “If you have poison for me, I will drink it” (Shakespeare 125). He says this because he knows that he was wrong in disowning her and feels that the only way there can be justice in what had happened was for him to die. This is why he dies when he discovers that Cordelia is dead. Not so much because he is overcome with grief; but rather because he comes to the conclusion that he must also die in order for there to be some sort of justice. This is his moment where he takes responsibility for what he has done. His death, along with his daughters’ deaths, marks the end of his plan to divide the kingdom. It marks the end of the civil war in the kingdom as well as a hope that the kingdom can rise up and become united.

The Earl of Gloucester is also another character that finds himself in a similar situation as that of Lear. He is lied to by his illegitimate son and turns on the son that loves him. He is blinded by the rules of society and refuses to acknowledge Edmund as an equal to his other son, Edgar. Edmund is deemed as a bastard child, something he carries with him for the rest of his life. Edmund goes on to say, “Edmund the base shall top th’ legitimate. I grow, I prosper. Now, gods, stand up for bastards” (Shakespeare 16). He wants to show that he will still be known and be successful even if he is a bastard. This drive pushes his desire to kill his brother as well as his father.

Edmund lies to his father, but the real problem lies in the fact that Gloucester actually does not trust his sons. This lack of trust makes him actually believe the lies he is told. It even shows that Gloucester does not love his sons, since trust is a foundation of love. Upon that, he trusts Edmund more than Edgar (since he believes him), even though Edmund is the bastard. This trust is seen when Gloucester tells Edmund of his plans to betray Cornwall, when Cornwall, Regan, and Goneril shut Lear out into the storm. He asks Edmund to help him in his plan to find Lear. Gloucester, by this time, completely trusts Edmund, but is blind to see the treachery that lays ahead (Shakespeare 74).

Gloucester realizes this finally when he is blinded. Such an act is very reminiscent of the blindness of Oedipus. Both Oedipus and Gloucester were blind to their own faults (Gloucester being his fault to believe that Edgar was conspiring against him), and both became aware and recognized the truth when they were physically blinded. Up until this point, Gloucester believed everything Edmund told him. Then he finds out that Edmund was conspiring against him and at this moment, he finally comes to a point of recognition. He says, “O my follies! Then Edgar was abused. Kind gods, forgive me that, and prosper him” (Shakespeare 93). After this moment, Gloucester lives his life with complete remorse because he finally sees that it is his fault he stopped believing in Edgar and fell for the lies for Edmund. He tries to kill himself to atone for his sins, but he cannot die. Instead, he is saved, in a sense, by his son, who does not lead him to a cliff to kill himself. His sin has not led others to death, rather his sin was self-inflicted. He had chosen not to trust his son, and because of that he only hurt himself. He had already endured enough suffering, and so he is unable to kill himself.

Here-in lies the differences between Gloucester and Lear: Lear’s actions ended up killing the one daughter he loved, and therefore he paid for that with his life. However, Gloucester’s action led to no such death in his son, Edgar. Because of that, his attempt to kill himself is flawed and therefore he is able to stay alive. Both men did not truly love their offspring, and because of that, their actions became almost. However, both men were soon saved by their offspring. Lear was saved by Cordelia and her French-led invasion to take back his throne. Gloucester tries to kill himself, but Edgar diverts such actions. Amidst the distrust, there is still a love for a father that exists in Cordelia and Edgar, and it is such love that saves their father’s lives.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. King Lear. New York: Signet Classic, 1998.