That we our largest bounty may extend.
Gonerill and Regan both expose their manipulative and devious characters and falsely exaggerate and elaborate in their speeches to King Lear. Cordelia refuses to engage in the love-test and consequently faces the angry wrath of her father, and when Kent also intervenes, the pair are subsequently banished from the Kingdom by Lear himself.
LEAR: If on the tenth day following,
Thy banished trunk be found in our dominions.
The moment is they death.
The first sin of King Lear could perhaps be the very nature of his personality, and his flaws. However, it could be argued that Lear was born to become King and was groomed and brought up to behave in such a way, and he has become accustomed to being treated as a superior being, because he is a King.
However, the major sins that Lear commits are those against his youngest daughter, Cordelia, and his most trusted and loyal aide, Kent.
Cordelia’s refusal to engage in his ‘love-test’ indicates a strong-minded, independent individual and she explains to her father why she will not participate.
CORDELIA: I love your majesty.
According to my bond, no more nor less.
Cordelia’s reasonable and admirable behaviour angers her father, and Kent’s support of Cordelia only serves to frustrate Lear further and he banishes them both from the Kingdom.
Lear’s actions in the first scene seem both unnecessarily harsh and irrational and the audience feels a sense of injustice at Cordelia and Kent’s banishment, as their behaviour seems more reasonable and honest than the behaviour of Gonerill and Regan.
Lear’s treatment of Cordelia and Kent does seem appalling, but by the end of the first two acts, it does seem that Lear is more sinned against than sinning.
There is an implication in the play that King Lear is slowly losing his mind and his being on the threshold of insanity is a major theme of the play. His seemingly rash behaviour at the beginning of the play only serves to reinforce this notion. Consequently, it can be argued that Lear’s banishment of Cordelia and Kent was not completely his fault as his mind is obviously deteriorating and his mental health could unstable enough to the extent that he did not realise the true implications of his actions.
King Lear also begins to recognise in a moment of clarity that he made an error of judgement in his treatment of Cordelia and Kent.
LEAR: How ugly didst thou in Cordelia show!
……And thy dear judgement out!
King Lear does seem to have his redeeming features that are not very obvious from the outset. Even after Cordelia and the loyal Kent are banished from the Kingdom by Lear, they later enter the play again for the sole purpose of saving Lear from not only Gonerill and Regan, but himself.
The audience sympathises with the characters of Cordelia and Kent, as they recognise their loyalty, honesty and integrity. The audience would feel that they are trustworthy characters, and if they are determined to save Lear despite his sins against them, he must possess some sort of redeeming feature.
Lear also appears as a more genuine and sincere character than his two eldest daughters. At one point the audience hears Gonerill and Regan making their love avowals; a few minutes later, they are speculating on the political threat concealed in Lear’s decision to reside with them and are planning to rid him of his remaining power.
Gonerill and Regan never portray any remorse or guilt at their treatment of King Lear and plot against him in an effort to drive him away from the Kingdom.
However, it could be argued that because Cordelia is their favourite, they could be resentful and jealous of her, but there is not evidence to suggest that Gonerill and Regan were treated any less well than Cordelia.
In conclusion, in my opinion it would seem that King Lear is more sinned against than sins. Lear’s sins do not seem as extreme as Gonerill and Regan’s, and while Lear demonstrates that he sees the error of his ways, Gonerill and Regan never show any remorse, guilt or emotions over their sins. King Lear also is showing signs of losing his sanity, so it could also be argued that he does not have complete control over his actions.
