“Pray you, let us hit together”
They certainly do this when they strip Lear of his entourage and then throw him outside. He has now lost his power and status, and without the aid of Kent, he is truly blind; “Out of my sight” was quite an ironic statement on behalf of Lear when banishing Kent. Lear is now clearly in a confused state and has lost the sense of his identity when he asks, “Does any here know me?” Perhaps he is not more sinned against than sinning because it is undeniable that he has created his own problem. The Fool suggests this to Lear: -
“When thou gavest them the rod and puttest down thine own breeches”
As well as Goneril and Regan, there are other characters that begin to lose respect for Lear, even as far as lowly servants, who do not address him as one would a King. The Gentlemen also views Lear as lost and self-concerned: - “Strives in his own little world”. This further demonstrates Lear’s loss of authority. His response to this is all together unconstructive, as he becomes vengeful. So infuriated was Lear by Goneril’s demands of reducing the numbers in his entourage, he launches into a series of vitriolic comments about his daughter: -
“Into her womb convey sterility”
Lear should probably accept his own guilt in this problem, as opposed to releasing his anger onto others. However, there is indeed evidence shortly after these comments to show that Lear regrets his actions: - “I did her wrong”. This suggests the possibility that perhaps King Lear is more human than the audience initially thought and that there is hope for Lear in this predicament. The pivotal scene in the change of character of Lear is Act III, Scene 2, when he seemingly loses all grasp of reality upon the heath. At first, it is clear that Lear is talking to the weather. It is indefinite as to how a Shakespearean audience would react to this scene, or the tone that would be used in the production, although it could be likely to be accepted as comedy as a madman was thought of as hilarious. Certainly, what is true is that Lear’s position as King has faded into nothingness. However, by releasing his inner anger, this madness becomes somewhat of a learning process for Lear.
"I am a man, more sinned against, than sinning."
Although he admits that he has done wrong, Lear feels his punishment is more than he deserves. When Kent tries to make Lear seek shelter, he reveals that he is more concerned about the Fool than about himself. It is the first time that Lear has fully reached out with great concern to someone else. In the process, he becomes less of a tyrant and more humanized. Some critics have even argued that this is the main principle of the character of Lear, to illustrate the change of a man. Arnold kettle has argued this: -
"His story, put in the simplest terms, is the story of his progress from being a king to being a man, neither more nor less."
Perhaps it is necessary for Lear to be treated unfairly, or more sinned against than sinning, because he learns care for others. Lear also gains a genuine concern for social justice, which is evident in the “mock trial” that he creates. After this trial, stage directions indicate that The Fool exits and he does not return. This suggests that Lear does not require his aid and that he has regained awareness.
Furthermore, towards the end of the play it is arguable whether Lear is partly redeemed, due to his reconciliation with Cordelia. From this, he has learnt how to love and forget. However, it could be argued that, considering the death of Cordelia and Lear himself, that he is more sinned against than sinning, because ultimately the King loses all that he had, which contradicts the idea of divine retribution. Even though good forces may have won, it is somewhat of a pyrrhic victory. Conversely, this could be countered by the fact that through this suffering, Lear redeemed his soul, as Paul Cheetham has argued: -
“The King himself is driven mad, thus learning wisdom through suffering in the true Aristotelian tradition.”
Paul Cheetham’s argument can be opposed by examining the character of Gloucester. He is victim of unimaginable pain when he has his eyes plucked out. This seems unbalanced in the sense that his punishment is significantly more severe than his crimes. From the beginning of the play, the audience learns that Gloucester had committed adultery. Furthermore, he also misjudges his sons, in the same way Lear does with his daughters. Other than this, Gloucester does not do very much wrong, which makes it seem that Gloucester, if anybody, is more sinned against than sinning. Putting the play in its historical context, however, adultery was a serious offence and a severe punishment may perhaps have been seen as the appropriate action. Even so, he certainly suffers more than Lear.
One cannot help but feel sympathetic towards King Lear in his times of misery and madness, but there is always the shadow of his earlier egotistical antics that resulted in carnage. It is true that Lear has caused his own woes, but it seems that his problems allowed him to die a man with a soul of greater substance. This is a result of the madness and suffering, when a King becomes a man and understands concerns and needs of others. He also partly gains redemption in reuniting with Cordelia and accepting culpability, to a certain degree. Perhaps King Lear is “more sinned against than sinning” and perhaps deservedly so, but it is true that he died having learnt important lessons and so his suffering was surely not in vain.
