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more violent sisters, Regan and Goneril, and the unselfish, truthful, favorite daughter, Cordelia, yet all three exhibit powerful characteristics, worthy of taking on high power roles. Despite their differences, they all resemble their father, Lear, who has the most powerful position of all, King of Britain. Lear seems to have a duality within his personality. Firstly, Regan and Goneril resemble his arrogance, his ferocious temperament and his pompous attitude. The second half of Lear’s duality is represented in Cordelia showing courage, dignity and stubbornness. One tends to wonder why these females have taken on such masculine characteristics, yet one must remember that no female guidance is in attendance; no mothers are present within the play, nor are they mentioned why they are not present. Without female example, all three daughters pursue their desires in a masculine and aggressive manner, thus leading them to have great influence and authority.
Regan and Goneril, the evil of the three sisters portray almost identical characters throughout the play in which they have no conscience for doing good. They are crafty enough to deceive Lear into thinking they actually love him. In Regan’s attempt for her share of the kingdom, she remarks:
I am made / Of that self metal as my sister, / And prize me at her worth. In my true heart / I find she names my very deed of love, / Only she comes too short, that I profess / Myself an enemy to all other joys / Which the most precious square of sense possesses, / And find I am alone felicitate / In your dear Highness’ love. (Lr. 1.1.70-8).
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In this, both sisters show their ruthlessness to gain power and control. They do not care whether they are telling the truth or not. All that matters is if they gain the power of land. In an attempt to gain more control, Regan is the first to openly betray Lear. She, with the aid of Goneril, wishes to throw Lear out of his own house so that she may rule without his influence. Throwing her own father out into the cold shows her masculine callousness. Regan also takes part in the blinding of Gloucester and kills the outraged servant with a sword. Swordplay is something never done by a proper lady, yet in this case, the role reversal proves Regan righteous to kill the servant. Goneril’s bid for power causes her virtuous and gentle husband, Albany, to turn on her. Albany recognizes the evilness within his wife and chooses not to partake in her actions. In greater strive for domination, both Regan and Goneril leave their husbands for Edmund, another power-hungry character within King Lear. In a feat of jealousy, Goneril poisons Regan because of her relationship with Edmund. Goneril then realizes how cold-blooded she has become and kills herself: two deaths caused out of a bid for power over the same man. Cordelia, though rarely seen throughout the play, also has quite influential power in King Lear. Her confidence and truthfulness is shown when she refuses to express her love in a fabricated manner. Through this, it is evident why she is the favorite daughter of Lear. Cordelia states, “Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave/ My heart into my mouth. I love your Majesty/ According to my bond, no more nor less.” (Lr. 1.1.92-5). Lear expects much more from his beloved daughter since the statements of his other two, untruthful daughters blind him. In this, he decides to banish her from the country. Cordelia is taken into the arms of the King of France where she marries and becomes queen. Cordelia’s
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absence takes a great toll on Lear’s sanity because he does not know that she is the only one that has unconditional love for her father. His insanity proves that Cordelia, though not holding a position of authority at home, still has great importance in keeping the Lear family in tact. She, though not as recognized as her father, has the ultimate role of keeping sanity. At this point, all three sisters hold a position of elevated authority in which they have the ability to do almost anything they please. In her role as Queen of France, Cordelia takes hold of the power to lead the French army into Britain to overthrow the rule of her two ruthless sisters. When she accompanies her army into battle, she, unfortunately, is captured and hung. Lear, finally coming to the realization that Cordelia, his favorite daughter, was the only one who truly loved him, dies out of grief from her death.
And my poor fool is hanged! No, no, no life!
Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,
And thou no breath at all? Thou’lt come no more,
Never, never, never, never, never!
… Do you see this? Look on her! Look! Her lips!
Look there, look there! (Lr. 5.3.305-310)
Lear’s death marks the proof of Cordelia’s ultimate role as a matriarch.
Shakespeare undoubtedly contradicts the social order that has been historically prevalent; that of patriarchy ruling the world. He has reversed the roles of society so that the women in King Lear are the ones in ultimate power. They, though non-existent at the end of the play, exhibit the most influence among any character. The women in King
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Lear cause death, insanity, confusion, marriage, divorce, war, disguise, banishment and hate. Is this play a representation of what is to come in the future? Will there be a system of government dominated by the female gender? Will history ever stop repeating its masculine control of society? Or, will a loyal husband ever buy a car without consent from his wife?
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Works Cited
Cummings, Michael J. “King Lear” (1 November 2004) <http://sites.micro-link.net/zekscrab/KingLear.html>
Goldberg, Steven. “The Inevitability of Patriarchy” (1 November 2004) <http://flatrock.org.nz/topics/society_culture/the_inevitability_of_patriarchy.htm
Johnston, Ian. “Speak What We Feel: An Introduction to King Lear”. (6 November 2004) <http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/eng366/lectures/lear.htm>
Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 1990
Nesbit, E. “King Lear Plot Synopsis”. (6 November 2004) <http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plots/learps.html>
Unknown Author. “King Lear – Characters”. (1 November 2004) <http://www.netexplosure.com/kinglear/characters.htm>
Unknown Author. “ClassicNotes: King Lear Act V”. (6 November 2004) <>
