The Role of Gender in Shakespeares King Lear

Authors Avatar by kirbysouth (student)

Kirby Southerland

November 11, 2012

English 2010

The Role of Gender in Shakespeare’s King Lear

        The famous tragedy, King Lear, was written by William Shakespeare between 1603 and 1606 and later revised. [Originally titled The True Chronicle of the History of Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters and later The Tragedy of King Lear, which was a more theatrical version, many modern editors shorten the title, though most insist that each version has its individual integrity that should be preserved.] Lear’s daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordeila, are three of the main characters in the play. [The daughters are all treated differently, as Goneril and Regan flattered their father in elaborate terms, Lear’s youngest daughter Cordelia was straight forward and honest, though she felt she did not need to express her love for him in elaborate ways in public, and because of her silence, she was banished from the kingdom.] The mistreatment of women in general by all of the men in the play, but mainly by the king himself, is evident throughout King Lear, with the description of them being “promiscuous and disloyal,” and thus their role in the play was very miniscule.         

        Cordelia is the exception to the promiscuous and disloyal stereotype, as she is portrayed as being a more ideal daughter, by the standards set by Shakespearean times, though according to the King, Cordelia is the most despicable of the three daughters. Although Cordelia was not shown much in play, she is definitely one of the major characters. By refusing to publicly flatter her father, Cordelia initiated the entire tragedy. Though Lear says that Cordelia was his favorite daughter, “I loved her most, and thought to set my rest on her kind nursery” (1, i, 122). Cordelia thought that her love was expressed better quietly and did not need to express her love outwardly, as she says, “I love your Majesty according to my bond; no more no less” (1, i, 91), thus showing that as a woman, she was rational and sensible. Cordelia represents what the standard woman of the Shakespearean times would be, being polite, delicate and innocent, and as such, she was considered the perfect woman and perfect daughter with her solid morals and values. She says of herself, “So young, my lord, and true,” (1,i, 108) as she explains to her father that, unlike her sisters, she will not lie and say that she only loves her father, for she is saving her love for her husband, should she ever be married. She was shown as a gentle, kind-hearted, selfless person as well as willing to perform any duty for her father. Her death is considered by some the real tragedy of the play. A pure character such as Cordelia did not deserve death and the shock of her death led to her father’s death, which marked the end of the play. Cordelia resembled her father in many aspects, such as her dignity, her loyalty and her courage and at times, her stubbornness. Her honesty is most clearly seen when Cordelia says “It is no vicious blot, murder, or foulness, no unchaste action or dishonored step that hath deprived me of your grave and favor, but even for want of that for which I am richer: A still soliciting eye and such a tongue As I am glad I have not, though not to have it hath lost me in your liking.”(1,i, 234-240) Cordelia is trying to tell her father that she has not committed any crimes by not publicly confessing her love to her father, but that if he chooses to see it that way, then she is not going to waste her breath trying to convince him that she loves him.  Of the three main women in King Lear, Cordelia represented the society of women yet she was strong and in control at the same time, and this is evident when she calls off the French attack on England as quickly as she initiated it. All of the wonderful characteristics that Cordelia possess make her the ideal woman in the play, being respectful and dignified but still powerful.

Join now!

        Cordelia’s honesty and dignity contrast greatly with the hypocrisy of her sisters. Goneril and Regan, King Lear’s eldest daughters possessed traits that were foul and unpleasant. After King Lear banishes Cordelia from his kingdom, he divides it between his oldest two daughters. Through the duration of the play, the two daughters misused their power and continuously devised malicious plans against their father. Shakespearean women were considered to be quiet, shy and submissive, which is the complete opposite of the two oldest daughters of King Lear. They were vicious and aggressive and these traits bring out the male characteristics in them, which in turn makes them the ideal villain. Being adulterous, Goneril displays a ...

This is a preview of the whole essay