King Lear’s Inner Conscious and Peace
Shakespeare’s King Lear brings into question the loyalties of children to their fathers and how that impacts their immediate lives. Through King Lear’s short-lived moments between normalcy and madness, we can observe how and in what ways Cordelia and the Fool influence him. While serving almost the same purpose, both Cordelia and the Fool have stark contrasts in character and ability. These differences are possible due to their differing social class and their personal relationship to the King.
Throughout many of Shakespeare’s plays he evidently explores social class and order to help carry the story forward. Using lower status characters, Shakespeare relays information to major characters in the play. Unlike with higher or equal status characters, where information is often viewed as a form of superiority complex or treason.
The Fool functions to be King Lear’s “sober second thought”. Due to his low rank and his profession being a Court Jester, Lear lets him walk all over his pride without thought. For example, in the first act, the Fool is mocking King Lear by giving him the new title of “Fool” because “all… other titles [he has] given away. That [he was] born with.” (1.4.153-154). However, quickly in the next scene following, he makes sure to cover this up by presenting a joke to the King. This works well for the character development of Lear because, for the first time in the play, he is hearing criticism about himself. It can be recalled in the scenes preceding that Lear disowned his daughter Cordelia and banished his loyal and trusted advisor Kent for speaking and acting against him. The Fool’s free pass to say whatever he wills, through satire, helps push King Lear towards that certain epiphany.
Cordelia, King Lear’s youngest and favourite daughter is similar to the fool, where she is able to pinpoint his many flaws. When asked in the initial act of the play to boast her love for the King, “[she] cannot heave [her] heart into [her] mouth” (1.1.91-92) and appease her father. She believes the notion of loving her father completely is non-realistic and that half her love, care, and duty would ultimately belong to her future husband. However, unlike the Fool, when she does speak against her father, she is immediately disowned. This is due in part to the fact that Cordelia is of much higher social rank. She is a princess and the most eligible daughter to take on the largest portion of his kingdom. Lear has a certain level of higher expectations for his daughter, he sees her as the perfect, natural woman and would like to secede his power to her. Upon seeing that she refuses to appease him and disrespects him, he is taken aback. Given that someone with the potential to be powerful due to their social rank, he is not as forgiving as he is with the Fool.
We can further infer from these many moments in the play that the Fool serves the function of that nagging voice in the back of King Lear’s head that he can’t rid himself of. Whereas, Cordelia is very much a prominent character in King Lear’s life, perhaps a mother figure, where he finds his solace.
In the play, relationships and bonds are the build-up and downfall for all major characters. For King Lear, every relationship that meant something to him was torn apart at the same rate he turned mad. His close family and friends drove him to a state of madness and only through the Fool and then Cordelia, was he able to “recover”.
The Fool plays an interesting role in Lear’s life, he is not important enough to the King but somehow manages to have the most influence over him in Cordelia’s absence. The lack of a familial or friendship-based relationship takes away Lear’s fear of being overpowered or disrespected by his own. Again, social class plays a big role in the Fools freedom to speak his mind. Other than King Lear’s won madness, the Fool clearly acts as a vessel for wisdom, something not provided by Cordelia. For example, although he does mock Lear relentlessly, the Fool is always present at every crucial turn, good and bad. Up until after the third act of the play, as Lear is descending into hysteria, the Fool is there with him. With his commentary, the Fool can be credited to guiding Lear’s madness on a path of good rather than bad. The Fools impact can be seen when Cordelia and her father have reunited once again in act four. Upon waking up he claims “[He is] a very foolish … old man,” (4.7.69) and that he knows he is “… mainly ignorant” (4.7.74). This is almost exactly what the Fool had previously been telling him. This symbolizes that he now does not need the Fool around to be wise.
When it comes to Cordelia, the situation is much deeper and very different. King Lear will not stand to be berated by his own daughter, someone he brought up as his own and is willing to give his power to. He trusts Cordelia and holds her to a much higher, more respected level than he ever did the Fool. So, he in many ways is heartbroken when faced with “dissent” from his most beloved daughter. This challenge Cordelia poses for her father is the driving force for King Lear’s initial madness and eventually his epiphany. Unlike the Fool, Cordelia does not play such an active role in helping Lear’s character develop from ignorant to wise. She rather functions to be King Lear’s inner peace; this can be seen in the shift of character for Lear after they’ve reunited. Almost as soon as Cordelia was banished, we saw that King Lear was slightly winded and that even a fool could make more sense. So, when he ultimately ends up groveling at Cordelia’s feet and she returns forgiveness we see that he’s much calmer. She also, being his peacekeeper, later raises an army against her sisters to avenge her father. However, soon after this Cordelia is hung, and we can see Lear return to hysteria as he weeps over her dead body.
The wisdom Lear receives from the Fool enables the mad King Lear to seek his daughter forgiveness. Upon reuniting with his princess, Lear is calm and in a state of harmony. However, with both the Fool and Cordelia eradicated from the situation, we can see the impacts both characters have left on the old King.
King Lear’s single night of intense madness along with the Fools sobering camaraderie allowed Lear to experience wisdom. The wisdom would then be accompanied by the peaceful companionship of Cordelia to allow him clarity and harmony. While both the Fool and Cordelia worked together, in similar ways, to help guide Lear, they’re ultimately different. While the Fool’s lessons and time with King Lear left a lasting impact, Cordelia could not be more than a memory after her death. A way for Lear to only remember inner peace.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Ed. Stephen Orgel. Penguin , 2016.