Throughout the opening of the play, King Lear has decided to divide his kingdom among his three daughters. In addition to diving his land, King Lear has decided that he will take turns living with each of his daughters along with all his men, which for a King is an extremely large group. All he wants in exchange for his land is for his daughters to tell him how much he means to them and how much they love him. Lear only wants to hear this as an ego boost- he gains no real gratification from it other than to feel good about himself. Goneril and Regan, his two older daughters give Lear what he wants; they flatter him and tell him that they love him more than anything else-in reality they only want the land. Cordelia, however, tells Lear that there are no words to express her love for him. This angers Lear because all he wants is to hear his favorite daughter proclaim her love for him. She refuses and as a result, she is banished.
The opening of the play shows readers just how selfish Lear can be. He only wants his daughters to tell him how much he is loved because it makes him feel good about himself. When Cordelia refuses, he is so angry that his youngest and most favorite daughter has nothing to say that he just immediately disowns her. He is acting out of anger and will come to greatly regret this choice; Cordelia was the only daughter of his that really loved him and wasn't after his riches and land.
However, is requesting that his daughters take turns allowing their father to live with them even more self-centered? After all, Lear did raise the three daughters and gave them everything they have, which now includes a vast amount of land. Is it too much to ask that him and his men live with them, or is it just something that a daughter should want to do for the man that helped give her life?
The beginning of the play paints Lear as a very egotistical, greedy and needy person. He only divides his land and asks his daughters to state how much they love him in an effort to feel better about himself. He tells his daughters that he will be taking turns living with them, which would be a simple request if all of his men weren't tagging along for the ride. Just within the first act, Lear seems like a very selfish person who does whatever he wants- but will he come to regret his choices? Will Lear ever change from a selfish man into a caring and loving person?
1 comment:
What can a father expect from his adult children? Is it too much to ask for expressions of love in exchange for property and inheritance? These are the questions your post nicely poses, Faith, and though you come down (mainly) against Lear, I like that you also raise the possibility that this exchange is okay. As we discussed in class, too, Lear may be asking his daughters to play a "game" with him, more than simply boosting his own ego. I'd be curious to know what you think about that possibility.
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