While reading the final sections of Lear, i became interested in the character the Duke of Albany. As the play develops he becomes confused by his role in everything, but he at least attempts to remain a good man. In this play which focuses on the evil within mankind, Albany seems to represent the good that is too weak to stand up for what the know is right.
Albany plays second fiddle to his wife from the beginning of the play. When Goneril drive her father from her home with her cruelty to him, Albany disagrees with her actions but does nothing to stop her. Goneril dismisses Albany when he asks about the argument by saying, "Never afflict yourself to know the cause" (1. 4. 28). It seems a little out of character for a wife to dismiss her husband in such a way during this time period, and Albany never asserts himself to find out more. All he says is that his loves makes him bias, which is cut off by Goneril directing the fool. The scene ends with Albany saying we shall see.
This first scene demonstrates how weak Albany is because he lets his wife walk all over him. He knows what Goneril is doing to Lear is wrong, but does to have the courage to stand up to his wife. Albany gains a bit of courage as the play proceeds, but he remains a weak force for good in a kingdom full of evil.
By the fourth act it is clear that Albany has turned against his wife, and actually begins to stand up for himself and what he knows to be right. Oswald tells Goneril that Albany has changed since she has been away. He smiled when he heard about the invading army from France, and called Oswald a fool for praising Edmund and calling Gloucester treacherous. When Goneril meets with Albany herself, it quickly turns into a heated argument where Albany criticizes her cruel treatment of her own father. He says, "She that herself will sliver and disbranch From her material sap, preforce must wither and come to deadly use" (4. 2. 35). This really shows how his love for Goneril is no longer conflicting with his opinion of her actions, especially they way she has turned against her father now that she has what she wants. Albany is so angered by Goneril's that he says that he would dislocate and rip her flesh and bones, but the fact that she is a woman shields her.
Albany agrees to go to battle in the final act, though it takes until the final moment to decide. He convinces himself that he is only doing it in response to the French invasion, and not because they support Lear or the others who have just causes to be opposed. After this he receives the letter from Edgar about his wife's plot to kill him and marry Edgar. He does not act upon this until Lear and Cordelia have been captured. Even then he has Edmund called to confront the man who planned to kill him and steal his wife. Edgar was bound to fight Edmund, but any honorable man would want to fight the man involved in this plot. This inability to stand up for himself is another instance of Albany's cowardice. In the end Albany is the only one with the right to rule the throne but decides, probably for the best, to split this up.
I just found the duke of Albany to be an interesting character since he does seem to represent a good man trapped in a world of evil. His faults seem to demonstrate that good men such as him are just too weak to overcome the evil that surrounds them.
4 comments:
I found Albany interesting as well. However, there is more than one way to look at his actions. Albany is probably aware that he is disposable. In Nicole's post, she mentions that the women would probably abandon their husbands like they did their father if the conditions were right. I agree with her. Goneril only needs Albany as long he is useful to her. This is why she aims to be with Edmund. Edmund becomes a better choice to her. Maybe Albany does not act because of that fact. Also, like Servant 1, one person can not go up against a whole group of people. Albany would probably be killed like the servant was. I agree that he was a good man in an evil world. However, I believe Albany does not stand up for himself out of cowardice but out of self-preservation.
I find both of your assessments of Albany really interesting. Albany does stand out as a morally superior character. I agree with Ray that he is pretty much trapped in a world of evil, and I personally interpret the "evil" of that world to be self-interest. When Sam said that Albany acts out of self-preservation, I thought it was a pretty perfect assessment--Albany's self-preservation is a far more respectable alternative to self-interest. I like to think of self-preservation and self-interest as cousins. They're related but not exactly alike. I think this is why Albany is such an important part of the play. He acts as a kind of foil to the other characters to create a standard of "good" against which to measure the "evil" of other characters.
Albany is a surprisingly interesting character in this play. In one part he is a very moral character, but that is detracted from by the fact that he is either unwilling or unable to stand up to those that treats him with disrespect or do wrong. I do agree with you that he doesn't stand up due to cowardice, but I also feel that it is this cowardice that takes away from his status of morality
These are all excellent comments on Ray's really insightful post. I liked our final assessment in class on Friday about the characters who will take control at the end of the play, that perhaps they show some hope for reassembling the "shattered kingdom" created by Lear and his daughters. Ray's post certainly lends credence to that idea, as Albany proves himself to be resistant to the corruption wrought by Goneril, Regan, and Edmund.
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