In Act III and IV of King Lear, the reader experiences what seems like the process of the characters of Lear and Edgar, among all the other characters going crazy. As Lear is trapped outside, he is out of his element. He is used to being the head of the household, the Kind, ruler of all people; but not he is helpless. He is left outside locked out of his home by his own daughters. At this point, Lear has nothing left. In his mind all three of his daughters have betrayed him, he has lost his kingdom to two of them and their husbands, he no longer has his congregation of knights for companionship and he is stuck out in the rain, diminishing whatever is left of his dignity. It is no wonder he appears to go crazy. Lear begins to lose his sanity bit by bit, ultimately becoming incoherent in referring to a stool as his daughter Goneril.
But what if Lear is not actually going crazy? What if this is his way to get what he wants? It is seen from the beginning that Lear acts in immature and irrational ways, so it would not be all that strange if he were to pretend to be crazy to gain pity. I think that as little kids we have all tried to get out of being in trouble by acting as if we were hurt. If "mommy" was yelling at us, we would fake a "tummy ache" to gain her pity instead of hearing her yell at us for our wrong doing. In this way, it can seem as if Lear is faking his insanity to gain the pity of those around him so it would eventually get to his children that he is unwell. He is hoping that they would realize that he is harmless, sparing his life and allowing him to live the rest of his days with them in peace. Although he gives off the appearance of being crazy, I believe Lear is lucid the whole time, putting on a show. It does not make sense any other way to me because of the way he speaks. Even though he speaks in almost riddles, it is rational. It almost feels as if he has to put effort into sounding crazy. He wants to be viewed as the frail, insane old man to spare himself the humiliation of being betrayed by his children.
Similarly, Edgar also fakes his insanity, although not as consciously as Lear. Edgar appears to be mad while in reality he is speaking in riddle only to sound mad. In fact, Edgar is quite lucid as he notices that he is not all that mad after experiences the degree of Lear's "madness." I think it is strange for him to realize this. How do you all of a sudden proclaim that you are not mad anymore without pretending to be mad in the first place. I also think that Edgar is reverting back to immature child-like actions in order to be spared. I feel like Edgar is sane because he acts somewhat rationally in Act IV. Although he will not tell Gloucester that he is Edgar, he makes sure to spare Gloucester’s life by no doing as he asked. Edgar's actions of rationality cannot
Edgar and Lear, in my opinion are not crazy. I believe that this is part of Shakespeare’s appearance vs. reality theme because although they give the appearance of going mad, they show signs on saneness making the reality that they are not mad. I feel as if they do this to revert back to their childhood. Since both are immature, (both were spoiled their whole lives) they do not know how to handle themselves in this mess of a situation. Therefore, the two pretend to be crazy to attempt to get out of the situation.
Kristin, I see your point. Lear is acting out of desperation and I do pity him. The only dignity he had left were his knights and his daughters stripped him of everything he had. When one is left with nothing, there is a chance they may grow insane. For example, many homeless people are very eccentric and “not all there” in their heads. I feel, although in his monologues throughout Act III-V he seems flighty and insane, he manages to state knowledgeable and realistic insights that an insane person may have been incapable of. He may be senile, as his daughters state that he has a “disposition,” but I do not believe that he is a genuine lunatic.
ReplyDeleteEdgar, in my opinion, is putting on a façade throughout the play in his invention of “Poor Tom.” As we see in his soliloquy in Act II scene 3, he states that he wants to escape from all who pursue him through diminishing his identity (“Edgar” I nothing am). Although he appears to become insane through acting out his beggar disguise, as Kristin said, the fact he had the capability of acknowledging Lear’s madness proves that Edgar himself is sane. Lear may not be putting on an act, for in his old age he may be losing his marbles, yet Edgar is definitely feigning madness.
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