In King Lear, I find that Shakespeare also conveys the themes of immaturity and greed. From the beginning of Act I, King Lear displays an immature disposition. He asks the ridiculous question, “Which of you shall we say doth love us most…” Lear’s request to know how much his daughters love him is highly unnecessary. As a father, he should know that love is best expressed through actions. His reaction to Cordelia’s seemingly reasonable response is also ridiculous. She does not doubt she loves him, but she tells him that it is difficult for her to express her love through words. Instead of being understanding towards his daughter, King Lear behaves like a child. He becomes so angry that he strips his daughter’s inheritance away and disowns her. Maybe King Lear needs some anger management. It seems that he is always yelling and angry throughout the whole play.
Lear’s other daughters, Goneril and Regan, are not only greedy, but immature themselves. Goneril is annoyed that Lear’s servants and knights are rowdy. That is understandable. But, instead of immediately talking to Lear about the issue, she asks her servant Oswald to ignore Lear and discontinue using the proper respect an old king should be granted. Although Lear himself is immature in ways, he is still an old man. Therefore, I feel he should be granted some respect, especially since he is Goneril’s father as well. Goneril and Regan’s behavior is disrespectful, and they are greedy. They take advantage of King Lear by exaggerating their love for him in order to obtain more property, and then they treat him as if he is nothing but a baby because he is old. They order him to get rid of his servants. When Lear finally accepts that he will only have fifty, they quickly cut it to twenty-five, until Lear is down to being told he should have none.
There are plenty of questions that can be raised from Shakespeare’s play. Do people take advantage of their parents? Do some people treat the elderly as if they are dumb or incapable of understanding things? Although the elderly can be difficult to deal with, is it ever OK to disrespect them?
I completely agree that there is a high level of immaturity in this play. My theory about the King is that because he is a high ruler he is used to those below him knowing that they are below him. His daughters come from the same royal family; because of this they see themselves as equal. When the Lear asked his daughters to tell him how much they loved him, Lear expected nothing less than a long speech of love and devotion to him. When Cordelia told him something he did not want to hear, Lear threw a tantrum and banned her. Instead of dealing with her response in a mature grown up way, Lear felt the need to punish Cordelia because she did not give Lear what he wanted.
ReplyDeleteOut of all the characters, I personally think that Lear is the most immature. Lear expects everyone to do as he says because he is King, but when they refuse he disowns them or banishes them. Kent did not approve of Lear’s decision to ban Cordedlia and told the King so. Lear did not approve of the idea of being second guessed and banned Kent as well. Lear acts as if he is a child. If he does not get his way he throws a fit and causes a scene. When being locked out from his daughter’s homes, Lear refuses to go back and say sorry so he can hide from the storm. Lear is too stubborn to admit he is wrong and fix things.
As for greed, I do not think Lears daughters are greedy. Regan and Goneril simply did as the King asked. They told him they loved him. Cordelia was not wise enough to speak her mind and do as the king ask, which I thought to be rude. Regan and Goneril are not trying to hurt their father, only make him realize his new social place. He is no longer the King, because he is no longer the King, he no longer has the rights and power of a king. Goneril and Regan just don’t want to take care of their father. He’s immature and slightly mad. No one would want to take care of an old man who yells all day and dictates what one does. I do not see Regan and Goneril as greedy but just tired of their fathers attitude and want to put him somewhere that they do not have to take care of him.
I found Lear did act on his instincts without thinking, as a child would. First of all, the fact that Lear uses his daughters’ proclamation of adoration in deciphering how much property to give out, I thought, was stupid. Why would you give more to people who protest more? I agree Sri that actions are more significant than words, and Lear being an elderly man should be wise enough to know so.
ReplyDeleteAlso when I first read, I was shocked that Lear disowns Cordelia for merely saying she cannot express her love in words. She does not say that she hates her father, and she does not say that she did not love her father. She respectfully says that she loves her father so much so, that she cannot describe her love in words, and in my opinion that answer stands out as sincere, rather than the unrealistic statements that Goneril and Regan made. Lear obviously did not hear her out. The fact that he did not comprehend Cordelia’s genuine meaning of her response further proves his immaturity.
Lear is mistreated by his daughters Goneril and Regan, and they take advantage of him because of his age. They continuously speak of his disposition, and call him senile. They state that, in this old age, he is incapable of being in command. I feel that they are being ageist. Yes, King Lear is an annoying and needy old man, yet he, just as everyone else, deserves respect and dignity. I feel old people are taken advantage, and I believe it’s wrong. I feel the elderly should be admired and respected as opposed to being made fun of and taken advantage of.