Monday, April 15, 2013
The Heart of It All
Of all the major characters in King Lear Cordelia has the fewest lines (116 lines, barely edging out Cornwall and less than her two sisters). Yet, her actions are central to the play: her refusal to flatter her father leads to her banishment, her rescue of Lear restores his sanity, her senseless death leads to Lear's own death. The history of this play is also full of questions and controversies about her character. Is her refusal to flatter Lear an act of honesty or defiance? Is her portrayal in the Folio significantly different from the Quarto? Is there a connection between the Fool and Cordelia (the two never appear on stage together)? Why did Nahum Tate's adaptation of the play, in which Cordelia survives and marries Edgar, essentially replace Shakespeare's original from 1681 to 1838? FOCUS on a speech, a scene or a controversy and explain Cordelia's importance to the play.
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I feel that Cordelia plays a very important role in King Lear. In most of Shakespeare’s plays the women never have a big role. For instance in Richard III the women barely say anything but curses. The only exceptions so far are the two comedies that we read, Much Ado about Nothing and Merchant of Venice where the two women, Beatrice and Portia, had very significant roles.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say that Cordelia’s refusal to flatter Lear is a true act of honesty. Cordelia clearly sees no reason to flatter her father because she knows that her love to him is true. Also, Cordelia is two authentic to partake in something so tacky and fake. By doing so, she is showing not that she doesn’t love her father, but that her love for her father is too great for simple words to convey. I also feel that Cordelia knew that her sisters love for their father is entirely fake and all they wanted from him is his money. Cordelia was able to foresee the outcome of her father’s wish to ban her and give all his money to the other two daughters. She states
Time Shall unfold what plighted cunning hides,
Who covers faults at last with shame derides.
Well may you prosper (1.1325-8)
Clearly, Cordelia knows that her sisters will destroy the kingdom with their jealousy and rivalry. Cordelia’s honesty about her father’s love shows the readers that she is the strongest woman in the play and that she knows how to hold her ground. The differences between the Folio and Quarto editions accentuate her power and honesty. While the Quarto does not give Cordelia a lot of credit, the Folio does. In the Folio, Cordelia appears to be able to heal her father’s madness with her presence, love and forgiveness. This ties back to why her refusal to flatter her father was pure honesty and not defiance. If Cordelia was trying to act out, then her presence would not save her father, but rather make him worse.
In the end, the decision to change the ending of the play was probably a good one. After sitting through 4 acts of tragedy, no one would want to see more tragedy, instead they want happiness. And because Lear and Cordelia have gone through so much turmoil in their lives, the decision to make her live probably pleased the crowds. If historians had not changed the ending of the play, then I would say the Tate’s addition of the play would still be around today.
Cordelia’s role in the play is essential to many events in the play and its eventual outcome. At the beginning, when Lear asks his three daughters to praise him so they may receive inheritance, Cordelia, when it is her turn to speak, humbly replies “I love your Majesty / According to my bond, no more nor less” (1.1.101-102), meaning that she loves Lear as a daughter is required to love and honor her father. Unlike Goneril and Regan, Cordelia refuses to flatter her father into giving her inheritance by using superfluous language and words she does not really mean. She wants to stay true to and love Lear, but at the same time looks at things realistically by saying, “Haply, when I shall wed, / That lord whose hand must take my plight shall / carry / Half my love with him, half my care and duty” (1.1.110-113). This does not mean that Cordelia is heartless and does not love her father, but rather she explains that she cannot blindly love him and forget about everything else in the world, because she certainly has other cares and duties to attend. Cordelia’s words, however, throw Lear into a rage. He accuses her of being untender and ungrateful, rids her of her inheritance, and banishes her from his kingdom. Cordelia humbly accepts this, and is not at all angry at Lear. As she leaves, she utters words of prophesy: “Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides, / Who covers faults at last with shame derides” (1.1.325-326). Cordelia senses what misfortune will fall upon Lear and others because of his faulty decision.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, Cordelia disappears until the end of the play, and Lear’s problems begin right away. Almost immediately, Goneril and Regan (along with Cornwall) turn against Lear. Words of love and devotion spoken moments before now turn to intemperate phrases of reproof. Matters get worse and worse for Lear and his followers. Everything Cordelia said is coming true.
Towards the end of the play, Cordelia reappears to save her father. She risks her own life for one who publicly disowned and humiliated her. When she sees him, she rushes to him, saying,
O, my dear father, restoration hang
Thy medicine on my lips, and let this kiss
Repair those violent harms that my two sisters
Have in thy reverence made (4.7.31-34).
Cordelia does not impute to Lear the wrongs he has done to her and the pain he has caused her. She is so delighted to be reunited with her father that Lear’s past harsh behavior does not lessen Cordelia’s love and devotion to him. Even as the two of them are dragged off to jail, Cordelia is happy, content and at peace because Lear is by her side. She does not even for a moment regret her decision to come to her father to help him, even if it means sacrificing her own life. Cordelia’s behavior and actions at the beginning and end of the play show her to be a humble, pure, virtuous young woman who is willing to accept suffering for what is true and just.