King Lear, Character Flaw of Lear
...ordelia. France recognizes the value of Cordelia even when the king cannot see her faithfulness and loyalty. Finally one can see that Lear has chosen to place trust in his wicked, older daughters. He pleads to Reagan, “Dearest daughter confess…and food”(II, IV, 153-155). He begs Reagan but she shows him no mercy by not granting him his desires. It is evident that King Lear’s’ imperfect judgement is his largest character flaw leading him to his dramatic fate. King Lear’s’ faulty choices negatively affect him, leaving him with the devastating loss of authority. Goneril begins to reduce Lear’s’ army showing that she now holds power in place of him. Lear states angrily, “She hath abated…upon the very heart”(II, IV, 158-160). Goneril insists on showing her power and over ruling the kings’ requests. By making this request the king is left with no control at Gonerils mercy. Reagan and her husband Cornwall exercise their right to punish when they see fit and place Kent in the stocks. Lear expresses his outrage, “They durst not do’t…. Coming from us”(II, IV, 22-26). Kent is one of the characters that Lear is closest with and therefore by placing Kent in the stocks it shows a disregard to Lear and his authority. This is direct disrespect toward the king, her father. As well Gonerils servants refuse to use the title “king” to address Lear when he stays at her house. When the king asks Oswald, “Who am I, sir?”(I, IV, 79-80) instead of calling Lear king like he should be respectfully referred to, Oswald simply says, “My lady’s father”(I, IV, 80). Lear takes offense to this and is angry for the rude and intolerable circumstances he is being exposed to. This is a strong point in which the king realizes his commands and orders no longer matter, and hold no meaning. Finally the fool reinforces this idea of loss through one of his wise remarks. The fool tells Lear, “Thou wast a pretty fellow…thou art nothing.”(I, IV, 197-200). Close characters to Lear help enforce the fact that he lost all power and privileges that go along with being king. Lear excepts this because of his close relationship with the fool. Thus Lear’s mediocre choices lead him to his loss of authority and result in self-destruction. King Lear’s inadequate judgement and loss of authority lead to his madness and collapse of character. When Lear is in the fields of Dover, it is evident he has gone into a state of insanity. He says “That fellow handles…. Give the wo...