I think that it is safe to say that King Lear definitely has his "womanly moments" in this play. I think that Kahn is pretty accurate when speaks of how the absence of a mother figure in the story represents her hidden presence in Lear. The beginning of the story particularly stands out to me as not only childish and immature but feminine. When Lear is asking his daughters to tell him how much they love him it reminds me of children and when they stretch their arms out and say, "I love you this much." To me, this seems like something that a young girl would say to her mother.
King Lear seems to be very emotional throughout most of the play as well which is definitely a trait that is more associated with women than men. He tends to have little temper tantrums and cries a lot more than what I would expect a king of such high standard to do. He even calls his tears "women's water drops" which suggests that he himself is aware of his femininity.
Another topic that I would like to talk about is about Lear and Cordelia’s relationship. In my opinion, from the beginning of the play as with the end it seemed to me that Cordelia almost represented a motherly figure to Lear. This role can also be reversed in that Lear is like Cordelia's mother since a true one is not established in the play. When Lear realizes that Cordelia is soon to marry I think he almost becomes jealous and enraged which may be another reason that he disowns her. He might also have been saddened by the fact that he will be losing his daughter to another man. Once disowned, I believe that Lear thinks that he has made Cordelia unfit to marry and so he still has his paternal/maternal control over her.
Towards the end of the play, I like how Kahn speaks about how King Lear has matured and accepted his human dependency. I completely agree with her. The reunion of Cordelia and Lear is such a short-lived one, however, a special one. I like how he finally accepts that he made the mistake of disowning Cordelia and has formed some sort of humility and humanity compared to the beginning. In one of the movie clips shown, the fact that he kneels when Cordelia kneels helps reiterate the fact that he has accepted the fact that he is simply just a man.
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I find it very interesting - and I agree - that you see Lear to be a lot more feminine than HE himself even sees it. I viewed it that King Lear had his "masculine walls" up the whole time, and it was due to Cordelia's return that he allowed those walls to break and he had those feminine moments. But now, after reading your blog, I can definitely see - and agree- how Lear definitely has his "womanly moments" in the play.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Lear was definitely hiding his "femininity" when he was king. It finally came out when he went through all his pain and betrayal. I also agree that his foolish decision on how to divide the kingdom was so immature.
ReplyDeleteI think you make an interesting point when you say that Cordelia almost appears as a motherly figure to Lear. I think that, especially during the reunion scene, this appears to be true. Because of the king's loss of mental stability, she seems to act as a caretaker as well as a loving daughter towards him. I think that this is not unusual, however, as eventually all children have to become their parents' parent.
ReplyDeleteI never really gave the relationship between Cordelia and Lear much thought, but I completely agree with you about her being a motherly figure to him. This would explain how, after her departure, he undergoes his own internal transformation towards accepting the more “un-masculine” aspects that he possesses. You also mentioned the reunion at the end, which I think is a great moment where the parenting roles a visibly reversed. It seems to say that no matter how old a person becomes, they are still on the road to self-discovery, and still need a guiding figure in their lives. With that being said, I think Shakespeare might have put the “woman’s water drops” quote in there as some sort of sarcasm. He seems to be making fun of the fact that tears and raw emotions are repressed in males and looked at as feminine. In fact, women and men are subject to the same emotions, and it is silly to be so apprehensive towards them.
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