by Heather A. Fowler

Created on: September 11, 2011   Last Updated: September 12, 2011

‘King Lear’ is Shakespeare’s 17th century telling of the ancient Celtic legend “Leir of Britain.” It is the story of the titular king, who upon his retirement decides to step down and distribute his kingdom among his daughters based on their ability to flatter him, a decision he comes to deeply regret. He is later disrespected and tossed out by the two daughters who were willing to give him the pretty words he sought, and the king goes insane as he struggles to survive in the world after they betray him. His youngest daughter Cordelia refuses to take part in the flattery, and is thereby disinherited. With her honor, integrity, and bravery, it is she who becomes the true heroine of the play.

Cordelia is Lear’s third and previously favorite daughter, the most truthful, faithful and beloved of the kingdom, although Lear doesn’t believe it in the first act due to her refusal to flatter him as her sisters do. She insists honestly and forthrightly that she loves him so much that there are no proper words to describe it. When she speaks so bluntly, it enrages her father, and he denies her any part of his estate. The Duke of Burgundy subsequently breaks off his suit for her, while the King of France says he admires her honesty, and marries her anyway against her father’s wishes. The newlyweds leave for France, and are absent for most of the rest of the story. Cordelia returns with an army in Act 4 to save her father from her sisters, their husbands, and other forces that have risen against the mad King Lear. Eventually, he regains some clarity and the pair are reconciled, but it is too late. Cordelia and her father are captured in battle against her sisters, and Cordelia is hanged while they are in custody.

Cordelia is a symbol of love and true faith amongst a cast of plotters and villains.  She truly loves her father, but refuses to make up flatteries for him, no matter what the personal cost to herself. Even though her father cuts her out of her inheritance and his life, she remains steadfast and loyal, and when King Lear is in danger later in the play, she raises an army of her husband’s men to return to her former homeland and rescue him, at the eventual cost of her own existence.  She is the only really honorable person in the play, the only one who isn’t a hypocrite, willing to say or do whatever it takes to get what they want.

While Cordelia is ethical, she is not exactly a paper saint. She

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>