King Lear

This is my third attempt to write and post this blog. Fingers crossed, all mirrors unbroken, and ladders avoided. Here we go.

3. This passage relates to the reunion scene with Cordelia (Act 4, Scene 7): "These are the tears of ashamed self-knowledge, manly tears caused by a realization of what his original childish demands on his daughters had led to. In this scene, which I want to compare with the next scene with Cordelia, Lear comes closer than he ever does later to a mature acceptance of his human dependency."

I have posted the selection of Kahn's text I am discussing above, for reference.

I think something that is really remarkable about this scene is how it is completely different from our first encounter with King Lear and Cordelia. In that first scene it is all about King Lear; How much his children love him and what he has the power to give them. In the mentioned scene, he is bowing to his daughter. I think Cordelia is a also changed. In that first scene she comes across a little removed and cold. Even though we know she is the most sincere, I think it's strange that she wouldn't even say "I love you more than them." This wouldn't have been untrue, and this whole story would have been averted. In this later scene I think she expresses how she feels much better (and maybe even more?) than her bound says she should.

I like how Kahn uses the term 'self-knowledge'. This scene is probably the first where Lear is completely aware of himself and surroundings (excepting when he was just waking). It kind of reminds me of a scene in Harry Potter- when Professor Trelawney (awful divination professor) has a moment of clarity and actually prophesies something worth listening to. She then drops back into what seems like a fog, much like what Lear does in the following scene. How clear is his mind if he thinks that prison will be just jolly with his daughter? He seems to go a little delirious since he reunites with Cordelia. I think his dependency goes full circle in the final scene- when he dies because she died. Can't get much more dependent than that.

On another note, Kahn's overall idea about Lear acknowledging the woman in himself reminded me of another play written a couple of years after Lear. There was a play written around 1608 called "The Roaring Girl" which was about a woman who went around dressed as a man. Maybe Lear inspired someone else to a similar idea a loooong time ago.

Over and out,
Taylor