King Lier Relationships

Relationships

Relationship means to have a connections with a special someone or anyone in general, and it is shown throughout this book a lot. During The King Lear play by William Shakespeare, we see many similarities between the relationships of Cordelia and Lear, and Edgar and Gloucester. It is evident that during the beginning of the play both fathers feel betrayed although this is false due to the misunderstanding that had occurred. They have both, Gloucester and Lear, only gotten support from their abandoned children. Another similarity, is the fact that both fathers did not realize that they betrayed their actual loyal children, but both Cordelia and Edgar stayed true and loyal to their parents by taking care of them even if it was not noticeable at first.

Firstly, when Cordelia mentions that she cannot express her love for her father into words, he disowns her after that. This decision put the audience into shock considering that Lear and Cordelia have always been closer than the other two sisters, and before the division of the kingdom, she was his favourite daughter, “I loved her most, and thought to set my rest/ On her kind nursery” (1.1.118). Although Cordelia is the only daughter that does not betray her father, unlike Goneril and Regan, she fights for Lear and the Kingdom instead of being against it. Rather than envying Lear for banishing her, Cordelia stays devoted to her father which meant a lot to him in the end, as he died a happy man.

Secondly, The relationship between Lear and his daughters was not the only dysfunctional one in the tragedy. Edgar and Gloucester’s relationship slowly breaks more or less the same as that of Cordelia and Lears in the beginning of the play. Gloucester feels betrayed by Edgar, although it was Edmund, who is the one planning to kill him and therefore frames Edgar. It is evident that Gloucester and Edgar had a poor relationship to begin with, because as even Edmund pointed out, he is a “credulous father” who is gullible enough to fall for Edmunds “practices”, disregarding Edgar (1.2.177). However Edgar remains loyal to his father by pretending to be a beggar and staying at Gloucester’s side without it even being visible to him.

Lastly, both fathers realize their mistake at different times. Lear being closer to the beginning of the play, and Gloucesters being later on close to the end. Lear did not realize his mistake at first, it was the Fool who had mentioned it “When you gave away pieces of your kingdom, it’s as if you cut off pieces on both sides of your brain and left nothing in the middle. “ (1.4.173). It is very ironic that that the Fool is talking some sense when Lear is the actual foolish one. However, Gloucester did not understand his situation until his eyes were removed "I have no way and therefore want no eyes/ I stumbled when I saw" (4, I, 238). At this point, he had swallowed his pride and was still unaware that Edgar has been near him all along in disguise as Poor Tom.
In conclusion, the parent child relationships in King Lear parallel one another , that both Lear and Gloucester pay for their actions due to false words of the children they love, and built strong relationships with in the end. But because of all these situations it causes the downfall of both of the powerful men, and even their deeds and caringness of Cordelia and Edgar had come too late to prevent the tragic ending of the play.