Cordelia differs from the traditional “Cinderella figure” mainly because she does not experience a sense of justice in any way. Unlike the popular tale of Cinderella, where good is rewarded and evil is punished, King Lear is devoid of any notion of "fairness" from the pagan gods that many characters fatalistically invoke throughout the story. piece. The absence of "poetic justice" is considered by some to be part of the "definition" of a tragedy; King Lear takes this to the extreme. The end of the play brings a feeling of absolute futility: Lear dies in a state of perplexity, wondering what purpose it was all for and lamenting the injustice of life. He says of Cordelia's death: "Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life, / And you, no breath at all?" (V:iii lines 306-7), and dies before he can find an answer. The mental state of desperate confusion in which Lear dies is more tragic than death itself, because it amplifies the already enormous sense of injustice. This is further emphasized in light of Edmund's statement that "the wheel has come full circle" (V:iii, line 174). The cyclical nature of life will cause the events of the play to repeat unless something is learned from them. Whether there is hope depends on one's assessment of Edgar's character: I believe the outlook is bleak. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Although Cordelia undoubtedly displays traits that link her character to Lear's, I think they are fundamentally different in many ways levels, especially at the beginning of the piece. She is stubborn and proud, like Lear, but most importantly, she is neither rash nor impulsive, and does not react in the extreme way he does when challenged or insulted. While Lear's reaction is to lash out and punish in order to maintain his level of power in a scene, as shown by the banishment of Kent and Cordelia in the first scene of the play, Cordelia has a more balanced temperament and is more inclined to try. persuasion and sound reasoning to convince someone, as in I:i, where she argues with Lear about the value of his love without becoming angry, but protests little when his fate is revealed. This is not to say that Cordelia is docile – far from it. It is his strong sense of pride and his reluctance to "devalue" himself by playing Lear's selfish game that leads to his banishment and arguably precipitates many of the events of the play. These different attitudes of anger and persuasion are equally calamitous and ineffective in the context of the play: Lear's anger is one of several personality flaws that cloud his judgment and encourage rash decisions, while changing stubbornness of Cordelia leads to her banishment, but does not make her disappear. to challenge the decision. Although, morally, refusing to flatter Lear is the correct action for Cordelia to take, is undeniably admirable, and shows impressive strength of character in defying the tyrannical king, it can also be seen as self-indulgent, arrogant. and too proud to challenge and, indeed, humiliate her father in public. She would be better off, knowing Lear's likely reaction, to swallow her pride at this point and submit to the vain whim of an aging man, a man she loves dearly and who probably wouldn't need to lie for his sake. flatter. Cordelia pretentiously understands that the question Lear asks her is not “how much do you love me?” » but 'What can you say about drawing / A third more opulent thanyour sisters?' (I:i lines 81-2), i.e. “What can you say to improve their flattery.” Lear misinterprets her response, but she makes no effort to explain. It would be kinder to him if she responded differently, saving him from his scheming older daughters, but Cordelia only thinks of herself at this point, selfishly preserving her integrity and moral dignity at all costs. Far from being a “Cinderella figure” caught in circumstances beyond her control, Cordelia can decide which path to take, and does so without scruples or remorse. So both Lear and Cordelia are selfish, but in different ways. Cordelia fervently protects her dignity and honor; she uses personal pronouns nine times in lines 219-228 of Act 1, Scene 1, during a speech that expresses concern not that she has been exiled, but that the real reason for his banishment is revealed so people don't think. she is guilty of an “immodest action or dishonorable step” (line 224). His concern is in the wrong province. Lear's self-centeredness is of a subtly different nature, for he thinks not in terms of purity but of ultimate power. Although the divine right of kings did not exist in the pagan world of the play, it was a major issue for Jacobean audiences and manifested itself unconsciously in the character of Lear. By assuming that he can offload the responsibility of kingship while retaining glory, power, and respect, Lear shows that he only thinks of himself and ignores the inevitably disastrous results of dividing the kingdom for his subjects. His psychological problems begin when, having renounced the position of king, he finds that he no longer holds the power to which he is accustomed and that his usual method of resolving disputes through punishment or exile is no longer possible. It is not surprising that for one who has been in control for so long, Lear finds the experience of being subordinate a trying one, and only after great sacrifice on his part and that of others does he resolves his inner problems. The difference between Lear and Cordelia in this is that she has insight at the beginning of the play and foresees the problems ahead, saying "Time will reveal what the ruse hides" (I:i line 276), but does not nothing, while Lear gains his insight too late, when it is of no use. They are therefore both tragically helpless, a characteristic common to many of the “good” characters in the play, in their different ways. One of the main themes of the play, and an issue that runs throughout the course of the story, is the need for compromise between Cordelia's persuasive, stubborn insight and Lear's quick but unguided anger. The opportunity for this medium seems to me to be missing in the remaining characters at the end of the play, leaving little hope for the future. Cordelia clearly inherits certain personality traits from her father, as already mentioned, but her overall character is much more well-rounded than Lear's. She is part of the younger generation that is ironically much wiser and certainly more astute than the majority of the older generation. However, despite all this, they are ultimately no better. Although she is not perfect, Cordelia does not suffer from inferiority complexes like Lear does after giving up his crown, and she has a very compassionate side. This feature is lacking in Lear until he recognizes Cordelia again in IV: vii. We see evidence in this scene and in scene four of the same act of Cordelia's love for Lear, a pure and "true" love, as Cordelia says in I:i, the love she was loath to dress up with a pun for fear ofdegrade it. She speaks of "My mourning and my important tears" (IV: v, line 26), and how "Our arms incite no exaggerated ambition, / But love, my dear love, and the right of our old father. » (IV:v lines 27-8) this is an example of pure and unconditional love, rare in this play, so full of intriguing and calculated feelings and expressions. Cordelia knows that in bringing an army to England she is treading a very dangerous path and that her actions will likely be seen as an act of war, as a powerful ruler seeking to capitalize on the disarray of a divided kingdom. Cordelia emphasizes in these lines that it is nothing of that, but in fact a manifestation of pure and unwavering love for her father. A great tragedy is that Lear is responsible for Cordelia's death: she is there only because of him. Furthermore, Cordelia is killed just as Lear develops a state of mind in which he can truly appreciate her love, so they are deprived of the good that comes from Lear's madness. He said after being sent to prison: “Just the two of us will sing like birds in the cage.” / When you ask me to bless, I will kneel / And ask your forgiveness” (V:iii lines 9-11). Lear doesn't mind being in prison, as long as he is with Cordelia, and has her forgiveness. The final cruel injustice of Cordelia's death directly causes Lear's death, because it renders his "rebirth to reason" as futile as the rest of the events in the play. Without it, he has no reason to exist and he “faints away,” as Edgar says. As Kent notes: "He only usurped his life" (V;iii, line 317): Lear clung to life by the sheer force of his will, and as soon as his will was broken, as this is so completely the case by the tragedy of Cordelia's death, her body also expires. Other examples of pure love like Cordelia's are France's love for Cordelia, Edgar's love for Gloucester, to a certain extent, and the Fool's and Kent's love for Lear. This unqualified love is impossible for Lear at the beginning of the play. Certainly, he is not completely cold, but the love he carries is heavily repressed, often confused, even displaced. This causes him to lash out and hurt those he truly loves; his love easily turns to hatred, perhaps because his arrogant self-centeredness actually hides a certain level of insecurity and fear of commitment. Lear's role as king means that he must remain impersonal and distant from his subjects, and even his family. He is insecure in his personal relationships and needs to be told that he is adored, hence the seemingly vain "love contest" that opens the play. This need leaves him prey to self-advanced Machiavellian schemers like Goneril and Regan, and partly explains why he is a poor judge of character. The experience of madness, of being reduced to “the lowest and poorest form,” as Edgar puts it (II:iii, line 7), strips him of the complications of royal personality. This shows him what it is to be a "man without accommodation", to have only those things absolutely necessary for the sustenance of human existence, something of which he had no idea before. The tragedy is that this comes too late: in reality, Lear needed this knowledge when he was still king, because it is useless in his position after his “semi-abdication”. This knowledge, however, allows him to reconcile with Cordelia, if only for the very short time between their meeting and her death. The change in Lear shows us that there is a parental connection behind Cordelia's compassion, but the loveless coldness of Goneril and Regan leads us to believe that it must be weak. The fact that Cordelia can be strong and yet compassionate is a..