King Lear Characters Thrust into an Unnatural Way of Life
King Lear Characters Thrust into an Unnatural Way of Life
“Every person important to the action is thrust into an unnatural way of life.” In King Lear, written by William Shakespeare, this quote was very accurate. King Lear and Gloucester, both main characters in the play, were thrust into a life that was unfamiliar and caused both to react in different ways.
King Lear was the protagonist in the play. The main theme of King Lear was entirely based on the way Lear was forced to endure a horrific life because of his two daughters, Goneril and Regan, who cast their father aside in order to obtain the power they craved. There are two ways in which Lear was forced to live a life to which he was not accustomed. Lear became physically and emotionally distraught, both cases directly linked to Goneril’s and Regan’s selfishness.
Goneril and Regan knew that their father was going senile and therefore took this opportunity to worsen his condition. When Lear went to stay with Goneril, she did not speak to him and pretended she was ill. “ I will not speak with him. Say I am sick.” (I/iii/9) She then forced him to go to Regan’s house. However, when he arrived, she too had left, which caused him to feel alone. Lear became his daughters’ toy, as they passed him back and forth as if he was their ball in a game of catch.
Not only did Lear’s daughters emotionally hurt him, but they physically harmed him as well. Lear was a king, and therefore had lived his entire life with the finest accommodations. Goneril and Regan had forced Lear in to a life he was not used to. On a night where “bleak winds/ Do scorely ruffle.” (II/iv/337-338), Goneril and Regan “Shut up your [Gloucester’s] doors.” (II/iv/342) and left Lear out in the storm. The King, who was used to elaborate castles and large chambers, was forced to spend a night as a poor citizen, searching for shelter from the cold.
Similarly to the way that Goneril and Regan caused Lear to suffer, they also forced Gloucester to live in a way in which he was unaccustomed. Gloucester was very loyal to Lear, therefore he took Lear’s side in the civil battle between Lear and his daughters. For punishment, Lear’s...