Throughout the play, Goneril and Regan reference their father's old age as the source of his madness and his incapability of ruling as king. To what extent does age contribute to Lear's madness? Does his age stand alone in representing his actions throughout the play, are his actions a result of a combination of both madness and his old age, or, perhaps, is his madness singular in affecting his radical actions?
Consider the two following passages for discussion:
Act 2 Scene 4, lines 159-176 (pg 107)
"REGAN: I cannot think my sister in the least --> LEAR: ...on my knees I beg That you'll vouchsafe me raiment, bed, and food!"
Act 1 Scene 1, lines 329-355 (pg 27)
"GONERIL: Sister, it is not little I have to say --> GONERIL: We must do something, and i' th' heat."
Feel free to sight other parts of the play that note King Lear's old age.
I think that age is a contributing factor to his unstable mind, but I would say that it is more a scapegoat than a major cause. When I say scapegoat, I mean that it is simply used as the major factor only in the presence of Lear. This is evident in the two passages you mentioned. If you look in Act 1, Goneril says, "Then we must look from his age to receive not alone the imperfections of long engraffed condition, but therewithal the unruly waywardness that infirm and choleric years bring with them" So she says yes he's old but we can't forget about the years of illness and imbalance. If you look in the second act when Lear is present. Regan only brings up his age and the past years of illness are not mentioned. The manner in which the daughters go about discussing these other causes suggest that they are more important and certainly more insulting to Lear. Why else would they refuse to bring them to light in front of Lear?
ReplyDelete-Mike S.
I agree with Mike that his age is more of a minor detail because it is referenced multiple times by the sisters that he has always been a little bit off. I believe the main reason for his rampage is simply his utmost desire for respect, he truly wants nothing else. All his brash decisions resulted from someone challenging his authority. Cordelia did not profess her extreme love for him and she was banished, Kent challenged this decision and he was banished, and when Goneril and Regan refused to house his knights, he rushed off into the storm. So even though these actions are all mad and irrational, he does at least have a reason. The reason being that he demands respect from all, that is the real reason for his madness, a craving for obedience from his subjects, not his age.
Delete-Jackson J
Going off of what both Mikey and Jackson stated, I would argue his age is a factor in his madness, but there are other factors as well. One other factor affecting him is his daughters themselves, after giving them his power and land they treat him very bad which essentially makes him go crazy. In the beginning when he was dividing the land he was doing a sincere gesture and the daughters re-payed him with betrayal and cruelty. Although he is a bit mad because of his age, his daughters add to his actions by continuosly abandoning him. One must stop and think, if his daughters treated him differently would Lear still have gone mad?
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