King Lear Act 3 by Kelvin Yeung
Comments(2) In Act 3 we see a couple of things happening. King Lear seems to have completely lost his mind and in some ways reminds me of other iconic Shakespeare characters such as Titus Andronicus. Lear cannot get over the fact as to how his two daughters (Goneril & Regan) are treating him. He begins to curse the weather and says that nothing could be worse than his daughters. He states “Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire are my daughters” (3.2.14).
At the very same time, Edmund continues on with his plan to inherit Gloucester’s fortune which is “rightfully” his, according to him anyways. He is obsesses with the idea that the old are obsolete and that the young should be in power especially when he says “The younger rises when the old doth fall” (3.4.22). He seizes the opportunity that Gloucester presents to him. Gloucester decides to go search for Lear in the treacherous weather but before he does, he tells Edmund of a letter he possesses which talks of how a French army is invading. Gloucester immediately exposes both of these things to Cornwall. Using the letter as evidence for his father’s support of the French, he gains trust from Cornwall and he is given the title Earl of Gloucester.
One of the most significant events to happen in King Lear takes place in Act 3 and that was the eye-gouging scene of Gloucester. This is due to Edmund’s plan of obtaining the inheritance. Cornwall proceeds to take out both of Gloucester’s eyes. It is not till after this that he finds out who Edmund truly is. He realizes he made a mistake with Edgar and tries to make amends with god.
In Act 3 we see the multiple story lines reach its climax and turning point. It is in this Act that we see King Lear for the first time lose his mind for a bit. In addition Edmund’s plan is finally carried out and Gloucester realizes his wrongs before. Ironically, he is able to see a lot more clear when his eyes are gouged-out.
This may seem a bit far-fetched, but frankly, I believe that Lear’s behavior at the beginning of the play was extremely childish. One can argue that at that point he had regressed to his childhood and his demand for declarations of love was an attempt to find motherly love, perhaps the love he never received in his own childhood. Goneril and Regan appeased his appeal by telling him what he wanted to hear. They only further spoiled him by giving him the “candy” he wanted. When Cordelia refused to cater to Lear’s demands he seemed to do what kids do best, he threw a temper tantrum and disowned Cordelia. Furthermore, I also viewed his discussion with France and Burgundy as an effort to convince Cordelia’s suitors to leave her so that he would not have to share her love with either of them. Eventually his spoiled behavior could not be tolerated anymore and Goneril and Regan retaliated by punishing him for his actions, by “spanking him.” This quote from the play sums it up the best:
“ever since thou madest thy
daughters thy mothers: for when thou gavest them
the rod, and put’st down thine own breeches,” (1.4.15)
This may not directly relate to your post but I just wanted to put it out there!!!
I agree with both Kelvin and Harpreet that the older generation in this play are very childish in their thinking capacity. They have a view that they stick to until someone comes and “spanks” them around a bit and reveals the truth to them. Gloucester doesn’t realize what his children’s true identities were until one of them, Edmund, reveals it himself. King Lear doesn’t realize the truth about his daughters until Goneril and Regan reveal their true identities too.
In both cases it is after gaining what they had set out to gain from their respective parents that they reveal the truth. And both King Lear and Gloucester are slaves to the “false truths” that their deceptive children spout. It is odd though that even though both of these men are in a high/authoritative position that requires them to be able to read the difference between truths and lies, they are both unable to do just that.