Pride In King Lear

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In The Tragedy of King Lear by William Shakespeare, the character of King Lear exhibited an enormous ego that is analogous to the vast pride both Gabriel and Raskolnikov possessed. Specifically, Lear is an individual who took particular relish in being in control of and above everyone. Therefore, he rewarded instances of flattery towards him rather than unshakeable loyalty. This is exemplified distinctively when Lear succumbed to the flattering statements of his eldest daughters, but became enraged when instead of fawning, his youngest daughter Cordelia spoke to him with true loyalty and devotion to their father-daughter bond. Particularly, King Lear angrily exclaimed “With my two daughters’ dowers digest the third. / Let pride, which she …show more content…
Essentially, King Lear betrayed the genuine bond of family for extravagant praise that he only used to fuel his already inflated self-esteem. Since nature itself inherently endorses the natural relationships formed between family members, and King Lear played such an immense role in the dissociation of his family by sending away his only true loyal daughter, he was obviously going to receive some sort of punishment. This is specifically exemplified when King Lear’s mind becomes increasingly deranged during a storm, and he states: “This tempest in my mind / Doth from my senses take all feeling else / Save what beats there. Filial ingratitude! (III iv 15-17).” The storm, representing nature and its intrinsic anger towards King Lear, continuously reminded him of his tragic error and the repercussions that have occurred because of it. The constant reminder of his fault drove King Lear to not only suffer, but to also gain a necessary epiphany on the insignificance of both the flattery he previously desired and his prior title. This realization would have been impossible for King Lear to transpire without the blatant devotion Cordelia had towards Lear. Just like the characters of Gretta and Sonya, Cordelia was a required force that permitted King Lear to discover his actual
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