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Gender Roles In King Lear

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Gender Roles In King Lear
King Lear was one of the last plays that Shakespeare wrote; it was an adaptation of a popular folk tale at the time. It is a tragic tale of a king who divided his kingdom between his two daughters but it becomes apparent that half of the kingdom is not quite enough for either of them. Amidst all this the king slowly becomes mad. It seems that every character is out to get another one and as the story unfolds it becomes clear that the women control most of the events, which went against the grain of the cultural norm of the time. Through the lens of gender criticism it is clear that in King Lear Shakespeare portrays the women as the stronger sex.
King Lear is a play about power, property and inheritance. Lear loses his mind when he loses his social status and is emasculated by his daughters when they strip him of his power and his dignity. He lost his power over his country as well as his power over his daughters. Cordelia, his favorite daughter, refuses to tell him how much she loves him and thus goes against his wishes. The other two daughters strip him of all other political power and influence he as. There is a total …show more content…
This relates to women in power who can only bring disgrace, however a savior will come. Cordelia is the redeeming woman, the savior. She represents the restoration of the patriarchy but also the redemption of the feminine. In act 4 the female characters are juxtaposed: demonized and sanctified. The image of Goreril as a demon is reinforced when Albany doubts her humanity saying that she dis only disguised as a woman. In scene 4 Cordelia reappears as the sanctified woman, commanding her French soldiers to look for her father. Thus being his redeemer. Despite the fact that Lear disowned her after she refused to profess her love for him, she regards him with love, kindness and forgiveness. This reinforces the redemption of the
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