King Lear Fatherhood

Shakespeare’s King Lear endorses the obsession for human societal acceptance and the importance of a role model to establish a characters identity. Parents, their parents, and their grandparent’s parents have impacted their children’s life more than that child actually realizes. Past and present generations are cohesive and the nurturing values implemented in the past are shared throughout their lineage. It becomes a tradition in certain families. This means childhood from the very beginning is, in fact, tainted by guardians, giving weight on matters children haven't explored, but accepted from the people they have come to trust. In the case of the two evil sisters, both were born into a world without a mother figure and it can be argued without …show more content…
For the two sisters it was a constant competition with Cordelia, very similar to the Cinderella tale, in this case, Regan and Goneril being wicked stepsisters. It was jealously in both stories that motivated the sisters’ selfish insincerity. Like any underdog, Regan and Goneril have been forced to act out in various ways to gain recognition from their aging father and to establish their safety and future security. This fear of neglect and isolation contributes to behaving how they were taught to, cheating for their desires. Regan and Goneril evil nature can therefore stem from a failed connection with their father and coping with being in the shadows behind King Lear’s favorite of the three, …show more content…
In order to uncover the mask that hovers over the sisters’ true identities, Shakespeare incorporates the necessity of equal family relationships and guidance. The values of having someone to rely on and trust to know Regan and Goneril, embrace them, and accept them into society. Without someone to express their self in, the complexity of their true identity is difficult to figure out. Especially being in a time of male dominance and the vulnerability of being the daughters of King. Having someone to rely on and trust allows an open perspective for the sisters to truly understand how they fit into their family and society. It is the experiences of the generations that proceed a certain individual’s linage that is crucial to the growth of that person. In this case, King Lear’s tragic downfall was not when he gave the land to Regan and Goneril, but when he neglected them. Schlegel critic of him being warm and affectionate is an excuse to say he was a good father. His tragic fall is, in fact, due to his negligence, narcissism, and failure as a role