Masculinity In Shakespeare's King Lear

Regan’s excessive manipulation of masculine strength and defiance of traditional female role gradually transforms herself into an abhorrent woman, as she utterly resembles a metaphorical imagery of monstrosity and gender role’s misappropriation. Shakespeare intriguingly connects the relationship between Goneril and Regan as sisters, who both acquire the ambition to detest King Lear and achieve greater power and to perpetuate the uprising power of masculinity in women. Regan is equally manipulative as Goneril in terms of “playing with King Lear’s rules” until she reveals her ultimate malice of power at the end of the play. Alfar suggests the readers to understand Regan “as ruler in a kingdom under attack by invaders, which include the methods by which the …show more content…
In another perspective, Regan lacks a sense of guidance in terms of misappropriating her traditional female role while striving for masculine power. Alfar explains further that “Regan’s contract with Edmund, though it takes place after Cornwall’s death, makes her faithfulness while her husband lived suspect and further reinforces the ‘evil’ she exhibits while helping Cornwall gouge out Gloucester’s eyes” (Alfar 392). Based on Alfar’s evaluation, Regan lacks the guidance of achieving the appropriate masculine power. In her perspective, torture and cruelty must be enacted on a figure in order to express the opposition within gender role and power. The indication of Regan’s lack of guidance demonstrates her immaturity, as she is incapable of comprehending her traditional female’s role. Shakespeare wants to implement many aspects within gender role’s issue to influence the pros and cons of overcoming the limitation that a particular gender role imposes on a male or a female individual. More importantly, the misappropriation of gender role can affects an individual’s morality and