Powerful Women In Shakespeare's King Lear

There were few known ruling women during the time of King Lear , one important figure being Queen Elizabeth I. “The Elizabethans had very clear expectations of men and women, and in general men were expected to be the breadwinners and women to be housewives and mothers” (3). In William Shakespeare’s play King Lear, he portrays the women to be dissimilar to how they appear in history. The daughters, Goneril and Regan, have profound amounts of power over that of their husband and seem to be the rule makers of their rightful kingdoms. Although women during the 1600s had little power, the women in King Lear have significant amounts of influence over the men featured in the story. Goneril, King Lear’s eldest daughter, can be analyzed as a woman who doesn’t care much about anything besides the power she can gain. Born into nobility from a noble …show more content…
However, by the end of Act IV they have split their partnership and become rivals in order to gain the affection of Edmund, signifying he is no longer just the illegitimate son but a man of power, the Earl of Gloucester. “My lord is dead. Edmund and I have talked, and more convenient is he for my hand than for your lady’s” (IV.5.35-37). Regan tries to persuade Oswald, Goneril’s steward, into understanding that she is the better choice for Edmund rather than Goneril because she no longer has a husband while her sister is still married to Edmund. It can be assumed that Regan does not actually want Edmund to choose her for love, but rather for power. In Act III when Cornwall is injured in a fight, Regan kills two servants and proceeds to ask Cornwall why he looks the way he does rather than just running to his aide (IV.7.11) She seems not to care much about him and simply tells Oswald that her husband is dead, quickly wanting to jump onto another man of power without mourning the loss of her