Fool: Lear's shadow.
Continuing with our analysis of Act I of King Lear, let us further examine the character of Lear.
In Lear, we have a king who's preparing to enter a new phase in his life. When the play opens, Lear is ready to turn the page, to enter into retirement. He parts with his crown, as well as his children. We find him dividing his kingdom into three parts, for his three daughters. His youngest (and favorite) daughter, Cordelia, is soon to be married, making all of his children married with a new life to lead on their own:
Since now we will divest us, both of rule,
Interest of territory, cares of state -
Which of you shall we say doth love us most?
That we our largest bounty may extend
Where nature doth with merit challenge.
(Lear, 1,1,47-51)
The Love Test: Lear's clever way of controlling the present while he can. It is a ceremony. Formal, with rules, as each daughter is expected to exchange words of love for her dowry. Lear has created the test to ensure that the daughter he is to stay with in retirement (naturally Cordelia) would be the daughter with the largest portion of the kingdom. He does not foresee however, that Cordelia would be unable to participate in such a game, as her honesty cannot compete with the insincerity of her self-interested sisters, Goneril and Regan.
When this happens (Cordelia's silence), Lear is unhinged. As a king, his commands were always followed. He was in control. Now, he is faced with his final royal act being denied by his favorite daughter, and add to this, his loyal subject, Kent, is vocal in his disapproval of Lear's treatment of Cordelia after she is unable to articulate her love. In response, Lear banishes Cordelia from his heart, and Kent from his domain. Why does he react in such an extreme way? Where is his composure? Why does he turn the situation into an attack, one in which he must defend himself?
I believe we need to step back and see where Lear is coming from. He is a king set to retire, and with that, he will leave behind his title, his power, his kingdom. Could he feel lost? Is it possible that he feels he no longer is defined as anything?
Later in the Act when Lear is at Goneril's, he begins a conversation with the Fool, a very important character in the play. The Fool is the one who can speak the truth without real consequence, as he lives outside social boundaries. But as he tells it, his role is not an enviable one since he always seems to displease someone, no matter what he does and says. But even though he must endure this, he knows he would not wish to trade places with Lear:
