My View of the Role of Cordelia in King Lear

徐心蕊

Abstract：Cordelia is a major character in Shakespeares drama king Lear. This article will analyze Cordelias character from her words， deed and others comments. It will also briefly discuss the meaning of her death.

Key words：King Lear； Cordelia； characteristic； death

In this article， I will mainly discuss the role of Cordelia. Cordelia is the youngest of King Lears three daughters， and his favorite. She is banished by her father because her honest response infuriates him when she is asked to profess her love to him in return for one third of the land in his kingdom. In my perspective， Cordelia is a kind， honest and selfless girl with noble soul， but she is also a tragic character. This can be revealed both by her own words， deeds and others comments.

In Act I， Scene I， Cordelias response is a sharp contrast to the flattery of her two sisters. In order to gain part of the realm， Goneril and Regan try their best to please their father by declaring their love for him in fulsome terms. In the meantime， however， Cordelias soliloquy expresses her view： “love， and be silent” （Shakespeare 4）. She is well aware of the fact that if she uses some flattering words， she will be given a big share of the realm just as her sisters. But she would rather be deprived of her rights and wealth than declare compliment with false display of affection.

When it is her turn to speak， she uses “nothing” repeatedly and “no more， nor less” with rather restrained emotion. Besides， the parallelisms in her words reveal part of her deep love for King Lear： “begot me， bred me， lovd me”， “obey you， love you， and most honour you” （Shakespeare 6）. Through these forceful and sincere words， we can feel her sincere love for King Lear and criticism on her sisters. She says that she cannot love her father like her sisters do because her husband will take half of her love. Everything she says is the unadorned fact， though she puts it in a straightforward way.

Just as Albany said at the end of this play， “Speak what we feel， not what we ought to say” （Shakespeare 186）， Cordelia honestly expresses her thought to King Lear. To some readers， she may be somewhat obstinate because she doesnt flatter Lear or justify herself. Actually， she does this because “she knows the duality of language—it can reflect ones true feeling， but can also deviate from it” （Zhang 10）. For Cordelia， the words a person says should always correspond with their direct meaning.

Other people also make comments on Cordelias personality. For example， the King of France admires her virtue by saying “most rich， being poor； Most choice， forsaken； and most lov'd， despis'd” （Shakespeare 14）. The oxymoron here seems contradictory at first， but it perfectly describes Cordelias beautiful soul. Although she is misunderstood and banished by Lear， she is admirable and lofty.

In Act Ⅳ and Ⅴ， Cordelia leads the French Army to save King Lear who is driven away by her two sisters， but is finally captured and executed. She starts the battle out of pure love for her father rather than ambition. Even though she is treated unfairly by Lear， she always loves him. On the contrary， Goneril and Regan no longer respect Lear and even ask him to reduce his retinue after they gain the power. When Cordelia hears her fathers miserable condition， she not only shows sympathy and grief for Lear but also condemns her sisters cruel deed. After she is captured， she still puts Lear in the first place and despises the cruel destiny.

In this part， Cordelias noble quality is more pronounced. She is not the oily type， but she will do everything before she speaks. When Lear is desperately in need of help， she comes to save him without any hesitation. In this world of disorder， her unconditional love symbolizes “sacred love”， which is like a lamp in the dark wildness， guiding Lear out of madness.

Moreover， I would like to discuss Cordelias death apart from her noble personality. In this play， Shakespeare does not adhere to the principle of common play in which good is rewarded with good and evil with evil， but ends the play with the woeful death of Cordelia and Lear.

In my opinion， this can be explained under the Christian dimension. As the symbol of goodness and virtue， Cordelia resembles Jesus in some way. Jesus wants to save people， but he is crucified on the cross. Cordelia strives to save King Lear， and she is hanged likewise. Both of them are noble and selfless. In Christians perspective， her death is not a tragic ending but “the satisfactory spiritual redemption which surpasses the corporeal destruction” （Wang 2）. Cordelias life is consistent with the Christian mode： suffering， death and revive. She has gone through many difficulties and dies in the end， but her spirit lives on in peoples hearts.

The death of Cordelia and the death of her sisters are of totally different implication. The death of her sisters shows Shakespeares negative attitude towards seeking for individual interests. In the society with disorder and fallen morality， Shakespeare calls for love and kindness by giving Cordelia a seemingly unfair ending. Hence， the death of virtue and villain reflect Shakespeares support of “the pursuit of spiritual existence rather than worldly pleasure （Wang 2）.” We cannot regard Cordelias death as a merely a tragedy， it also means the immortality of her valuable spirit.

In conclusion， Cordelia is an ideal positive character in King Lear. She unswervingly sticks to her principle of telling the truth and shows her love to King Lear by action. Her death in the last scene represents self-redemption as well as the revival of her spirit in peoples hearts.

【Works Cited】

[1] Shakespeare， William. King Lear （bilingual）. Trans. Liang Shiqiu. Taipei： Far East Book Company， 1976.

[2] Zhang， Wenying. “The Words and Meaning of King Lear.” Diss. Jinlin University， 2007.

[3] Wang， Wenzhe. “The Implication of Death in King Lear.” Diss. Zhejiang University. 2012.