A Man More Mentally Blind Than Mad

Like in Oedipus, blindness is a major motif found in King Lear. The most poignant example of this blindness is Gloucester. At the beginning of the play, Gloucester is blind to the deceiving ways of his illegitimate son, Edmund. He fails to recognize Edmund’s manipulation of him in his devious plot in pursuit of power. Then, Gloucester is literally blinded. Ironically enough, this physically blinding is a result of his “blindness” to Edmund’s plan. Gloucester’s other son, Edgar, helps Gloucester to “regain his sight” when he stages a suicide. This “suicide” provides Gloucester with a new view of his world, even if he is unable to physically see what is around him. King Lear is another victim to blindness. When Cordelia refuses to outwardly proclaim her love for her father in order to earn a part of his kingdom, Lear is blinded by her true intentions. Cordelia says, “Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth.” King Lear interprets her words to say that she does not love him. Lear is blinded by his pride. For a long time, the King has always had power and pride at his fingertips. Since he now must hand his power over to his daughters, Lear is attempting to preserve what he has left, which is his pride. In order to maintain his pride, he needs reaffirmation of his daughters’ love for him. He is blinded by the true meaning of Cordelia’s actions. King Lear is also blind to the state of his kingdom. The storm scene is the first time where he truly sees the conditions his subjects are enduring . This scene is the first time that Lear genuinely reflects on his actions as King and accepts the truth. In a sense, each character apart of this play is blind to something. In turn, they all have misconceived notions of “the truth”.