Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Reading King Lear, I found that one could very easily read it through a feminist’s eyes and find much to comment about. First of all, Lear is, quite literally, the King of the castle, the master of his domain. His is a patriarchal kingdom and he is at the top of it. This image of a dominating man ruling over all is very familiar in literature (the elders in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart for example) and his placing value upon his daughters based on their affection for him is typical of how women were regarded in the course of such stories. A feminist reader would also point out how the girls were portrayed in two stereotypical ways. First is the infamous image of the femme fatale, the woman who uses her charm and sexuality to get what she wants, no matter what the cost. Regan and Goneril are the femme fatales of the story. They manipulatively toy with their father’s little vanity and basically seduce him, telling him how much they love and cherish him, until he hands over their share of the kingdom. Cordelia is the polar opposite. One could argue that, by refusing to take part in her sister’s conniving games, she is at a higher level, closer to the ideals of feminism. But, when her father cuts her off from her rightful portion, she just accepts it and backs down from him like a meek child. She just shies away from his critical remarks of her, not standing up for herself. She is still tied down by the patriarchy.

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