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“into her womb convey sterility” - king lear “cursing” Goneril.

Critical interpretation- “suggests lears break down when he refuses to accept that he is independent of his daughters” - Kahn

gives ideas of:
• Lear’s inability to respect his daughters and their role to play in society.
• Takes away an important role/part in a woman’s role in fulfilling her purpose.
• presents the role of women in the Jacobean period

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1. Goneril being shocking to Jacobean audiences due to her defiance of her father in “I will not speak with him”. Imperatives create implications of her being stubborn, strong minded. Link to context of her defying the great chain of being as well as traditional female Jacobean standards where submission is desired. Also comment on the fact Act 1, Scene 3 starts en media res, heightens the stress of the atmosphere and implicitly reminds audiences of her acting in haste, comparable to her father. Critical Interp: “Where she inspires shock and perhaps outrage from traditional audiences, Goneril’s character finds compassion and even sympathy from modern viewers under Lear’s continuous tirade against the women of the play”.
2. Evidence critical interpretation via Goneril’s monologue on scene 4; “men so disordered, deboshed, and bold”. Repetition and charged plosives intensify her authority and her standing up to Lear, hence modern audiences could view her actions as courageous. This pathos is further emphasised by Lear’s callous and cruel term of “degenerate bastard”. Context of “bastard” as something seen as immoral at the time, and didn’t adhere to social norms, his referral to his daughter as a bastard is akin to him disowning her as property, just like Cordelia.
3. Cordelia presents a contrasting depiction of women in King Lear, with her character instead representing the ideal Jacobean woman, who obeys social conventions while also paradoxically representing a beacon of morality and truth. Her choice to “love and be silent” is done aside as to let audiences into her thought process, this develops a closeness that allows us to harbour sympathy for her, and is an example of dramatic irony as audiences are aware Lear will not react with favour. Despite her honesty, she is downcast bu her father and it is declared “her price has fallen”, indicating how at the time women were valued for being docile and obedient to men under the patriarchal societal structures. However, this also leads medieval and modern audiences alike to root for and respect Cordelia for showing loyalty and remaining dignified in the face of moral injustice. However some critics have argued that “though her quest for the moral high-ground is admirable for some, it highlights to audiences she ultimately lacks the cunning intelligence to better her situation that her sisters possess, and thus leaves her responsible for the conflict”.

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“since that respect and fortunes are his love, i shall not be his wife” - cordelia

Critical interpretation- “Cordelia herself is far from perfect and fully involved in the tragedy” - Barbara Everett

gives idea of:
• How unmoral this character is as she is going against societal norms for the time (Jacobean women - context)
• Marriage was not for love but for money in the Jacobean society
• As a princess, or an heir to Lear’s throne. The audience would expect her to marry for the kingdom and not for “his love” that she so desperately describes.

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“men are so disordered, so debauched and bold” - Goneril

Critical interpretation to follow = “this insubordinate of female characters result in chaos, it threatens the balance of power within family. Women with opinions frightening men” - Kathleen Mcluskie

gives idea of:
• Goneril presenting the attitude of a man
• Standing up against her father ( audience disgusted by her anger at her father and suggesting that he is these things)

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In act 4, Goneril is setting clear boundaries with Lear and his position in her life, and yet Lear is too self-absorbed and egotistical to realise. Her anger at him is a mirror image of Lear's anger toward other people (Cordelia, Kent). However because Goneril is not a male during this period, she has no right to emotions such as anger, as a woman would only be expected to be docile and occasionally sad, never angry. Her character shows a woman attempting to take control of her situation the only way she is able and as she attempts to put men in their positions.

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Shakespeare has characterise Cordelia as a character of morality, truth and reasoning. She is aware of her father’s dishonesty and refuses to partake in this rivalry he is trying to create between his daughters. It was seen as completely reasonable for Lear to act in this way at the time due to Cordelia behaviour but in modern times perhaps we would say that it was negative the way he values himself over women. The audience would have been shocked by her disobeying her father viewing it as aggressive and a threat - women were expected to value men and their fathers above themselves, pandering to them and not challenging

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Lear comes to recognise that Goneril is behaving as a mirror image of himself in her arbitrary exercise of authority.

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The two eldest sisters are characterised as ruthlessly power hungry and being self-motivated to achieve their goals of money and title. Regan and Goneril are the opposite of their sister Cordelia as they act the opposite of what is expected of a woman at this time as the power-dynamic swaps within the love test as Goneril and Regan manipulate their way into power. Goneril states that Lear is “dearer than eye sight” and Regan says that “only she comes too short” which connotes to the competitiveness between the sister and how despite them presenting a united front against Lear they can only trust themselves as they will connive against eachother.
Critics have stated that as long as “Lear holds onto some power Regan and Goneril will never be truly safe in theirs” which depicts the sisters desire for control due to them feeling a lack of safety in their status

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If daughters of the King then were expected to show above all obedience, and express themselves to their fathers in a styles not unlike that of Goneril and Reagan, the behaviour of Cordelia in the opening scene may have appeared outrageous to a Jacobean audience

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Everyone seems to know that Cordelia is Lear’s favourite, and her stance of confrontation in saying ‘Nothing , my lord’ to the King might well have seemed astonishing to a Jacobean audience

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In Elizabethan times women belonged to their fathers (or their brothers if their father died), and then to their husbands. Women could not own property of their own.
Which is why it was a shock to the audience to see the women in the play own what was once Lear's before he has passed, and have authority over both their father and their husbands.

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Cordelia is portrayed to be a noble and honest character within the play and arguably the one who is most respected due to being the stereotypical Elizabethan woman at this time as she gives off the impression of being innocent, pure and youthful. This idea can be presented when Lear states he “loved her most” which is because she is the most subservient to him and other men in the play than her sisters which emphasises how her silence is admired and wanted within the kingdom .
Critics such as Jameson suggest that Cordelia can be “pronounced altogether perfect” which is another reflection of how she fits this idealistic idea of what a woman should be.

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Kathleen McCluskie states that the audience is forced to agree that evil women (Goneril and Regan) create a chaotic world, and must be resisted. The feminine must either be made to submit (Cordelia) or destroyed (Goneril and Regan).

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In Act 1, Scene 4, Goneril is in conflict with Lear and states he "would not scape censure". She is threatening punishment to Lear which shows their reversed power dynamic. This quotation is an example of her aggressive behaviour as she threatens Lear.

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Shakespeare has characterised Goneril and Regan as aggressive women which was a shock towards the audience as women were not supposed to be perceived that way in that time. Men were supposed to be the authoritative and aggressive leaders so it was a shock for audiences in that time to see a women characterised that way.