In my Shakespeare class we were tasked to do a case study which included annotated bibliographies, journals, outlines, and micro themes before we compiled all our work into case study. In addition, we had to make a 7 minute poster presentation in the standard style of the Celebration of Scholarship  posters. This was my first major project which involved months of research and development. 

Michael Cotter

Dr. Walts

Final Case Study

December 4^th, 2014

Father & Son

Understanding The Relationship Between Edgar & Gloucester in King Lear

            King Lear is a play that covers a lot of social aspects from bastard children and revenge to insanity and depression. An aspect that I was drawn to was that of the emotions behind the characters in the play. A scene in particular that resonated with me was that of Gloucester’s suicide attempt with Edgar. In this scene, a reader can take it in two ways: one being that of a bitter son playing a trick on his blind father in a moment of weakness or that of a son trying to help his father understand that his life is far more precious than he understands at this moment. Being that Edgar is the good son in the play, I’d argue the latter and in such I want to look at the overall relationship between the father and son leading up to this moment and the suicide scene itself.

            In the beginning of the play, Edgar and Edmund’s relationship is already exposed as that of an unhealthy and cunning relationship controlled primarily by the trust that Edgar puts into his brother (or half brother)’s word. In act one scene two, Edmund has already set his trap to frame Edgar for the letter he wrote to himself where allegations of an overthrow and murder of the Duke of Cornwall are proposed. Here, Edmund is in control of the situation, telling Gloucester that Edgar is plotting against him and telling Edgar that someone has set him up and that he better lay low thus making him look guilty in the eyes of Gloucester. This scene is interesting because it’s done in the form of a forged letter that is given to Gloucester by Edmund framing Edgar. In the scene, Gloucester reads the letter and has to verify that the penmanship is that of Edgar. Due to it actually being written by Edmund and for the purpose of forwarding his plot, he lies and says that the handwriting matches that of his brothers. This is an interesting aspect to analyze because it plays with the idea of being deceived by one’s eyes. A moment of disbelief often is validated through a second party that shares the moment with you and in this moment Gloucester has a dishonest second party that blinds his truth and forces him to see lies. Edmund goes on to celebrate the impending victory he sees in his future stating: “A credulous father and a brother noble whose nature is so far from doing harms, that he suspects none; on whose foolish honesty my practices ride easy” (1.2.183-186). It’s interesting to note that Edmund refers to his brother as “noble” in this speech. Similar to Chaucerian Irony or a backhanded compliment, Edmund suggests that being noble could literally refer to his brother’s social class or to his honest nature, which he later calls “foolish” and credits to allowing his plans to unfold easily.

            Unfortunately for Edmund, he did not take into account the dedication Edgar has to his father. Edgar leaves, temporarily to hide (and grow a beard) and returns into the story with King Lear. During his absence, Edgar begins to understand that his identity is doing him more harm than good, so much so that he wants to disguise himself as a lowly beggar in “basest and more poorest shape” (2.3.7). Edgar’s argument towards cutting ties with his true identity is because being Poor Tom allows him to still be close to his father, whereas “Edgar I nothing am” (21). This scene is pivotal when looking into Edgar’s character because it is his only solo scene in the play. This is where Edgar gets to be himself, unfiltered and expresses his true feelings to the audience and shares his plans of how he will win his way back to his father. In disguising himself as “Poor Tom,” Edgar adopts a character that is completely opposite of himself to throw off any suspicion that may arise. He also devises a plan to act as crazy and mentally unstable as real beggars. This validates for the audience that later in the play when he seemingly lost his mind, he is merely acting to maintain his character. Taking on the form of a beggar is also interesting being that Edgar is a nobleman. This demotion in social status suggests that Edgar is willing to sacrifice his social standing for his father by being a lowly beggar. Further, Edgar goes on to mention that beggars often have “strike in their numb’d and mortified bare arms pins, wooden pricks, nails, springs of rosemary” (15-16). This visual demonstrates self-inflicted harm, which alludes to punishing oneself for believing they have done something wrong. This could suggest a mental illness or severe devotion to the love and honor of his father.

            Shortly after gaining access to Lear’s party, Edgar begins to realize how much he misses his father and how Lear’s accelerating insanity is completely tragic. Once seeing that a person “who alone suffers suffers most [in the] mind” provides perspective for his own suffering of abandoning his family (3.6.104). Edgar goes on to see that his sorrow is nothing compared to the insanity that plagues Lear; “how light and portable my pain seems now” (108). When Edgar sees exactly how fragile of a state Lear has gone into, he almost begins to cry. He says “my tears begin to take his part so much they mar my counterfeiting” (59-60). By showing his emotions and sympathizing with Lear’s madness his cover would be blown and all hopes of reuniting with his father would be gone too. In a sense, Edgar had to shut of his humanity to work his way back into the kingdom of his father, but he also knows that by staying around Lear would be too much of an emotional toll so he leaves and continues to live near the kingdom still as a “poor Tom.”

            What occurs next is probably the most important development for the relationship between Gloucester and Edgar: Gloucester is blinded. This is very complex. “Loss of sight, loss of power, induced physical helplessness, and violation of his body are the motifs of the transformation that Gloucester undergoes” (Pierce). By blinding someone, you are taking away their primary sense, however all the other senses are heightened. Additionally, blindness is equated back to in the New Testament where Jesus heals the blind man. This idea of blinding connotes to opening oneself up to being saved or healed or lead; similarly to how Jesus lead his people, Edgar will now physically lead his father acting as his eyes. By this biblical concept, by accepting blindness one is no longer truly blind, but can see by the love of another. Keeping this concept, “this malicious taunt by Regan begins the process of enlightenment in Gloucester, of perceiving the truth in the moment of his blinding, as Shakespeare exploits the conventional paradox of internal sight in the blind. Now Gloucester sees his two sons for what they are” (Pierce).

            Further, blinding Gloucester is much more than an act of malice; this act is symbolic for disabling justice – “by conflating the physical actuality of blinding with its symbolic meaning.” This idea of “blind justice” comes into play, which is interesting being that it is an image used today. Lady justice is depicted as being blindfolded in order to remain unbiased. Through her veil, the scales of justice are to be balanced and kept impartial to any one side in order to properly enforce the laws in place. According to the article “I Stumbled When I Saw,” “by depriving Gloucester of physical sight, [Cornwall] claims to annihilate the very possibility of natural justice-he images justice, not as impartially blind, but as incapacitated by being blinded” (Pierce).

Additionally with Gloucester being blinded specifically, this makes the letter he read earlier seem obsolete. In act one scene two, he asks Edmund if the letter that is supposedly written by Edgar is in his handwriting. Gloucester is unfamiliar with the physical view of his son’s handwriting, which is perceived visually, and has to rely on his son for truth – unfortunately, he relies on the wrong son. This enforces the idea of father/son dependency is seen again in the suicide scene between Edgar and Gloucester after he’s been blinded. By removing sight, the reader is eluded to Gloucester being blinded by lies as well as saved from having to look upon them.

After Gloucester has been blinded and is being lead by his guide, they come across “Poor Tom.” In this moment Edgar sees his father’s wounded eyes and understands that his father is suffering and since he has already been told by his old man guide that the man before him is “Poor Tom,” Edgar feels he cannot tell his father who he is simply stating aside: “I cannot daub it further” (4.1.51). Gloucester here also dismisses his guide saying that “I have no way and therefore want no eyes” and that he desperately misses Edgar and lives for the day he can be with him again saying that day will be so special that through Edgar’s touch he’ll feel like he can see again (18-24). This concept of physical touch is critical, according to Paul Alphers, because “the point and force of the scene lie in the reality attributed to the actual relations between men, and in the awesome sense we have that a bond of love depends on physical wholeness, presence, and contact. Gloucester’s moral recognition must involve a recognition about Edgar as Edgar—a real person and a real son, not merely the embodiment of a virtue or an abstract truth ” (McCoy).

Another interesting aspect of this scene is the simple fact that he dismisses his guide for “Poor Tom.” He misses Edgar so much that he dismisses his credible and trustworthy guide for this Poor Tom character he met and believes to be insane simply because Poor Tom reminded him so much of Edgar when he saw him with Lear. This also attributes to his character’s craving for his son because “it is indecorous for a duke to be led by a pauper, but of course a blind man can never have human agency; he can only be the passive recipient of leading by someone sighted. Gloucester himself voices the traditional juxtaposition of inner and outer blindness in his position, guiding our interpretation by his own [words]” (Pierce). This scene really showed the bond between Edgar and Gloucester and the emotional devotion they have to one another. Both must sacrifice for the other – which is arguably the definition of love. Edgar must not reveal himself to his father in fear of overwhelming or confusing him where as Gloucester sacrifices his own safety, being that he dismissed his trusty guide for the companionship of this “Poor Tom” figure. Gloucester not only risks his safety, he also sacrifices his social standing being that he is a noble figure he should not be seen with someone lowly like a “Poor Tom” but does so anyway for the feeling they both have from being around one another.

            Finally, the pivotal scene between Edgar and Gloucester is in act four scene six when Gloucester wants to commit suicide. Here, Edgar takes a risk and lies to Gloucester about his fall saying it was far more intense than it was. By doing this Edgar is giving his father a beautiful gift: the awareness of life.  By providing perspective for his father and telling him that he was not meant to die he makes Gloucester believe his life is a miracle. This is a risky decision because people who attempt suicide usually continue their attempts until they succeed, but by putting his father’s life in the same realm as miracles, Gloucester should feel gifted by his life and accept that it will end when it’s meant to end rather than when he wants it to. This idea of providing such an awareness of life is one of the most sound arguments, and possible solutions, for helping people with mental illnesses, like depression or borderline personality disorder, out there. This also reflects back to the mental illness aspect of the play. Lear’s insanity, Gloucester’s depression and suicide attempts, as well as the self-harm demonstrated by Edgar, there is a lot of psychological torture happening. The suicide scene pushes the idea that not every battle is fought externally, but rather, some of the most difficult and sinister battles are fought with the self internally. The idea that Gloucester’s suicide is put in the perspective of miracles is interesting because it is mirrored today. Many people who suffer great anxieties, mental illnesses, or personal demons often turn to a faith or a God to help them endure their struggle or after they have over come their struggle. The idea of miracles is shown in similar cases to Gloucester’s by overcoming unforeseen battles or persevering through seemingly impossible struggles. These can seem to be miracles in their own sense. This idea of providing worldly perspective is highlighted in the scene with Gloucester and Edgar. When Gloucester falls and Edgar then comes to his side saying he fell very far down, “ten masts at each make not the altitude,” he says to Gloucester that is was his purpose to live (4.6.53). “Thy life’s a miracle” (55).

Eventually, in a great father and son moment that occurs off stage, we hear from Edgar that his father truly missed his son and told that to the “Poor Tom” who took care of his wounded eyes. Due to this happening off stage, Edgar is coming forward in act five scene three and telling the tale to Edmund. In his last moments with his father before he died, there was the reconnect and recognition. Gloucester would have felt his son’s touch again and would feel like he could finally see the world again which is a beautiful concept. “When Edgar does finally reveal himself he does so offstage, and thus our experience of their climactic moment of truth precludes those essential components of a genuine relationship… At long last, the errant father and loyal son are reunited and can truly recognize one another for who they are ” (McCoy). The audience hears that the moment was beautiful so much so that “but his flawed heart - alack, too weak the conflict to support- twixt tow extremes of passion, joy, and grief, burst smilingly” (5.3.200-204). “Gloucester’s death is profoundly ambiguous. From one perspective, it is pain- fully ironic since death prevents a complete reconciliation and full benefaction. From another point of view, it is a poignant but ‘good’ death, permitting a kind of emotional and moral equilibrium” (McCoy). This moment before Gloucester’s heart attack was meant to be a private moment between father and son which is why it was staged away from the audience’s view.

The bond between the father and his good son is the pinnacle demonstration of devotion, respect, and love. Through the rockiness and tempers risen by Edmund, in the end the true understanding and bond is shown when Edgar is there for his father in his hour of need. This shows Edgar not only acted as a friend but as a hero who gave Gloucester perspective on life again proving that “rock bottom” is only as low as you think it is and that there are always people around you who will throw you a rope to help pull you out.

Works Cited

McCoy, Richard C. ""Look upon Me, Sir": Relationships in King Lear."

Representations.81 (2003): 46-60. ProQuest. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

Pierce, Robert B. ""I STUMBLED WHEN I SAW": INTERPRETING GLOUCESTER'S

BLINDNESS IN KING LEAR." Philosophy and Literature 36.1 (2012): 153-65. ProQuest. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

Shakespeare, William, and David M. Bevington. "King Lear." The Necessar

Shakespeare. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. 662-709. Print.