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Blindness is a physical state or condition of being unable to see, however, it can also be described mentally as a lack of perception, lack of awareness, or ignorance in judgment. In Shakespearean terms regarding this play, blindness is deemed as a mental flaw rather than a physical impairment. The most prominent theme in this play is the theme of blindness as it is the main cause of the downfall of prominent characters. King Lear, Albany, and Gloucester are the three prime examples of characters whose blindness was the primary cause of their poor judgment, leading to the decisions they would later regret.
To begin with, Lear was the king of Britain, and as a king, he was supposed to be a better judge of character and possess the ability to discern between right and wrong, however, his ignorance and lack of insight are seen in the first scene as he decides to divide his kingdom while still alive, saying: “Give me the map. Know that we have divided in three our kingdom and ‘tis our fast intent to shake all cares and business from our age conferring them on younger strengths” (1.1.37-42). He decides to relinquish control of his kingdom while still alive, which was his first mistake, however, deciding to split it three ways was his biggest mistake, as he did not even know his children well enough to understand the consequences of that action. Furthermore, he disowned Cordelia because she did not show him love in the way Regan and Gonreil did, but she told him the truth and indeed really loved him, Regan and Gonreil, on the other hand, lied because they knew what they wanted. This portrays his poor judgment skills and overall blindness to what is going on around him.
In addition, Gloucester was another character who suffered from the case of blindness in this play, his blindness caused him not to see the goodness of his biological son Edgar and the evil of Edmund his illegitimate son. Edmund set up Edgar by pretending to read a false letter in Gloucester’s presence. Gloucester then asked to read the letter, the contents of which spoke about a conspiracy of Edgar to kill Gloucester and take over from his father. After reading the contents of the letter Gloucester exclaimed: “O villain, villain! His very opinion in the letter! Abhorred villain! Unnatural villain! Brutish villain! Worse than brutish. Go sirrah, seek him. I’ll apprehend him. Abominable villain! Where is he?” (1.2.75-80). Gloucester becomes enraged upon reading this falsified letter, and due to his lack of better judgment, he did not know what his own son Edgar was capable of and had no interest in investigating it, thereby believing Edmund and sorted out to punish Edgar for a crime he had no knowledge of. This plays a huge role in his downfall, as Edmund was left to continue his plot, now taking over the kingdom that Edgar is entitled to leaving him on the run eventually, leading to Gloucester having his eyes plucked out by the Duke of Cornwall and his demise.
Lastly, Albany was another character who was also blind, his blindness was purely due to the love he had for his wife Gonreil. When Gonreil forced Lear to give up his knights and move from the castle, Albany disagreed with that decision, but he did not want to fight with his wife over it, because he loved her: “I cannot be so partial, Gonreil to the great love I bear you” (1.4.312-313). His love for Gonreil made him oblivious to her power-hungry, evil, and greedy nature, even though she just lied to her father, King Lear, right before Albany just because she wanted to kick him out of the castle and render him powerless, Albany ignores all the signs. He was also oblivious to Gonreils’ infidelity with Edmund, as well as her plot to kill him and take over from him. Eventually, he saw her for who she really was before it was too late, unlike Lear and Gloucester.
In conclusion, throughout ‘King Lear’, blindness is a significant and recurring theme. The inability of King Lear, Gloucester, and Albany to see the truth, even when it is staring them in the face, hinders them from making the right decisions. Lear and Gloucester shared similar fates as Lear could not see his two daughters, Regan and Gonreil were greedy, power-hungry, and truly did not love him, but rather disowned Cordelia who was honest, kind, and truly loved him. Gloucester also could not see that Edmund, his bastard son, was conniving and plotted against him and his legitimate son Edgar, but instead banishes Edgar without confirming the truth of the letter. This bad judgment of character leads to their downfall, as well as their demise. For Albany, although he was initially blind to Gonreils’ unfaithfulness, greed, and diabolical nature due to his love for her, with Edgar’s help he was able to see her for who she truly was and avoided the shared fate of Gloucester and kind Lear, making him the only one that survived his blindness before it was too late.
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