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Stereotypes In Shakespeare's King Lear

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François de la Rochefoucauld, a distinguished moralist famously said: “We get so much in the habit of wearing disguises before others that we finally appear disguised before ourselves”. When individuals conform to societal expectations and beliefs, they may lose touch with their individual humanity and have difficulty growing as a person. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, Gloucester and Lear are aging characters that try to pass on their power to their offspring. Both Gloucester and Lear make initial mistakes in assessing their children’s intentions and lead themselves into committing actions based on false perceptions. Their misjudgments lead to them being betrayed by their children, whom they had placed their trust in, resulting in them having …show more content…

He connects his own hardships to the struggles that his subjects face daily, and develops empathy for them. He recognizes that he has neglected to help the poor citizens in his kingdom, and has even contributed to their dire state. Initially, he was focused on seeking validation and recognition, but as he reflects on his actions, his thoughts turn to compassion for each individual. Eventually, he renounces his past behavior, showing that he has grown in his character. Gloucester also has a similar reckoning through reflecting on his past actions. Shortly following the removal of his eyes, Gloucester flees the kingdom and meets Edgar disguised as a homeless beggar. Subsequently, Edgar points out Gloucester needs help from others because he physically can not see where he is going. Gloucester lampshades this fact when he says, "I have no way, and therefore want no eyes; I stumbled when I saw” (4.1.18-19). When Gloucester had his vision, he was unable to recognize the true intentions of his children; he acknowledges that he took no personal agency over his own life by following the wrong path. He embraces the loss of his vision because he is taught humility, facing the physical consequences for his overconfidence on arbitrary systems of faith. Through this, he finds atonement by understanding that his previous reliance on his eyes, and by extension superstition, was a flaw. He is now willing to let go and gain a new perspective to gain a deeper understanding of

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Once he was watching the documentary with the blind man, the narrator started to actually take an insight on how he views things. After the blind man asks the narrator to close his eyes before he started to draw, and once he was done the man asked, “Take a look. What do you think…Are you looking” (Para. 132) The narrator didn’t believe to open his eyes, so he kept them closed, “It’s really something.” (Para. 136) Since finally understanding the feel of the blind, the narrator only repercussion would be the guilt he would have for the original beliefs he had on them.

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In the story, the narrator’s narrow mindset is challenged over and over again as Robert breaks most stereotypes that the narrator held. As these stereotypes are broken, the narrator begins to feel more comfortable with Robert, and sincerely tells him that he is “glad for the company”. This release from prejudice culminates in the cathedral drawing scene of the story, where the narrator finally lets go of his bias towards blind people. Once the narrator closes his eyes, he is seemingly equal to Robert, and he consequently begins to understand Robert’s perspective. His newfound empathy towards Robert demonstrates how he has lost his prejudice towards him.

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