In Shakespearean terms, being blind means something entirely different than our common day view. Blindness can normally be defined as the inability of the eye to see, but according to Shakespeare, blindness is not a physical quality,but a mental flaw some people possess. In other words, its the ability to see life not from an openly logical point of view, but instead through their emotions and false pretenses that are the base of their societyShakespeares most dominanttheme in his play King Lear is that of blindness. King Lear,Gloucester, and Albany are three prime examples Shakespeareincorporates this theme into. Each of these characters blindness wasthe primary cause of the bad decisions they made; decisions which allof them would eventually come to regret.
The blindest bat of all was undoubtedly King Lear. Because ofLears high position in society, he was supposed to be able todistinguish the good from the bad; unfortunately, his lack of sightprevented him to do so. Lears first act of blindness came at thebeginning of the play. First, he was easily deceived by his two eldestdaughters lies, then, he was unable to see the reality of Cordeliastrue love for him, and as a result, banished her from his kingdom withthe following words: for weHave no such daughter, nor shall ever seeThat face of her again. Therefore be goneWithout our grace, our love, our benison.
Lears blindness also caused him to banish one of his loyal followers,Kent. Kent was able to see Cordelias true love for her father, andtried to protect her from her blind fathers irrationality. AfterKent was banished, he created a disguise for himself and waseventually hired by Lear as a servant. Lears inability to determinehis servants true identity proved once again how blind Lear actuallywas. As the play progressed, Lears eyesight reached closer to 20/20vision. He realized how wicked his two eldest daughters really wereafter they locked him out of the castle during a tremendous storm.
More importantly, Lear saw through Cordelias lack of flatterings andrealized that her love for him was so great that she couldnt expressit into words. Unfortunately, Lears blindness ended up costingCordelia her life and consequently the life of himself.
Gloucester was another example of a character who sufferedfrom an awful case of blindness. Gloucesters blindness denied him ofthe ability to see the goodness of Edgar and the evil of Edmund.
Although Edgar was the good and loving son, Gloucester all butdisowned him. He wanted to kill the son that would later save hislife. Gloucesters blindness began when Edmund convinced him by themeans of a forged letter that Edgar was plotting to kill him.
Gloucesters lack of sight caused him to believe Edmund was the goodson and prevented him from pondering the idea of Edmund being afterhis earldom. Near the end of the play, Gloucester finally regainedhis sight and realized that Edgar saved his life disguised as Poor Tomand loved him all along. He realized that Edmund planned to take overthe earldom and that he was the evil son of the two. Gloucestersfamous line: I stumbled when I saw wasironic. His inability to see the realities of his sons occurred whenhe had his physical sight but was mentally blind; but his ability tosee the true nature of his sons occurred after having his eyes pluckedout by the Duke of Cornwall. Fortunately, the consequences ofGloucesters blindness throughout the play was minimal, after all, hewas the only one to die as a result of his tragic flaw.
Albany was another character suffering from the classic caseof blindness, but luckily for him, he survived his battle. Albanyscase of blindness was purely a result of the love he had for Goneril.
Although he disapproved of Gonerils actions, he would only mildlyargue his case. When Goneril forced Lear to reduce his army so thathe could stay in their castle, Albany protested:I cannot be so partial, Goneril,To the great love I bear You -Albanys deep devotion to Goneril blinded him from the evil shepossessed. His inability to realize how greedy and mean Goneril wasafter she flattered Lear with a bunch of lies and then kicked him outof their home, just goes to show you how much Albany loved Goneril.
Albany was also blind to the fact that Goneril was cheating on him andthat she was plotting to kill him. Fortunately, Edgar came across acure for Albanys blindness. A note outlining Gonerils evil planswas all Albany needed to see. Finally, Albany recognized what a devilhe was married to and for once let out his emotions when he said:O Goneril,You are not worth the dust which the rude windBlows in your face!
Unlike Lear and Gloucester, Albany didnt suffer much during his boutwith blindness. Not only did he survive his battle, but he lived toremain the ruler of what was once Lears kingdom.
