Clouded Vision
...ying “Answer my life my judgment / thy youngest daughter does not love thee least” (I.i.153-154). Lear, however, only sees what is on the surface, and cannot understand the deeper intentions of the daughters’ speeches. Due to his narrow mindedness and clouded vision, Lear disowns his daughter Cordelia, by saying, “…we have no such daughter / nor shall ever see that face of hers again” (I.i.264-266). Lear cannot see far enough into the future to understand the consequences of this action. Ironically, he later discovers that Cordelia is the only daughter he wants to see, asking her to “forget and forgive” (IV.vii.85). By this time, he has finally started to gain some direction, and his vision is cleared, but it is too late for his life to be saved. His lack of precognition had condemned him from the beginning of this tragedy. When Lear is outraged by Cordelia, Kent tries to reason with Lear, who is too stubborn to remain open-minded. Lear responds to Kent’s opposition with, “Out of my sight!” to which Kent responds, “See better / Lear / and let me still remain” (I.i. 159-160). Here, Lear is saying he never wants to see Kent again, but he could never truly see him for who he was. Kent was only trying to do what was best for Lear, but Lear could not see that. Kent’s vision is not clouded, as is Lear’s, and Kent knows that he can remain near Lear as long as he is in disguise. Later, Lear’s vision is so superficial that the physical garments and simple disguise that Kent wears easily dupes Lear. Lear cannot see that the man who stands beside him and is now he servant is really Kent. He only learns of Kent’s noble and honest character just prior to his death, when his vision is cleared. By this time, however, it is too late for an honest relationship to be restored. Prior to Gloucester losing his eyes, his vision was very much like Lear’s. He could not see what was truly going on around him. Instead, he only saw what was presented to him on the surface by his bastard son Edmund. When Edmund showed Gloucester the letter that was supposedly from Edgar, it takes very little to convince Gloucester into believing what was writing and that it was Edgar who wrote it. As soon as Edmund mentions that Edgar could be plotting against him, Gloucester calls him an “Abhorred villain / unnatural / detested / brutish villain” (I.ii.81-81). Gloucester does not even stop to consider whether his son Edgar would do such a thing because he cannot see into Edgar’s character. At this point, Gloucester’s life is headed down a path of damnation similar to Lear’s because of a similar lack of insight. When Gloucester loses his physical sight, his vision actually clears, in that he can see what is going on around him. When Gloucester is captured by Cornwall, he provokes him to pluck out his eyes, “But I shall see. The winged vengeance overtake such children”, in which Cornwall replies, “See’t shalt thou never. Fellows, hold the chair. Upon these eye thine I’ll set foot” (III.vii.66-69). When Gloucester is saying this, he still lacks clear vision, and would never have seen vengeance taken upon Cornwall. When Cornwall plucks out Gloucester’s eyes, his vision becomes clear from this point on, and Gloucester later discovers that Cornwall was killed. Ironically, Gloucester does not see vengeance until after he is blinded. In this sense, Cornwall also suffers from clouded vision because his death is a direct result of his blinding of Gloucester, when a servant kills him. As a result, Gloucester is spared and his vision is cleared, while Cornwall is left a victim of his own faulty vision. From this point onwards, Gloucester learns to see clearly by using his heart to see instead of his eyes. It is evident that he realizes this when he says, “I have no way and therefore want no eyes; I stumbled wh...