Blindness in King Lear

Blindness is defined as the inability of the eye to see. In Shakespearean terms, blindness is not a physical quality, but a mental blemish. Blindness is the most prominent theme in King Lear. King Lear, Gloucester, and Albany are three main examples of this theme.  Blindness is the main cause of their wrong decisions making. They feel regret deeply after they had made such decisions.

1) King Lear

               At the first act, King Lear’s blindness makes him drive away his youngest daughter, 

Cordelia. The king wants to divide his kingdom to his three daughters through a test. He asks 

them to tell him how much they love him. Lear’s eldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, give

 their father flattering answers. The king was easily deceived by his two eldest daughters’ lies.

 But, he was unable to see his youngest and favorite daughter’s, reality of true love for him. 

As a result, he banished her from his kingdom with the following words: “........for we Have 

no such daughter, nor shall ever see That face of her again.  Therefore be gone Without our 

grace, our love, our benison.” 

               Because of his blindness he makes two wrong decisions. First, he is gullibility to 

his daughters’ fake love. Second, he banishes his youngest daughter who loves him from her

 bottom of heart. Ridiculously, he takes villains in and drives out the loyal.

            Because of King Lear’ blindness, he also banishes one of his loyal followers, Kent. He is a 

nobleman of the same rank as Gloucester who is loyal to King Lear. In contrast, Kent is 

able to see Cordelia’s true love for her father, and tries to protect her from her blind father’s

irrationality.

Kent spends most of the play pretends as a countryman, calling himself “Caius,” so that he can continue to serve Lear even after Lear banishes him. Lear’s inability to determine his servant’s, Caius, true identity proves once again how blind Lear actually is. After his two eldest daughters locked him out of the castle during a tremendous storm, he realized how wick they really are.

               Then, Lear realizes that Cordelia’s love for him is so great that she couldn’t express it into words.   

Unfortunately, his awareness of this fact is too late. His blindness costs Cordelia’s life and his life too.

               2) Gloucester

               Gloucester also suffers from the blindness.  Gloucester’s blindness prevents him to see the goodness 

of Edgar and the evil of Edmund.  Edgar is the good and loving son but Gloucester negates him.  Ironically,

 he wants to kill Edgar who later saves his life.  Gloucester’s blindness begins when Edmund convinces him

 by using a forge letter which is about Edgar is plotting to kill him.  

               Gloucester’s blindness also makes him to believe that Edmund, the actual evil, is the good son 

and prevents him from become aware of Edmund in pursuit of his earldom.  Finally, Gloucester realizes

 that Edgar saves his life that pretends as Poor Tom and loved him all the way.  He understands that Edmund

 is the one who plans to take over the earldom and he is the evil all along, not Edgar. 

               Gloucester’s famous line: “I stumbled when I saw” is an ironic.  He is mentally blind when he has 

his physical sight; he is mentally sober when he has physically blind.  Fortunately, the consequences of 

Gloucester’s blindness throughout the play are minimal.

               3) Albany

                 Albany is the husband of King Lear’s daughter, Goneril. Albany is good hearted. His discovers

 the evil of his partners quite late in the play. 

               Albany is another character suffering from the blindness, but luckily, he survives his battle.   

Albany’s blindness is purely a result of the love he has for Goneril.  Although he disagrees of Goneril’s actions,

 he would only leniently argue his case.  When Goneril forces Lear to reduce his army so that he could stay 

in their castle, Albany refuses and says: “I cannot be so partial, Goneril, To the great love I bear You -”

               Albany’s deep devotion to Goneril blinds him from the evil of her.  He is unable to discover the

 greedy and mean of Goneril after she flatters Lear with a bunch of lies and then kicks him out of the castle. 

This case shows us Albany’s love to Goneril.  Albany is also blind to the fact that Goneril is cheating him 

and trying to kill him. Fortunately, Edgar sobers up Albany’s blindness after Albany sees a note which 

outlining Goneril’s evil plans.  Finally, Albany recognizes his wife is a devil who he married to and relieves 

his emotions for once when he says: “O Goneril, You are not worth the dust which the rude wind Blows

 in your face!”  

               Unlike Lear and Gloucester, Albany doesn’t suffer much with the consequence of blindness.   

He not only survives in his battle, but he remains the ruler of what was once Lear’s kingdom.