Lear Reflective Blog Post

Recently in my English class, the topic of the dichotomy between King Lear and Edmund was presented.  The topic proposed that Lear and Edmund were polar opposites; like fire to water.  Lear was presented as a lovable, caring man who brought about his downfall - despite his kind disposition.  Edmund was shown in a much harsher light.  Cold, bitter, and utterly remorseful, Edmund was displayed as the South to Lear's North.  Now I do not entirely agree with these statements.  Albeit, they do have some truth to them.  Edmund is considerably bitter towards his father, brother, and society's social norms in general.  Lear, conversely, is much more emotional and well liked by his underlings.  However I do not agree with the statement that the two are polar opposites.  In fact they share one major factor in common: they are both pitiful.  Yes, throughout the story all I felt for the both of them was pity.  Lear - who ultimately destroyed himself -  was too caught up in appearances to recognize the deceit in his daughters' words.  Edmund, however, was caught up in justice.  All he wanted was to be rightfully recognized as the son of a nobleman, regardless of his parents' martial statuses.  He wanted a better life for himself, something everyone world wide can relate too.  Both were caught up in circumstances they themselves weren't prepared for.  They also were not entirely at fault for their problems.  Lear was greatly manipulated by Regan and Goneril, who made his life a living hell.  Edmund did trick his father and betray his brother, but he was not prepared for Cornwall's brutality or his father's torture.  Towards the end of the play as well, Edmund was caught up between Regan and Goneril's fight and did not mean to cause their deaths.  However he was entirely responsible for the death of Cordelia and indirectly, to Lear's own death.  Now there was a claim made that Lear was lovable in the piece that was read in class.  I could not disagree more with this.  I saw Lear as nothing more than a baby with gray hair.  Because the one thing he truly loved in this world was honest with him he threw a hissy fit.  In fact his tantrum was no different from the ones my sister makes when my mother tells her that she cannot go shoe shopping.  He didn't get what he wanted, so he got angry and made everyone else pay.  That's not lovable, that's pathetic.  While he was dearly loved by both Kent and Cordelia, I saw no reason to love the deluded, pathetic protagonist of this story.  All I saw was the corruption of appearances and another example of arrogance leading to the demise of one society proclaimed to be "great."  No Edmund was not evil, bitter yes, but not evil.  No Lear was not good, loved yes, not good. I felt that both were given labels that didn't truly match their personalities.  Had they statement called them sad of pitiful, this reflection would have taken an entirely different tone.