I'm finished! I just put the finishing touches on my Lear essay. Thanks to Mom for editing and giving comments. Thanks to Jared for supporting me as I wrote until 9:30 on Saturday night.
King Lear: A Levinasian Approach
Emanuel Levinas was born and did all of his philosophical work during the nineteen hundreds. King Lear, written by William Shakespeare, was first printed in 1608. Despite being written three hundred years before Levinas’ time, King Lear has a surprising number of connections to Levinasian thought. The central part of Levinas’ philosophy is the concept of the Other and our responsibility to the Other. Levinas tells us that the call of this responsibility is what enables us to be, ourselves, individual. Hearing that call is what makes us individuals, however, we each have the freedom to choose to ignore that call or accept it. King Lear demonstrates this idea, through its characters and their development, or non-development. Some accept their responsibility; others start by refusing responsibility and never accept it.
The first three characters we meet in this play represent a range of acceptance and rejection of the previously mentioned call. Kent stands the highest in his acceptance of it, Gloucester slightly less so, and it is quickly demonstrated that Edmund almost refuses the call entirely. As we meet the rest of the cast we find more on both ends of the spectrum. Cordelia stands with Kent, but her sisters, Goneril and Regan never accept their responsibility to the Other. Their husbands stand on opposite sides of the divide as well. Cornwall is with his wife, Regan, and seeks only for personal power. Goneril’s husband, Albany, stands with Gloucester and, although at first it looks like he doesn’t accept his responsibility, by the end of the play he makes it clear that he takes his responsibility to the Other seriously. Edgar is also on the accepting end and the Fool stands with Kent and Cordelia. King Lear, himself, is by far the most intriguing and erratic character of them all.
Kent is one of those who appear to most fully accept responsibility for the Other. Part of the responsibility that Levinas describes is the responsibility to help the Other fulfill their responsibility. Kent is outspoken in his desire to help others do the right thing (be responsible for them). First he comes right out and tells King Lear that he is wrong to send Cordelia away. In act 1 scene 1 line 168 he says, “I tell thee, thou does evil.” As a consequence Lear banishes him. Then he charges Regan and Goneril to follow through on their professions of love to Lear. Act 1 scene 1 line 186-187 say, “and your large speeches [professions of love] may your deeds approve.” He then leaves, but just three scenes later he is back in disguise. Kent remains with the King for the rest of the play, helping and serving him as much as he can. Kent epitomizes taking responsibility for the Other.
Gloucester is less consistent in his acceptance of responsibility for the Other. He starts out with a strong sense of responsibility for the Other. He demonstrates this when he tries to convince Cornwall not to put Kent in the stocks, and when he helps the King, against Cornwall’s direct order. His sense of responsibility diminishes after Cornwall puts his eyes out, although it doesn’t appear to fail completely. According to Levinas seeing the face of the Other is what calls us to responsibility for them. When Gloucester meets the King after his eyes are put out, Lear mentions that he has no eyes and thus cannot read the letter Lear hands to him. Gloucester says, “I see it feelingly.” (4.6 line 151). The footnotes suggest that “feelingly” can mean by touch or by feeling pain or emotions. Even without his sight, Gloucester demonstrates an acceptance of the responsibility toward the Other, although it is not as strong as Kent’s.
Edmund is one of the main characters who refuse to accept responsibility for the Other. He is the first character that we can clearly see ignoring his responsibility to the Other. He uses everyone around him to get power for himself regardless of how it affects them. During scene 2 we hear him plan how he can depose his brother and take his place as the heir. Act 1 scene 2 lines 20-21 say, “[if] my invention [plan] thrives. Edmund the base shall top the legitimate.” As the play continues he also aids in the downfall of his father, Gloucester. It is not until the very end of the play, after Edgar and he duel and he is dying, that he accepts a marginal portion of responsibility for the Other by telling Kent, Albany, and Edgar that they need to go save Cordelia and King Lear.
As I said before, King Lear is the most intriguing and erratic character in the play. At the beginning of the play he appears to have a strong sense of responsibility for the Other. He wants to provide for his daughters (the Other). However, because he gets angry he shirks his responsibility to his daughter Cordelia by sending her away, and his responsibility to Kent by banishing him. Also, in trying to give to the Other, his daughters, he made a mistake. His incorrect attitude is clear in act 1 scene 1 lines 40-41; “’tis our fast intent to shake all cares and business from our age.” Instead of making them his responsibility he gave them his responsibility. He no longer had enough power to keep them responsible. This is clear throughout the play as his daughters are increasingly disrespectful of him and eventually try to kill him. The first example of this is when Goneril tells her servant how to treat King Lear. Act 1 scene 3 line 13 says, “Put on what weary negligence you please.” Finally King Lear goes mad. This may be connected with his diminished ability to have responsibility to the Other. Without that responsibility to the Other he could no longer be a self.
King Lear was written three hundred years before Levinas put all of these philosophies into words; Shakespeare was writing a Drama, not a philosophical work. However, the characters in this play, especially King Lear, illustrate the importance of hearing the call and accepting responsibility to the Other.
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