Discuss the female characters as drawn in King Lear

King Lear had three daughters named -Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. Among the three daughters, Cordelia is a good figure. She is the youngest daughter of Lear. King Lear loves her so deeply. And the other two daughters are the carbon copy of each other. Goneril is the eldest daughter and Regan is the second daughter of Lear. Both of them are selfish and self-centred. So, at last Lear did not love Goneril and Regan at all. Now we will make a comparative study of the three daughters in King Lear and the female characters as drawn in king Lear.

Goneril is the eldest daughter of King Lear and wife of the Duke of Albany. She is a selfish figure in the tragedy King Lear. When her father called her to express the measure of her love for him, she exaggeratedly told her father that she loved her father more than anything in the world. She receives the half of the kingdom. It is decided that Lear will stay with his two elder daughters turn by turn for one month at a time keeping a hundred knights with him. But his daughter's behavior is so bitter and unbearable to him.

In accordance with the plan,lear begins to say with goneril keeping a hundred knights. But goneril is already fed up with her father and his knights.She world like to get rid of him. She encourages her steward Oswald and her other servants to take no notice of her father and his knights.In accordance with her instruction, Oswald becomes rude to Lear. Goneril complains to her father that his knights have been indulging in rowdy and undisciplined behavior. Lear is surprised by her attitude. He would not like to stay any longer with Goneril who has begun to find fault with him and his knights. He has decided to go and stay with his other daughter Regan.

Regan is the second daughter of King Lear and wife of the Duke of Cornwall. Under profession of unbounded love for her father she receives half of his kingdom. On all evil doings, she follows the lead of her sister Goneril. When Lear complains Regan about the ill- treatment of Goneril he had received the same behavior from Regan.Cordelia is the youngest daughter of king lear.Lear loves her deeply and dearly. Among his three daughters Cordelia is the most beloved to him. She also loves her old father most profoundly and without any alloy. But Lear disinherits her. The Duke of Burgundy and the King of France love Cordelia. But the Duke of Burgundy withdraws to marry her because her father already disinherits her.On the other hand, the King of France is impressed by her honesty and marries her.

However, Cordelia is also rational and argumentative. She has a very keen and acute sense of the distinction between right and wrong. She is also proud, courageous and has the keen sense of dignity. She is selfish and always worries about her father's welfare. She is trustful to her actions and behavior. Actually, at the end of the play, she becomes a tragic character. Actually Lear's three daughters represent three types of attitude. Though the two elder sisters have similarities to their attitudes and actions but the youngest daughter is exceptional to her attitudes and actions.