Oh, the feeling. I would love to say I don’t know what it feels like. I think everyone is subject to this kind of rejection at some point in time. It is, indeed, the deepest hurt one can experience next to the death of a loved one. It strips one of any honor they have, takes away all self-confidence… it throws you to the ground and pins you there. You cannot think straight, and everything is more difficult than it was before the rejection or betrayal. It literally takes the life out of a person. Perhaps the worst part is trying to figure out how to deal with these emotions. To contain them drains the rest of the emotional energy one has, so that almost any negative stimulus or question will cause a person to break down. Been there, done that.
If let go far enough, these emotions can drive a person to insanity. Unfortunately, Lear falls victim to this trap. To be betrayed by one’s own family members, much less one’s children, is so painful that it forces a person into another reality because they must escape their own. Through all of this, Lear begins to show his compassionate side, trying to do for others what he has been denied by Regan and Goneril. Gloucester somehow maintains his sanity (at least up to this point) through Edmund’s betrayal. I don’t know how he will do now that Cornwall has taken out his eyes… this may very well result in insanity. Edgar is in the same position as his father, and can do nothing to stop the process. He is trapped by Edmund’s cunning, but still tries to find a way around the problem. Cordelia parallels Edgar, in the fact that neither has done anything heinous and yet, both have been disowned by their fathers. I know how betrayal and rejection feel from those that I love, but I cannot imagine the incredible pain that comes from betrayal of a family member.
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