"The Storm" within Storms of King Lear

Back to King Lear... Finally I have made some ground in this play. I fought through Act 2 and Act 3 to find something that brought the story full circle for me, maybe an interesting twist or a development of some sort because I was getting lost in the language. There is a scene within Act 3 that really helps me in showing the development of King Lear as a person. By this time in the story King Lear is really struggling to hold on to his sanity. He is outside during a storm with his “Fool” and Edgar who is dressed as Tom O’Bedlam. King Lear is analyzing what is going on with the man before him “… poor naked wretches, wheresoever you are… that bide the pelting of this pitiless storm…” The King sees a man who is naked standing in front of him and he is praying, asking whoever caused this man before him to experience such nakedness in the presence of a storm that is meant for destruction, why has this happened... For the first time, the King sees a simple disparity between himself and another man. Due to this realization he attempts to immediately experience that of what this nice man before him is experiencing, “… expose thyself to feel what wretches feel…” King Lear is definitely losing his mind right now because he just undressed even though there is a bad storm going on, but beyond that, there is a storm that was preexisting within his mind. He is battling the reality that with everything he had in his possession, power, money, land, respect… The only thing that separates him from anyone else is clothing. Without his KINGLY garments, he is but another helpless HUMAN stuck in the eye of a storm at the mercy of the GODS.

The "Kinglier" King Lear

While reading King Lear has been a difficult task, I have muscled through a few acts and wish to discuss what has been going through my mind. The normal Shakespeare reaction of my time is usually, what is he trying to say? I must admit, reading this Shakespeare play has not been as difficult as previous plays, although I still have a difficult time understanding EVERYTHING, I do believe I get the jest of the story… Within the 1st Act, King Lear demands that his daughters profess their undying love for him in order to appease his dwindling faith in his own self. He has 3 daughters, Goneril – the eldest of the three, Regan – the middle child, and Cordelia - his favorite and the youngest of the three. Goneril and Regan are the only two that provide answers to the question “How much do you love me (King Lear)?” When asking this question, I thought to myself, why would a parent want his children to do that? Immediately it seemed to me that he was somehow disconnected from his children… Goneril goes first as she is the eldest and seemingly most cunning. Of the things that she says, “A love that makes... speech unable, beyond all manner of so much I love you…” is the part that sticks out the most to me. The reason being is because at this point, in his right mind, King Lear should have been able to pick apart the fact that she said absolutely nothing… A love that makes speech unable? Then go right behind that and say even though there is nothing I can say, all I can really say is that I Love You… Sounds like the same answer the youngest daughter gives… Hmm… Regan follows suit by saying, “I find she (Goneril) names my very deed of love… only she comes too short…” I point out these two lines because, as the story unfolds, this is the first time the reader has an opportunity to actually see each of the sisters for who they really are. I pull from these the true essence of their character. The youngest, Cordelia, does not choose to respond with such embellishment. She simply states that she loves her father as much as a daughter should love a father. Having already been upstaged, there really was no more “bull-ish” that could have fit in the room… She takes it a step further and states that if her sisters loved their father as much as they say, they would have no husband… Having heard all responses the King banishes the youngest daughter and separates his 3 divisions of land amongst the 2 older daughters because their “answers” were better. I think that it made him feel like he still had an effect on his children, when in fact, all they truly wanted to do was gain control of his land and find a way to move him out of power. And with the youngest daughter banished, it was easier and they had no one protecting/looking out for his best interest.

Persepolis... A hint of what's to come

Marjane tells of when she starts having trouble with Dr. Heller, and her new boyfriend Enrique. One day he invited her to a party, she didn’t expect to have a good time. While at the party she met Enrique's friend Ingrid. The morning after the party, she wakes up and Enrique was lying there. She immediately jumps to the conclusion that he is in love with Ingrid. Later that day Enrique tells Marjane that he is gay. Marjane feels confused and has a long talk with her physics teacher. At this point she is really trying to place herself and decide whether or not she should take her personal relationships further with men, and ultimately decides to do so. After failing horribly with the boys she likes, she starts getting deeper into drugs. When at first it was something she was totally against. A little while later she meets Markus and falls in love with him. Marjane gets some drugs for Markus, and gains a reputation as a drug dealer. When this change comes about its not a real big surprise to me. She has been whimsically following whatever is popular at the time throughout her whole life and finally this is the path that leads to her demise.

Persepolis... Peer Pressure

There is a section within Persepolis where Marjane is becoming more aware of her political surroundings as a young girl. She tells of the downfall of the Shah and how her parents had been protesting his reign like everyone else... She claims that it was the biggest party her country had ever known. After the celebration there is point where her country transitions to a new government. Marjane tells how they were tearing the Shah's photograph from their textbooks and how her friends treated the children of the secret service members... Her mother did not like this and talks her about how she should act because she did not approve of the behavior. I believe at this point Marjane was experiencing peer pressure. Throughout the story she displays this similar type of behavior where she does what other people are doing. Although it was the very first time she had experienced such a revolutionary change (or so they thought) in political power, she was still searching for an identity and this was just an opportunity for her to display her radical side. She in turn feels the need to apologize. Which proves that it really was not in her nature to do such a thing, she just wanted to be noticed or have some type of significance in what was taking place.

Hmm... The Moviegoer

I think that Binx has settled in his search for meaning. Throughout the novel he is going to movies and experiencing life in the very descriptive manner in which he does in an attempt to find meaning in life outside his own experiences. He was super sensitive to the outside world. He has this sort of mundane lifestyle in which he goes about life in a particularly normal way. True life has its own way of issuing out particular experiences to specific individuals, but ultimately Binx found that his life was not any more special than anyone else he came into contact with. Kate seemed a particular interest of his out of all the women he was involved with probably because she was as afraid of life as he was. When he comes to the realization that life is not about the happiness you bring about unto yourself, but the happiness in which you instill in others, does he find a true meaning to his life.

The author brings reference to Kierkegaard in the beginning of the book in order to set a tone in which the character (Binx) would progress throughout then novel. Binx showed signs of all 3 stages of life as in regard to Kierkegaard. Stage One is the aesthetic stage in which Binx falls victim to sensuous desires. He enjoys the company of women and partaking in the act of sex. Much as most of us from time to time. The Second Stage is the Ethical Stage. As Kierkegaard would put it… “This is where an individual begins to take on a true direction in life, forming a commitment to oneself and others.” Binx does this throughout the book with his commitment to his Aunt. But to me, the defining moment came when Kate asks Binx, “What do you think is the purpose of life… to go to the movies and dally with every girl that comes along?” At this moment Walker Percy describes something taking place inside Binx in a description of Kate’s action signifying something… ‘A ledger lies on her desk… she closes it briskly and smiles up at me, a smile which, more than anything which has gone before, marks an ending. Binx noticed at that moment he needed to make a decision upon where his commitment lied with Kate. And by the end of the novel he gives her further assurance by stating that he will always think of her in all that he does. The Third Stage is the religious stage. The ethical and the religious are intimately connected: a person can be ethically serious without being religious, but the religious stage includes the ethical. Binx comes to a head with this stage but does not particularly deal with it. He states that he is of his mother’s family and so he naturally shy’s away from the subject of religion… is it something to be suspicious of…

Not until the end did Binx finally accept what his life was to encompass. There is evidence that; he has not found what he is looking for, but, he has come to an end in his quest for meaning. He makes a reference at the end, “I watched her walk toward St. Charles, cape jasmine held against her cheek, until my brothers and sisters call out behind me.” That line to me means that he is comfortable enough with Kate to fall victim of “everydayness” in the simplest act of watching her hold a flower against her face that he has bestowed upon her. He forgot everything else that was going on around him, the children he had spoken to, the errand he was to run for Kate and everything… To bask in the malaise that is Kate at that moment.