The Female Protagonist of King Lear: No Fate For Cordelia Book Review

This paper discusses how the plot of Cordelia in "King Lear" does not follow the generic pattern of either a romance or a tragedy and how this is in opposition to the male characters of Lear, Gloucester, Edmund and Edgar, whose plot trajectories all conform to the generic structure of tragedy, romance or a combination of both. It examines how, by comparing Cordelia's lack of adherence to a generic plot with the male characters' conformity to genre, it becomes apparent that Shakespeare is emphasizing Cordelia's agency and free will and how, unlike the male characters, Cordelia does not blame the Gods or fate for her misfortunes. The paper looks at how Cordelia's plot is not depicted as arbitrarily arching up and down as if on a string that is pulled at the whim of an indifferent God and how rather, it is her choices and actions that directly cause the events of her plotline. The paper also argues that ultimately, the failure of Cordelia's plot to follow a generic structure is employed by Shakespeare to disavow the existence of fate in shaping the course of human existence.