king lear women Flashcards
What does hysterica passio mean?
The mother
What is ‘the mother’ in latin?
Hysterica passio
What is the definition of hysterica passio?
A sense of choking + suffocation starting from the heart - thought to begin in the womb
What does Lear calling upon hysterica passio infer?
He’s suffering from a ‘woman’s disease’ - may refer to an inversion of natural order
What is Goneril compared to by Lear in act 2, scene 4? (1)
Like a vulture pecking out his heart
What animal does Lear compare Goneril to a2,s4? (2)
A serpent that attacked his heart
What does Lear say to Goneril about flesh and disease?
He calls her his flesh and blood, or rather a disease in his flesh
How does Lear dirogitoraly refer to Goneril + Regan?
“unnatural hags”
What does Cordelia mean?
Heart/warmth
What might the meaning of Cordelia’s name suggest?
She represents warmth and kindness
What birds does Lear compare Goneril + Regan to? What does this mean?
“Pelicans not daughters”
Pelicans fed on the flesh of their parents
What does Lear do in a1s1 that shows his view of women?
Cordelia refused to obey him so he offers her to one of her suitors
Which critic referred to women in Lear as “hyenas in lipstick”?
Winterson
What did Goneril + Regan depend on as women? What might this explain?
As women, they regarded on money to survive
This may explain their false words at the start + their treatment/wish to overthrow Lear
What can we deduce about Cordelia’s silence?
She is either conforming to expectations as a woman by staying silent
Or she is defying authority through a lack of speech + standing up
What does Lear say about Cordelia’s disobedience + nature? What does this mean?
“Nature is ashamed almost t’acknowledge herself”
C subverts standards of women to the point where nature is ashamed
What does Goneril do to Gloucester that subverts standards?
She gauges out his eyes
How does Gloucester insult Edmund at the start of the play? How is this misogynistic?
G calls E a “whoreson” for his illegitimate birth
This shows how even an insult to a man had to be at the expense of a woman
How does Winterson refer to women in the play?
Hyenas in lipstick
How is Cordelia presented?
Unflinchingly loyal, pure and unselfish
How are Goneril + Regan presented?
Violent and malicious
How are Goneril + Regan similar to their father?
Arrogance, fierce temper + pride
How is Cordelia similar to Lear?
Courage and stubbornness
What was expected of women in the 1600s?
Expected to be silent, chaste + confined to the household
Their identity submerged in the father or husband
What does Cordelia represent?
Possibly the ideal 1600 woman
How is Cordelia not the ideal 16th century woman?
She refuses to engage with Lear’s test
What does Lear say in reference to Cordelia after he dismisses her?
“When she was dear to us we held her so, but now her price is fallen”
What does Lear say to Burgundy about Cordelia? What does this mean?
“new adopted our hate”
He’s just begun hating her
What did Goneril say about Lear’s age?
“Old fools are babes again”
What does Lear call Nature to do to?
“Convey sterility”
“From her derogate body never spring a babe”
What does Lear want Nature to turn Goneril’s pains into?
“Turn all her mother’s pains + benefits to laughter and contempt”
What does Regan do when Cornwall is talking? When is this?
Interrupts him
When Cornwall is explaining to Gloucester why they’re visiting him
What did Regan tell Cornwall to do?
Encourages Cornwall to keep Kent in the stocks “till noon! till night”
What does Lear compare Goneril to?
A vulture that pecks at his heart
What does Lear beg from Cordelia + Regan? What does this show?
Old people don’t need much just bed and food
Reversal of roles
What does Lear call Goneril + Regan?
“Unnatural hags”
What does Lear call his daughters in act 3, scene 4? What does this mean?
“Pelican daughters”
Young pelicans were thought to devour the flesh of their parents
What does Regan call her servant?
A dog
What does Regan convince Cornwall to do?
Pluck out one of Gloucesters eyes
What does Regan tell Cornwall when he’s plucked out one of Gloucesters eyes?
“One side will mock another; t’other too”
What does Regan tell Cornwall to let Gloucester do?
“Let him smell his way to Dover”
What does Albany tell Goneril, his wife will happen? What does this refer to?
“Humanity must perforce prey on itself, like monsters of the deep”
Cannibalism
What does Goneril call Albany? What does this mean?
“Milk liver’d man”
Coward
What does the Gentleman describe to Kent about Cordelia?
“An ample tear trill’d down her delicate cheek”
She cried for her father when reading the letter
What does Cordelia say to Lear in act 3, scene 7?
“Repair those violent harms that my 2 sisters have in thy reverence made”
What does the fact that we only see fathers in the play show?
Patriarchal idea that children owe their existence to their fathers alone
What does the end of the play mark?
The death of all female characters - the new suggested order is entirely male
What does Lynn say about women in literature?
“women overwhelmingly have been presented as either evil vixens or innocent virgins”
