Fate and Justice /// Emily Thullesen

 Near the end of Shakespeare's King Lear, Albany notes how "All friends shall taste / The wages of their virtue, and all foes / The cup of their deserving (Act V, Scene III)," which presents an interesting way to contemplate life, death, and humanity in general. This play is full of betrayal and corruption between characters and families, however, not all of the characters' fates align with this viewpoint which creates room for analysis. Albany's statement contradicts the idea of justice in that he himself obtained the inheritance rather than the innocent Cordelia. Lear then replies to Albany's remark in regards to his dead daughter Cordelia, mourning "Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, / And thou no breath at all? (Act V, Scene III)," suggesting Cordelia's innocence and bringing into question the previous contradicting statement. 

Even though Cordelia's character was more innocent than say Edmund, human nature is flawed at the its core, meaning that no human being is perfect by any means. Though it seems contradictory, Albany's statement definitely holds truth in reality. Because no individual is perfect, we all should taste "the cup of [our] deserving," which is death (Romans 6:23). All living things die on this earth at some point in time, therefore, we all get what we deserve in the end, even though some deaths seem more deserving than others. This specific section of dialogue definitely stood out in regards to the bigger questions behind the meaning of death, fate, and justice.

I commented on Emory Cooper and Emmett Bryant's posts.

Comments

  1. Haylee LyndAugust 30, 2021 at 10:55 PM

    It is interesting that Albany says "All friends shall taste the wages of their virtue, and all foes the cup of their deserving" (5.3). Yet, in the end of the play it seems there is no justice. The characters I would define as foes lay dead: Goneril, Regan, and Edmund. However, so do the seemingly good guys: Gloucester and Cordelia. Both the good and the bad received deaths so did Albany's statement actually end up being true?

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  2. Emory CooperAugust 31, 2021 at 8:44 AM

    I didn't intend it to be so, but my post is in many ways similar to yours; the difference is, I only focused on those characters whose flaws were evident in the story. I certainly believe that, if the characters of that world of Shakespeare's imagination were as "human" as I believe humans are in this one, even Cordelia would have received just punishment in her murder; "for all have sinned" (Romans 3:23; 5:12;), either in themselves or in Adam (Romans 5:12-21). But the worlds may not be that compatible. The religion in King Lear definitely wasn't Christian, so perhaps the moral values weren't, either. Shakespeare may not have meant justice by Cordelia's death; it could have never crossed his mind.

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