Gratitude, Grace, and the word in "King Lear".
Item
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Title
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Gratitude, Grace, and the word in "King Lear".
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Identifier
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AAI9020787
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identifier
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9020787
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Creator
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Mintz, Marilyn L.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Harry Carlson
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Date
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1990
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Theater
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Abstract
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Most gothically majestic of Shakespeare's plays, King Lear is also his most ambiguous and mysterious tragedy. It is proposed that the key to the play's ambiguity lies in the interaction of two theological principles: gratitude and Grace. The play's multidimensional structure creates an ambiguous tension between these principles, each operating from a different plane simultaneously. A realistic framework projecting the concept of gratitude is juxtaposed with an analogical reality by which the opposing principle, Grace, enfolds in Lear.;In theory, gratitude was regarded as an aspect of the Doctrine of Grace. But in practice, it obverted mercy, advocating a harsh retributive code. A widely held belief purported that ingratitude was a heinous sin; and furthermore, that the consequences of this sin had a progressively debasing effect on the ingrate who eventually degenerated lower than the beast. Contemporary theologians and ethicists justified damnation for ingratitude on the grounds that it was irredeemable. In line with this belief, Goneril's and Regan's regression is examined as prototypical of this degenerative process.;On the other end of the spectrum, Lear, Gloucester, and Edmund, to a lesser degree, defy this belief by changing for the better despite their ingratitude. The disparities between the development and destinies of the three men imply a double meaning. On a realistic level, these characters suffer the punishment for their ingratitude through the consequences of their ingratitude. But on an analogical plane, they serve as archetypes of a higher justice, demonstrating the transformative and redemptive effects of Grace.;While the opposition of conflicting principles explains the play's ambiguity, it does not elucidate its mystery. More than doctrinal comparison, King Lear is an alchemical process, its mystery, a ritual enactment whereby Lear is transformed by the Word. It is proposed that the Word is the play's central metaphor, and its initiator, Cordelia, the Word Made Flesh. Within this alchemical framework, Lear is explored as the disciple, his progress traced as a series of infusions leading to transcendence.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
