Consider Cordelia as a tragic character. Or, How far is Cordelia responsible for the tragedy in King Lear. Or, Show Cordelia as a tragic heroine.

Consider Cordelia as a tragic character.

Or,

How far is Cordelia responsible for the tragedy in King Lear.

Or,

Show Cordelia as a tragic heroine.

The hero or heroine in a Shakespearean tragedy suffers and ultimately meets his or her death. This suffering is undeserved but it is not caused by some malignant Destiny or Power. Rather it results from the deeds or misdeeds of the hero or heroine himself or herself. He or she suffers as a result of his/ her own faults, and the fall of the hero/heroine from the highest social position rouses pity and fear in the minds of the audience. Cordelia in King Lear is undoubtedly a tragic character.

Cordelia appears in only four of the 26 scenes of the play. Yet her beauty and spiritual qualities haunt the readers for a long time. We feel that Cordelia could not have existed in a barbaric civilized environment. Her character is one of unmixed tenderness and love. She can love with the strongest and utmost of loyalty, and inspires the same from others. She displays self-possession and insight into character as she first dismisses Burgundy and then sees through her wicked sisters. The King of France considers Cordelia, the dowerless daughter of the king to be a gift of chance and he accepts her as his queen, because she by herself is a sufficient dowry.

The loyalty of Kent and the Fool towards Cordelia is as complete as it exquisite, and on Lear her reposeful presence acts like a charm. Her tender affection and kindness of heart come out most strongly as is meet and fitting in her dealing with stricken father, whose   restoration she tries hard to accomplish.

Like Dr. Johnson we feel pity for Cordelia because she is profoundly wronged and also because despite her inner strength, she is so vulnerable. She could not have possibly seen any happiness since her childhood with her vain and egotistical father and her two wicked sisters. If she appears repressed it comes as no surprise to us.

Cordelia's tragedy does not emerge merely from the fact that she keeps quiet. It erupts from what she actually tells Lear—she loves him, "according to my bond, nor more nor less", and later she tells him that after marriage half of her love, care and duty will go to her husband and so she cannot profess her whole love to her father as her sisters have done. Cordelia does not realise that truth is not always an obligation and that her harsh words may cause pain and anguish in a fragile old father. She could have declared her love without loss of dignity or competing with her sisters. So her obstinate nature is responsible for upsetting the king's plan and this causes the tragedy.

To sum up, we can only say in defense of Cordelia that malignant Fate placed her just in the situation which proves fatal for her. Such is her nature that "she cannot heave her heart into her mouth". She cannot speak out, because of a strange tardiness of her nature. Fate makes on her the one demand which she is unable to meet. She cannot flatter her father with a high-flown language, because her character has been shaped by Shakespeare as she is, and we cannot but feel pity and fear at her suffering.