FOOL: I marvel what kin thou and thy daughters
are. They’ll have me whipped for
speaking true, thou’lt have
me whipped for lying, and sometimes I am whipped
for holding my peace. I had rather be
any kind o’ thing than a fool. And yet
I would not be thee, nuncle.
Here he tells the king that he would rather be a fool
than him. This is as honest as any
character has been with Lear, and this includes his own daughters. If this were not enough, the Fool then says,
“I am better than thou art now; I am a fool, thou art nothing.” Since Lear was the king this is probably one
of the first times he has ever been spoken to in this manner and coming from a
lowly fool it must have been quite humbling.
These powerful statements by the Fool serve as a reminder to Lear of
what he has done and the situation he has put himself in. He put his own daughters in this position of
power to impose their will on him and as the Fool says, “ pared his wit on both
sides and has left nothing in the middle.”
The
Fool also serves as a symbol of how the natural order in Lear’s world has been
completely rearranged. The biggest
reversal of roles in this play is the downturn of Lear and the fact that he has
become so powerless that he is now being given advice from the Fool. The simple truth the Fool is making known is
that the children are in power
instead of the parents, the old men are foolish
instead of wise, and the people
command the king instead of the king being in
command. When he first gave his kingdom
to his daughters he had no reason to disbelieve their professions of love for
him but now that he has no power he is not feared anymore, and the Fool is the
one who helps him realize this. Because
of the Fool, Lear now realizes that he is not the same person and his has made
serious mistakes in dealing with his daughters.