if what they are seeing is real or not. The old saying, “seeing is believing” does not apply to the characters in King Lear. Lear begins to go insane while wandering through the woods during the storm. Not only do the rain and the darkness of the forest alter Lear’s vision, but also he is unable to “see” who he is or who the people are around him. Lear doesn’t know who to trust or where to go.One definition of the word see is to get a mental picture and grasp by thinking. Although Gloucester cannot see with his eyes, he is still able to think through what has happened and begin to realize what has been happening and he finally pleads with God to help him. This also brings to light the idea of religion playing a role in this play. Gloucester has “seen the light” so to speak.Christianity and most other religions are based on faith. Although believers cannot see God or Jesus Christ and they can never be completely positive that he/she exists; they continue to have faith that God is real and they are being watched over by him. In the same way, Gloucester cannot physically see the fool, but he puts his trust in him that he will lead him safely to the cliff. Perhaps on some subconscious level, Gloucester knew it was his son, Edgar, who was guiding him. Gloucester cannot see his son’s face and realize he is helping him out of love. However, he can understand and connect with his son and deep down he can trust Edgar to be there for him even in his old, crippled, manipulated state.King Lear, in contrast to Gloucester, put his faith in the wrong people. When he asked his daughters to profess their love for him, he went with what sounded good to him and not with his heart. King Lear knew that Cordelia loved him but he became selfish and didn’t keep the faith he had had in Cordelia’s word up until that point. Ironically, it was the lack of words from Cordelia that dro...
