Power and Love in King Lear and The Wife of Bath's Tale

Introduction: Love and Power as Human Forces

Love and power are two of the most compelling of human desires. People are driven to do sometimes remarkable things in the name of love and in the conquest for power, many of which do more harm than good. Regardless of the consequences, the human drive to achieve love and power becomes an interesting subject to study. Two works that illustrate the human emotions connected to love and power are William Shakespeare's King Lear and Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath's Tale." Both stories revolve around love and power. In one, love and power never actually have the opportunity to coexist. In the other, love and power come together to create a positive outcome. These stories show how love and power are forces that are nearly beyond human control. Love and power shape our desires, and desires shape our behavior. Together, these texts illustrate how love and power can create or destroy.

Love and Reconciliation in King Lear

In King Lear, Gloucester is a man who possesses power and seeks love. His central mistake in this quest — the banishment of Edgar — sets in motion a painful journey toward reconciliation. The two come together again when the son helps the father in his time of need. It takes an extreme turn of events to bring them to this point, but the end result is love. Gloucester is transformed by his ordeal. He tells his son, "Thy life's a miracle" (Shakespeare IV.vi.59). Edgar tries to console his father and encourages him to think "free and patient thoughts" (IV.vi.79).

Love is displayed here between two people who had much to overcome. Edgar sets aside his own pain in order to comfort his father. Edward Dowden agrees, writing that Edgar is the "champion of right, ever active in opposing evil and advancing the good cause, discovers that the gods are upon the side of right, are unceasingly at work in the vindication of truth and the execution of justice. His faith lives through trial and disaster, a flame which will not be quenched" (Dowden). J. Stamper maintains that Gloucester dies "between extremes of joy and grief, at the knowledge that his son was miraculously preserved, Lear between extremes of illusion and truth, ecstasy and the blackest despair, at the knowledge that his daughter was needlessly butchered" (Stamper 366). Edgar emerges as a strong and steadfast character, which only reinforces the idea that love can overcome.

Cordelia and the Courage of Love

Love is not always easy, and this is demonstrated in King Lear's relationship with Cordelia. Through remarkable courage, they accept their destiny. Dowden asserts that Cordelia is comprised of "unmingled tenderness and strength, a pure redeeming ardor" (Dowden). This is best displayed when she tells Lear that they are not the first who "with best meaning, have incurred the worst. / For thee, oppressed king, I am cast down; / Myself could else out-frown false fortune's frown" (Shakespeare V.iii.17–22). Lear echoes these sentiments when he tells her that they will "sing like birds i' the cage: / . . . so we'll live, / and pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh / . . . And take upon the mystery of things" (V.iii.97–106). That they choose to walk down the dark path together illustrates the power of love.

Diane Dreher writes that "in the midst of civil upheaval, madness, and metaphysical confusion, the heroic choices made by Cordelia affirm ideals of love and truth that transcend logic and redeem her world from utter despair" (Dreher). This powerful realization affirms what we want to believe about the enduring force of love. Cordelia not only believes in this ideal but acts bravely on it. According to Dreher, she defies the "commodification of love that tore her father's kingdom apart," and "knowingly puts herself in danger in an attempt to rescue Lear, sacrificing her safety and material comfort as queen of France" (Dreher). Love makes sacrifices when it must. Harold Bloom maintains that "Shakespeare's intimation is that the only authentic love is between parents and children, yet the prime consequence of such love is only devastation" (Bloom 483). This observation captures the paradox at the heart of the play: the power of love is undeniable, yet it does not erase immediate problems. Life and fate carry on, and love only makes the journey a little more bearable.

The Knight's Journey in The Wife of Bath's Tale

Geoffrey Chaucer explores the power of love in a very different way in "The Wife of Bath's Tale." Here, we see the dynamics of love and power through the actions of a knight who is far from the chivalric ideal. He is, in fact, a rapist who places his earthly desires above his moral obligations as a knight. We read that he has a "lusty liver" (Chaucer 300), which makes his capacity for genuine transformation seem all the more uncertain at the outset. However, his journey fundamentally changes his outlook.

He learns that some women might want "wealth and treasure" (301), while others might want "fun in bed" (301). He comes to realize that those around him desire "freedom to do exactly as we please, / With no one to reprove our faults and lies, / Rather to have one call us good and wise" (301). He even tells the queen that a woman wants "the self-same sovereignty / Over her husband as over her lover, / and master him; he must not be above her" (304). Through these encounters, we can see that the value of romantic love — and the respect it demands — is central to the knight's journey and to his gradual change of heart.

Conclusion: Cautionary Tales of Love and Power

Love and power can become dangerous forces when we allow them to rule our lives and drive our passions unchecked. As we see in King Lear, the thirst for power leads to nothing but trouble. Power is achieved, but it is not enough to undo what has already been done. Out of that destructive pursuit, however, Lear and Cordelia discover what true love means. Gloucester and Edgar, too, come to understand love's real value. In "The Wife of Bath's Tale," power initially appears in its ugliest form as the knight acts solely to satisfy his own desires. Yet he is redeemed when he finally comes around and learns to recognize and appreciate genuine love. Both of these stories serve as cautionary tales about the power of love and the love of power.

Works Cited

Bloom, Harold. Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. New York: Riverhead Books, 1998.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Wife of Bath's Tale." The Canterbury Tales. Trans. Nevill Coghill. New York: Penguin Books, 1977.

Dowden, Edward. "'Othello,' 'Macbeth,' 'Lear.'" Shakspere: A Critical Study of His Mind and Art. 1881. Accessed April 4, 2009.

Dreher, Diane. "Shakespeare's Cordelia and the Power of Character." World and I. 1998. GALE Resource Database. Accessed April 4, 2009.

Roppolo, Joseph. "The Converted Knight in Chaucer's 'Wife of Bath's Tale.'" College English. 1951. JSTOR Resource Database. Accessed April 4, 2009.

Rossignol, Rosalyn. "The Wife of Bath's Tale." Critical Companion to Chaucer. Facts on File Online Database. Accessed April 4, 2009. http://www.fofweb.com

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of King Lear. New York: Washington Square Press, 1969.

Stamper, J. "The Catharsis of King Lear." Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.