Consider the accuracy of Lear?s claim that he is ?a man / More sinned against than sinning?

King Lear is throught the whole play a man who is a sinner and the victim of the evil deeds of those who surround him, those he keeps most close mostly are the worst sinners against him. He thinks he does the right good things but has to find out that almost everything he did out of meaning well by the people he considered as the good ones at the time he did it were the wrong moves. When Lear realizes that his moves seem to have been wrong he tells Kent and the Fool during a storm that he is “a man / More sinned against than sinning”, knowing that he also made mistakes, not only the others. But is King Lear really more of a victim than a guilty one?

The most shocking and maybe also the most fatal sin of King Lear is the disinheriting and chasing out of Cordelia by her own father right at the beginning of the play. When Cordelia is asked by Lear to tell him how much she loves him she answers in a way Lear did not expect by not telling him sweet words he liked so much when they were told to him by Goneril and Regan before. She tells him that she loves him like a daughter loves her father and nothing more. Lear gets mad at her and calls for France and Burgundy, to give her to one of them as his wife. Lear disinherits Cordelia and she has to leave her home to become the wife of France.

When King Lear sends away Cordelia he also sends away his most loyal man, Kent. Kent tries to warn Lear about making a big mistake by sending away Cordelia and only listening to what Goneril and Regan say, not thinking about the consequences the disinheriting of Cordelia might have. King Lear banishes Kent and says that he will have Kent executed if he dares to ever come back again. King Lear can’t realize that Kent is one of the true loyal men around him. Kent is even after that horrible treatment still loyal to his king so he comes back and serves him again in disguise. King Lear’s rage doesn’t allow him to see that Kent’s advise is only ment to protect and help his king, not to show and kind of disrespect to him.

The King is obviously not able to see that Goneril and Regan both are lying to him and that they both are only trying to blind him even more to reach their goals. Both daughters use the knowlegde they have about their father to take advantage of him. His personality helps them a lot because the king seems to be a man that enjoys and loves to be blinded by sweet words...

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...ze her death in the end and dies believing Cordelia, who he now knows was the only true loving daughter of the three, is still alive.

After all I come to the conclusion that the statement of King Lear about himself is not really accurate. My opinion is that Lear’s sins weight stronger and the sins against him are the pure results of his own doings. His rage and temper and pride have made him send away Cordelia and so is he responsible fore her fate and death in the end.

I also think that Lear’s bad personality had a very bad influence on both of his elder daughters and that his bad way of treating people have shown both Goneril and Regan in what ways you can behave when you are the one in power. Of course Goneril and Regan both already might have had their own weaknesses but King Kear’s behaviour in front of them might also have done a lot of damage.

So I believe that if Lear had not commited so many sins himself he would never have fallen like this. And it is also because of his sin of pride that to him the sins of the others against him seem so bad while his own sins are not that strong in his eyes.

This is why I think King Lear is not a man more sinnes against than sinning.