cornwall character analysis

cornwall is constantly trying to gain regan and goneril’s favour by joining their plot to take down lear. he acts with bravado by doing large ‘powerful’ acts such as locking lear out of the castle, putting kent in the stocks, making edmund earl of gloucester, and plucking out gloucester’s eyes, however he seems to have no individual opinion other than what he knows would gain the sister’s favour. this makes him pathetic. we can see how he leeches onto the promise of power by how, in act 1 scene 1, he defends kent from lear’s abuse, only to later put the (albeit) kent in the stocks in an act to impress the sisters, only to get embarrassingly scolded later by lear. he tries to climb the social ladder, exploiting the newfound social turmoil after lear charters the kingdom, however in his desire to please the sisters he inadvertently lowers his own status as he takes the role of their servant, carrying out their bids, as opposed to a leader. he himself is cowardly and cannot act with initiative, proved by how he tortures gloucester rather than killing him as he’s bound by the limits of his societal status. it’s fitting that he dies at the hands of his own servant, a braver servant, this embarrassment severely lowering his own status despite the bravado he has put up. his character is an example of shakespeare’s criticism of subservience, because while cornwall has done everything to gain to sister’s favour, regan forgets about him quickly in favour of edmund as he is a rebelling character with morality