Cordelia

Family: Lear's family · Role: youngest daughter · First appears: King Lear · Act I, Scene I

Cordelia, the youngest daughter in Lear’s family, faces King Lear in Act I, Scene I, returning the duties she owes him through obedience, love, and honour. She questions Goneril and Regan’s declarations of love, while Burgundy refuses to marry her without the dower Lear withdraws. France, however, accepts her without a dowry and makes her queen, taking her as she has been cast away.

By Act IV, Cordelia responds to news of Lear and her sisters with restrained grief. Though Lear is detained by shame and refuses to see her, she orders a search when he is found wandering mad, and France supports her effort to restore her father’s rights. When Lear finally recognizes her, she confirms, “And so I am. I am.” She is allied with Kent, whose goodness she struggles to repay, and works with France out of love for Lear rather than ambition.

After Lear’s defeat, he and Cordelia are captured and taken to prison. Edmund reveals that he has ordered her to be hanged and the death blamed on her own despair; Cordelia dies, and Lear dies mourning her.