Ahmad Ludin
ENG 4UI 05
Mrs. Patterson
17/7/2015
In the words of Helen “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision”. This quote can relate to the characters in The Stone Angel, written by Margaret Laurence, and King Lear, written by Shakespeare. In both these books, blindness has a meaning other than that which dictionaries claim; a more metaphorical meaning. The blindness that plagues the main characters is not a physical flaw, but the inability of the characters to see others for whom they truly are. King Lear, the Earl of Gloucester, and Hagar are key examples of characters that undergo struggles from having this flaw. The blindness causes them to hit an all-time low, and afterwards, the characters gained awareness…show more content… Similar to King Lear, the Earl of Gloucester is unable to see which of his children truly love him. His blindness causes him to see Edmund as the good son and Edgar as the evil one, where as in reality, the opposite is true. Using a forged letter, Edmond convinces his father that Edgar plots to kill him, when ironically, Edgar is the one to later on save his life. After reading the letter, the Earl of Gloucester does not even try to think on as to why his loving son would write such a letter. Instead, in his rage he shows his hatred towards Edgar by shouting “O villain, villain! His very opinion in the letter! Abhorred/ villain! Unnatural, detested, brutish villain! Worse than/ brutish!” (1.2.404-406). Edmond, playing as a double agent, tells Edgar that he should flee the castle for their fathers men are looking for him. After Edgar’s escape, The Earl of Gloucester sends for the Duke to come to him so he can order the capture of Edgar. He tells Edmond that “By his authority (the authority of the Duke) I will proclaim it/ that he which find, him shall deserve our thanks, / bringing the murderous caitiff to the stake;” (2.1.994-996), ordering the death of his loving