King Lear

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How does Lear judge his wicked daughters in the mock trial scene? 

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How does Lear judge his wicked daughters in the mock trial scene?

The mock trial scene occurs in Act 3 Scene 6 in William Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” written between 1605-06. King Lear is banished by his evil daughters, Goneril and Regan, and reduced from King to a wandering man without shelter on a stormy night. The king is on the brink of losing his sanity. In a hut, he holds a mock trial of his daughters.

Goneril’s Trial: Lear appoints the disguised Edgar and the Fool as judges and begins the trial of Goneril. Lear accuses Goneril of kicking him. But the blow Goneril gave to her father was not physical; her injury was to his heart and soul.

Regan’s Trial: Lear urges the judges to -

"anatomize Regan, to see what breeds about her heart" (Act 3, Scene 6).

Lear's
words are pointed and painful. Edgar cannot continue to participate, and even the Fool falls silent. Finally, Lear is so exhausted by the strain of the mock trial that he decides to pause for a much-needed rest.

In the mock trial scene in the play, Lear judges his wicked daughters, Goneril and Regan. Lear accuses them of ungratefulness and betrayal. It highlights their mistreatment of the king after he has divided his kingdom among them.

The audience might consider a mock trial as further evidence of Lear's madness, but a trial is typically a search for the truth — and, often, a search for the motive or reason for an action. Like so many victims, Lear needs to know why this tragedy happened. The mock trial scene focuses on the King’s mistreatment and touches the audience.

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