"Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter;" (Goneril 1.1.57), "In my true heart/ I find she names my very deed of love; Only she comes too short," (Regan 1.1.72-73). His two daughters are providing Lear with what he wants to hear for the benefit of themselves. Having been raised by a man who will do anything to get what he wants, they follow his example. Although we do not hear about what happened to both Gloucester and Lear's wives we can sense the void they leave in the choices made throughout the play. .
The issues that Cordelia faced throughout the play were not caused by her need for a traditional mother figure but the need everyone else had. Even though Cordelia's family fell into the trap of deceit, she was able to overcome it in spite of not having an honourable traditional matriarchal figure. "Haply, when I shall wed,/That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry/Half my love with him, half my care and duty:/Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters,/To love my father all."(1.1.98-106). Cordelia does not indulge her father as her sisters do; her sisters are confessing their love because of their greed where Cordelia would rather tell her father the truth. She is driven by purity which is very much the opposite of her sisters. Although for the majority of the play Cordelia is off stage there is a constant reminder of her through the contrast of her family. As the play continues, after Cordelia is banished, it becomes clear that everything that Cordelia possessed was what was missing from her family. She brought purity, loyalty and honesty to the family dynamic; without her there to bring some sort of balance both her sisters and Lear delve further into tragedy and conflict. In the end, the purity that is within her allows her to forgive her father. "You must bear with me:Pray you now, forget and forgive: I am old and foolish." (4.
