King Lear's Ego

King Lear is an egotistical individual who wants to wallow in his own self-righteousness. He knows exactly which of his daughters loves him the most, yet he chooses to play an immature game to feed his own ego. The first two of his daughters, neither of which love him the most, declare that they both love him the most. The king loves this even though their words are meaningless. When he asks Cordelia how much she loves him, she does not respond. I thought that Cordelia’s response was impressive. She knew, as the king knew, that she loved him the most and she had proven with her actions, so it took a lot of courage for her to not say anything in protest to her sister’s false words. King Lear wants to make it seem that he is innocent as to who will get the biggest third of the kingdom; but in fact, he already knows that Cordelia loves him the most. Love cannot be pretended by false words; it must be proven by actions. King Lear’s response to Cordelia is what proves his egotistical attitude. When she will not play along with the sick game, he disowns her. The king just wants insignificant flattery. I think that this type person is not fit to rule a kingdom.