Lear's Walk Through a Concentration Camp

Most wouldn't seek out a connection between Shakespeare and concentration camps. Although Lear's suffering is fairly dull when juxtaposed with that of jews in Nazi Germany, he nonetheless was emotionally and physically abused. Lear's emotional development throughout the play is explained by Frankl's depiction of the thoughts of inmates in a concentration camps.

When I look at Lear's regression into childlike vengeful behavior after being betrayed by his two daughters, I think of his reaction as immature.  Frankl puts things into perspective when he says, "An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior" (32). 

A clear similarity between Lear and inmates is physical state. In every performance of the play,  Lear is portrayed as weak when he is out in the storm. He may have remnants of strength from when he was a king, but they are waning. His clothes are in shambles, and he hobbles around with an air of dejection. 

Frankl describes prisoners retreating to an intense life of inner questioning and development (47). Lear shows that very process. He empathizes with the homeless and philosophizes with Poor Tom. He may seem crazy, but in reality, he's compensating for loss of tangible riches with gain of inner riches and growth.

There are two main ways to explain Lear's actions. He was either immature because he was using apathy as "a necessary self-defense mechanism" (40), or he was blinded by immediate needs and could not think about his actions in the scope of things. 

Apathy can defend us from stress, but not in the long run. Fighting fire with fire doesn't quench a flame.  Lear learned this the hard way.

Looking at Lear's situation throughout lens number two offers an interesting perspective: sometimes people need to deal with the immediate and imminent before they can focus on the larger, more complex issues-- the big picture. Lear was blinded by the need to react to his daughters' hate. This approach reminds me of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs: we first need to deal with our most pressing issues before moving up the pyramid towards self-fulfillment. Lear suddenly found himself at the bottom of the pyramid.

Although there are obvious differences there are also many parallels to be drawn between the psychological processes undergone by Lear and concentration camp inmates