BethanyBouchard

Zunder, "Shakespeare and the End of Feudalism..." -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)
"France himself is an embodiment of the disregard for material gain that Shakespeare represents as characteristic ofo the old culture. He will marry Cordelia for love not wealth."

I've read a good many plays by Shakespeare, and being a hopeless romantic, I always pay special attention to the love scenes. Though quite small, and, as I used to think, unimportant in comparison to the rest of the play, the small exchange between Cordelia, France, and Lear in which France claims Cordelia for his bride, has always seemed, to me, to be one of the purest love scenes in the Shakespearean anthology. In most of Shakespeare's other plays, the love scenes, though sweet and satisfying to any romantic's heart, consist mainly of doting on one another's beauty, strength, heroism, wealth, etc. However, in King Lear, this is not the case. France loves Cordelia for herself, the person that she is, her honesty, and her virtues. I'm glad Zunder gave France the credit that I always think this small part in the play deserves because every time I read it, I am so moved by the words he speaks to Cordelia and to Lear.