Albany points out that the news that Cornwall is dead is evidence of divine justice, and this event should provide a warning to Goneril, but she ignores Albany’s words to focus on the greater concern — Regan as a widow is now available to marry Edmund. Goneril on the other hand, does have a husband, one whom she expects to control. Goneril is heir to one-half the kingdom, and she expects Albany to remember that this was her dowry; but he is stronger than Cornwall. And although Albany hesitated earlier to confront Goneril when he thought she was wrong, he is not the willing participant in evil that Cornwall has shown himself to be. Albany is genuinely shocked when he learns of Gloucester’s blinding, while Cornwall easily succumbed to this perversion.
With this new resistance to his wife, Albany joins the ranks of characters who have undergone dramatic change during the course of the play, growing and evolving into a stronger and more compassionate individual. As the highest-ranking nobleman remaining, Albany will have no choice but to defend England against the French invasion. But this scene signals that Albany’s loyalties will not be with his wife but with those who defend Lear.
Goneril’s role, here, is in contrast to that of most Elizabethan women. In this period, women were totally subordinate to their husband’s desires. The chain of authority was from God to king, king to subject (always male) and male to women and children. Elizabeth I refused to marry rather than be subject to any man’s authority. Goneril, however, sees herself as the ultimate authority, and this contradicts the reality of this historical period.
