What is the tragic flaw in the character of Cordelia?
The Tragic flaw in the character of Cordelia are given below:
The way Cordelia behaves in the opening scene of King Lear shows that she is a woman of few words. She is by nature reticent. She does not believe in giving expression to her sentiments in an extravagant manner. She does not believe in showing off her sentiments or in parading her affection for her father.
At the same time, we cannot deny that this incapacity on her part to express her love for her father is a fault in her nature. If the old man wanted to gratify his vanity, Cordelia should have come out with some sort of assurance that she loved her father deeply.
There was no need for her to be so blunt as she has proved to be, Her father is aware that she does love him and that in fact she loves him the best; but he wanted to hear her speak about her love, and her failure to speak annoys him greatly.
What is the tragic flaw in the character of Othello?
The Tragic flaw in the character of Othello are given below:
The tragic hero is not only a person of high position, he also has an exceptional nature. His character is built on a grand scale. He has some passion or obsession which attains in him a terrible force. He has mark done- sidedness, a strong tendency to act in a particular way.
They are all driven in some one direction by some peculiar interest, abject passion, or habit of mind. Bradley calls this trait 'the tragic flaw'.
It is because of his open, frank nature that Othello falls an easy prey to the intrigues of lago. He regards lago as a man of exceeding honesty and never doubts what he tells him. He lacks the intelligence to distinguish between appearance and reality, and being extremely credulous he is easily deceived by lago
Indeed his credulity, his simplicity, the frankness and honesty of his heart are the tragic flaws of his character. He errs, and his error, joining with other causes, brings ruin upon him. In other words, his character issues in action, or action, issues out of his character.
It is in this sense that 'Character is Destiny' is true of a Shakespearean tragedy.
