King Lear Notes | Act 4, Scene 4

Cordelia enters the scene for the first time since the first act. She is now the Queen of France, and has all the trappings to prove it. Cordelia is redeemed as the truly faithful daughter. She goes to a doctor to ask if there is any hope for her mad father. The doctor answers briefly: the power of nature is the only thing that can decide Lear's situation from here on. Cordelia promises to find solace for her father.

Topic Tracking: Vision 10

"All blest secrets,
All you unpublished virtues of the earth,
Spring with my tears! Be aidant and remediate
In the good man's distress! Seek, seek for him;
Lest his ungoverned rage dissolve the life
That wants the means to lead it." Act 4, Scene 4, lines 15-20

Although Cordelia prays for her father's recover, she is still the Queen of France. Yet she decides she will link her own cause to her father's. She says firmly that the only purpose of France's invasion is to give Lear back his throne.