"[The great Shakespearean Tragedies] are not primarily treatments of characters with a so-called 'fatal flaw', whose downfall is brought about by the decree of just if inscrutable powers... the fundamental flaw is not in them but in the world they inhabit: in the political state, the social order it upholds, and likewise, by projection, in the cosmic state of shifting arbitrary phenomena called 'Fortune.'" -J.W. Lever (1987)
From the quote of scholar J.W. Lever I can predict that in King Lear a downfall of a major character will occur, not because of self infliction, but because of their environment. Lever states a 'fatal flaw' will cause this downfall. Lever continues and says, "the fundamental flaw is not in them but in the world they inhabit" In class we talk a lot about how Shakespearean characters have a strong belief in fate. All these tragedies occur simple because they are "supposed to" its fate! Fate is clearly portrayed when Lever states "brought about by the decree of just if inscrutable powers..." These inscrutable, meaning impossible to understand or interpret, powers take down a character in the play. Indescribable powers lead me to believe it comes from a source of fate or the source of a higher power (God). Now is there a different between God and Fate? Maybe I will learn so in the reading of King Lear!
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