Morality in 'King Lear' and 'Rear Window'

Both William Shakespeare's 'King Lear', and Alfred Hitchcock's 'Rear Windows' present the theme of moral corruption. In both texts, individuals are to blame for their immoral actions. However, I would like to examine how these characters are products of their environment. In 'King Lear', we are presented with the character of Lear, who is initially a narcissist who banishes his daughter Cordelia after she refuses to obey his wishes. Cordelia is clearly a moral person who stays true to herself and serves as a foil for Lear. Lear attempts to commodify his daughter's love by ordering her to profess her affection for him, and in doing so renders familial affection cheap and meaningless. This is one of the first instances of immorality we see in the play, and goes to the heart of the causes of the upset in the play: feudal society. The manner in which wealth and property pass hands through the patriarchal model of marriage is the pillar of the immorality in the play. To quote Karl Marx,‘in pre-capitalist systems it was obvious that most people did not control their own destiny — under feudalism, for instance, serfs had to work for their lords.' In the morally corrupt world of the play, the characters have little control of their own destiny: Lear is doomed to madness, and Cordelia must marry who her father wishes. Similarly, in 'A Doll's House', Nora is not in control of her own destiny, and is constricted by the role of the 'doll wife'. 'King Lear' and 'A Doll's House' are very similar in the way that they show morally strong women defying this system of social slavery: Nora leaves her husband to lead a better life as an educated individual, and Cordelia defies her father no matter the catastrophic consequences in order to stay true to herself.  

Similarly, In Hitchcock's 'Rear Window', the viewer is presented with the morally strong character of Lisa who stays true to herself despite the expectations of society or male characters. However, in contrast to Nora and Cordelia, as a modern, successful woman, Lisa has a lot of agency. She has her own career, as we see in the beginning of the film. She has the money to provide her partner Jeff with an expensive meal, and is dressed in extravagant clothing. Jeff laments that she is 'too perfect', and that he wants a woman who could 'go anywhere and do anything', showing an unethical view of male entitlement: he expects Lisa to change for him but he won't change for her even though she wants to get married. This is very similar to 'King Lear' in the way that Lear rules his family as he does his kingdom: undemocratically. His relationship with Cordelia is a dictatorship in which he demands her subservience. This is also seen in 'A Doll's House': Nora is expected to put her family first while Torvald isn't. All three texts present an array of immoral characters who are products of their society, as well as moral characters who defy their environment to do the right thing. 

The theme of eyesight is used both in 'King Lear' and 'Rear Window' to highlight the theme of morality. The plucking out of Gloucester's eyes mark the most abhorrent and evil scene of the play, the point at which it seems there can be no return to good or civilisation. This is linked to the theme of voyeurism and the moral problems it presents in 'Rear Window'.  The bed-ridden Jeff spies on his neighbours, much to the dismay of Lisa. However, when Thorwald kills his wife, it is due to Jeff's prying eyes that he is caught and charged. This raises the question of whether or not everyone deserves privacy, even murderers and criminals. It interesting to observe how Hitchcock uses point-of-view shots to give the viewer the impression they are Jeff, watching his neighbours: Hitchcock forces the viewer into the role of voyeur, watching others for their entertainment, which, as cinema goers, is exactly what the viewer is. Hitchcock cleverly forces the viewer into a morally compromising position. 

In conclusion, 'King Lear' and 'Rear Window' both display a range of characters who are products of their environment and thus, behave in morally corrupt ways with some individual exceptions. Both texts use the theme of eyesight to highlight the separate themes of evil and voyeurism.