For most people in this world, the beliefs we hold when we are young change by the time we have matured. Influences on those people's thoughts become less intense as they come to think for themselves. It could even be a catastrophic event that causes someone to change his mind. As for Lear in Shakespeare's King Lear, he had all of these things going for him. Not only has he become pompous and arrogant with age, the daughters that he trusted the most betray him and leave him in a storm to rage at his bad fortune. He yells, "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks! You sulph'rous and thought-executing fires, Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts, Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder, Strike flat the thick rotundity o' th' world, Crack Nature's moulds, all germains spill at once, That makes ingrateful man!" (3, 2, 1-11). After this huge moment in Lear's life, though, he comes to change his views and ways. He realizes what true love really means, and there is no way to quantify that love.
Shakespeare poses an important message with Lear's insanity. He proves that in order to overcome despair, one must meet it face to face. A person's belief may change as they come to realize what was inside them all long.
