Reading over my old King Lear notes from last year I found the following information. I didn't write this myself btw, another boser did.
I'm not doing the feminist reading for King Lear but here's my understanding of the reading. First of all it's a partriarchal society and women are viewed in two extremes: Madonna (domesticated, nurturing, innocent) and whore (unconvetional, bold temptress). Goneril and Regan - unconventional women don't fit into the mould. In a feminist reading, (I think) you'd see how women cannot be judged so purely in terms of black and white. Even as Cordelia is quiet and innocent, she is defiant and refuses to give King Lear what he wants to hear. Goneril and Regan are presented to us like the wicked stepsisters yet if you look at the argument between Goneril and King Lear about his knights, she can be seen as reasonable and rational. She finds them to be disruptive and can't run the kingdom behaving as they are.
It's the idea of organising things within gender roles and functions. Denies stereotypes - Cordelia wilful and disobedient. I'm not sure if this is a point to bring up but it almost seems though that the roles are reversed between King Lear and Goneril. King Lear has a childish tantrum whilst Goneril is like a mother, stripping his toys away from him.
I may have gone off on a tangent but hopefully I've made sense
Cordelia's role in term of feminist interpretations can also be seen in that not only does she support patriarchal 'order', she openly upholds it in her dialogue and actions. In this interpretation, Goneril and Regan's actions are a doomed attempt to revolt against an intrinstically patriarchal system, one that is ironically inherent in the misogynistic dialogue of the text, which of course, was a common contextual belief. (The proper 'role' of women and so-on.)
Key lines in supporting this interpretation.
"You must not kneel"-Cordelia, IV, vi.
"Shame of ladies"-Cordelia, describing her sisters.
Thou hast a daughter who redeems nature from the general curse which twain have brought her to..-Gentleman, Act IV. [As can be seen, the 'threat' of matriarchal society is viewed not only as wrong, but un-natural.)
Her voice was ever soft, Gentle and low-an excellent thing in woman-Lear, Act V, Scene III. [While this is a description of Cordelia, it can be interpreted metaphorically as reinforcing stereotypical conceptions of the 'ideal' woman, which Cordelia is in terms of that context.]
Proper deformity seems not in the fiend so horrid as in womam-Albany.
The narrative and its dramatisation present a connection between sexual insubordination and anarchy, and the connection is given an explicitly misogynistic emphasis
The action of the play, the organisation of its point of view and the theatrical dynamic of its central scenes all depend upon an audience accepting an equation between 'human nature' and male power-Kathleen McLuskie, "The Patriarchal Bard".
Additionally, the upholding of patriarchy is implied in interpretations highlighting that while depicting the elimination of power structures, King Lear generally supports them [While elements of the system are criticised, notably the lack of compassion in many monarchs.. Take physic pomp..Expose thyself to feel what thy wretches feel, this reform is located within the system itself, rather than through subverting it. While the system is criticised, the results of abandoning it are depicted as catastrophic.) However, in recent adaptations, the misogyny of the original text has either been eliminated or significantly modified (An example of this is seen in Albany, with much of his misogynistic dialogue cut from the text, as otherwise, how could a contemporary audience view him as a hero? I think he's evil
