LEAR: [To Kent] I loved her most, and thought to set my rest
On her kind nursery. [To Cordelia] Hence and avoid my sight! –
So be my grave my peace, as here I give
Her father’s heart from her.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1. When Kent tries to get Lear to see the terrible mistake he has made in disowning Cordelia, Lear makes an extraordinary admission. He is angry because Cordelia is the daughter he loved best whom he hoped would nurse him in his retirement years. He then banishes Cordelia from his sight and withdraws his love from her. It is no surprise that Lear’s family is so dysfunctional when as a father he can be such a blind fool.