O dear father,
It is thy business that I go about.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 4, Scene 4. Following her banishment by King Lear, Cordelia returns to England at the head of an invading French army. But her words make it clear that she is not coming back to seek revenge or to conquer Britain, but rather to rescue Lear, whom she still loves and is loyal to despite his cruelty towards her. Cordelia’s saint-like qualities are also suggested by this passage, which echoes the words of Christ in Luke 2:49 – "I must go about my Father’s business."