I am a very foolish fond old man,
Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less;
And, to deal plainly,
I fear I am not in my perfect mind.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 4, Scene 7. Lear in his madness finally sees his true self, a foolish old man of more than eighty years old who is not in his right mind. He has come a long way from the opening scene, when driven by pride and arrogance and the supreme belief in his kingly power he banished Cordelia and abdicated his kingdom to her two deceptive and self-serving sisters. This paves the way for reconciliation with Cordelia, the closest that Lear will have to any sort of redemption. It is ironic that it took insanity for him to realize all this and finally see the error of his ways.