Fool Quote: Explained

“I marvel what kin though and thy daughters are. They’ll have me whipped for speaking true, thou’lt have me whipped for lying, and sometimes I am whipped for holding my peace. I had rather be any kind o’ thing than a Fool. And yet I would not be thee, nuncle. Though hast pared thy wit o’ both sides and left nothing i’ th’ middle. Here comes one o’ the parings. Enter Goneril”
(The Fool, 1.4.186-193)

In this passage the Fool presents the conundrum that he faces: absolutely no matter what he does, or fails to do, he will get whipped for it. He seems to blame this on the fact that he is a Fool, for he wishes afterward that he weren’t a Fool, but it seems ludicrous that an unavoidable situation is the victim’s fault. This backs up his comment marveling on what kin Lear and his daughters are, and says that they’re so different that together they create an impossible situation, and impasse, like what happens after Lear gives them his kingdom.
The Fool finds even more fault with Lear and his situation when he says, despite his impossible conundrum, that he would rather that than be Lear. With the knowledge of how insightful the Fool’s character really is in this play, this comparison and decision foreshadows how truly undesirable Lear’s life will be now that he has divided his kingdom between his two deceptive daughters. The Fool also says Lear has “pared thy wit o’ both sides,” and specifies that the parings are the daughters. This is really likening Lear’s wit to his power, saying that without his power and money he has no wit. This quote is a perfect example of the Fool’s hidden meanings and true insight into the deeper levels of the play, and levels of the play that haven’t even been revealed yet.