Multiple identities inside King Lear

We have discussed in classes the big problem of identity inside King Lear. The protagonist, Lear’s identity is lost because he decides to disrupt the natural order of life inside of a kingdom. He divides his kingdom between his three daughters, leaving himself without land. In this way it is impossible for him to be a king without land, but why does he acts always as a king, even though he has lost everything?

The essay More nature needs: the disruptive identity superflux in King Lear postulates that the real problem in King Lear is not really the loss of identity of Lear, but the multiple identities of him that clashes through the play.

Lear is a father, and because of that he cannot be an infant. During the play Lear becomes an infant because he gets mad. He cannot think rationally, so he is more like an infant than like a father.  In the same way he wants to be a king, and he never left aside his kingly attitude, and this can be demonstrated in the storm scene, because he maintains his attitude as a king.

This bunch of contraditions is what makes Lear get mad according to this essay.

References: 

Shakespeare, William. King Lear. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2007.

Liao, Tiffany. "More than Nature Needs": The Disruptive Identity Superflux in King Lear. 2010