The allegory to be found in King Lear serves a larger purpose than simple metaphor, however. Elizabethan perceptions of disease, including mental illnesses, are steeped in the long held Christian belief that suffering is divine retribution for wrongdoing. This stems primarily from a few key biblical passages, namely the book of Exodus, with a little from Revelations found in the four horsemen of the apocalypse. (Source: Bible) Exodus tells the story of the journey to the Promised Land, which begins with their enslavement by the Egyptians. In order to punish Pharaoh for refusing to allow the Israelites’ departure, God sends down ten plagues on the Egyptians and them alone, including festering boils, a swarm of locusts, and the death of each house’s firstborn son. Christianity has long cited this particular story as evidence that goodness is rewarded, while evil is punished, and this was a widely established belief for much of European history. King Lear does not follow this pattern, however. Lear is, as far as the play is concerned, a good king, a fair ruler, and a good father. He is not guilty of any sin worthy of his descent into madness and eventual death. Some would turn to the book of Job to counter this, saying that Lear’s tale is instead one of a good man tested by God. This, however, is not the case. (Source: Bible) Job’s story is one of a man’s unwavering faith tested by terrible loss, followed by reward upon his successful maintenance of said faith. Lear’s story is one of loss, followed by what could be considered redemption, but quickly followed by the death of said redemptive force in the form of Cordelia’s hanging. Lear promptly goes mad with grief and dies too, handily removing any similarity to Job. Plain and simple, King Lear does not follow the prescribed Christian narrative, instead positing that suffering is universal and non-discriminating.