Parallel characters

In King Lear the characters of Lear and Gloucester seem to be parallels through act 3. Both of them share many similar trials and characteristics, but they each have some unique traits. In the last 2 acts however, I feel that the two become closer to being foils for each other.

Let's start with the similarities. First, (and most obviously) Lear and  Gloucester are both old noblemen. The two characters being the same age helps establish and create similarities between them. Another similarity between the two men in this act is that both of them see a fall from grace. Lear loses all of his power to his daughters and Gloucester has title stripped by his bastard son--Edmund. This similarity is key because it feeds into the most essential parallel. Both men's falls from power are accompanied by some sort of physical or mental degradation. Gloucester loses his eyes, and Lear loses his mind.

It's here that we start to see the differences between Lear and Gloucester. For Lear, once he's gone crazy, he's out. He spends the rest of his time saying random things and prancing through fields (it's pretty weird). Gloucester on the other hand comes to term with his folly in trusting Edmund over Edgar. Lear dives headlong into flights of fancy while Gloucester sobers up to the harsh truth of betrayal. This critical difference makes the two characters into foils. While both had a similar path to their fall, the way they respond to it is hugely different.