Manipulation In King Lear

What would it take to get to accomplish your goal? To do anything it takes to achieve it. Even in this Shakespearean work; King Lear where we have the type of characters where they would affect the protagonist by their own selfish needs. Yet it what makes this Shakespearean play interesting with its deceiving, greedy antagonist that brings it to the reader’s attention. There many cruel characters in King Lear that seem to cause destruction but the main ones that seem to cause chaos is the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester named Edmund and the eldest daughter of King Lear named Goneril. Without these antagonist characters we wouldn’t have interest in reading King Lear. Edmund and Goneril are the ones that seemed to bring the attraction

Through the play, they plan to deceive their fathers to overthrow their place of control wanting to feel more appreciated. We have Edmund who wants to get rid of his father, Earl of Gloucester because of the way that Gloucester has been treating him differently than Edgar who is Gloucester legitimate son. Goneril is just like Edmund that wants to have control over her father’s power. She would do anything to get to King Lear place, going through deceiving her allies around her and even trying to kill her husband so she could be with Edmund. In the play, Edmund and Goneril are seen as the main villains since they were the ones who caused many problems for our main protagonist. They both seem to share the same similarities together that they even end up having romantic feelings for each other but they don’t end with a happy ending especially with Goneril’s sister; Regan who interferes with their affair. They play the role of the greedy antagonist that would get rid of anyone in their way of being Queen or the new Earl of Gloucester ,making the protagonist struggling with the challenges, causing destruction like a tornado obliterating

Goneril and Edmund’s plan may seem the same but with Goneril, she wants to have power over her Father’s castle. Goneril is the one to cause problems for her father by confronting Lear with challenges that seemed to push her father into becoming a mad man. The audience would be surprised by how Goneril acts throughout the play seeing her from having an affair with Edmund and poisoning her sister from jealousy. “The best and soundest of his time hath been but rash; then must we look to receive from his age, not alone the imperfections of long-ingraffed condition, but therewithal the unruly waywardness that infirm and choleric years being with them.” I.1.319-323 Goneril speaks to Regan that she plans to disobey and disrespect her father so he could his wrath could get to him to get rid him. Even with the disrespecting she gives to her father, he wouldn’t stand up to it instead he stands up for himself cursing Goneril with his words. If it were Edmund, it would be a different story with his naïve father Gloucester that doesn’t see his son as a wicked man. Gloucester was quick to fall for the fact that Edmund was stabbed by Edgar when in reality; it was all just to frame Edgar to get rid of him. He was envious while Goneril wasn’t, Edmund just wanted to see as a high class rather than a bastard son which they call him instead of an illegitimate son. He gets rid of his