English: Shakespeare:
                      A Critical Analysis of King Leer's Daughters'Attraction to Edmund
                                                                                             June 14, 1998

                      ShakespeareŐ King Lear is a story of treachery and deceit. The villainy of the
                      play knows no bounds. Family lines are ignored in an overwhelming quest for
                      power. This villainy is epitomized in the character of Edmund, bastard son of
                      the Earl of Gloucester. Edmund is displayed as a " most toad-spotted traitor."
                      When we first see Edmund, he is already knee deep in treachery. His need for
                      power has already clouded his mind to the extent that his first act is a double-
                      cross of his own brother. Edmund composes a false letter to his father
                      implicating his brother, Edgar in a plot to kill Gloucester. Edmund then goes to
                      Edgar and convinces him to run away. Edgar, like his father is easily deceived,
                      and runs. EdmundŐs evil trickery continues to increase in its cruelty until he
                      commits an inconceivable crime. Edmund has reached a point in his pursuit of
                      power that he will stop at nothing to gain more. He writes another letter. This
                      one is similar to the first, except instead of implicating his brother to his father,
                      it implicates his father in a plot with France to kill The Duke of Cornwall. The
                      King decides that GloucesterŐs supposed treachery cannot be tolerated and
                      orders that his eyes be torn out. At this point, Edmund seems to be
                      unequivocally evil. This is undoubtedly false. Two of the other characters of
                      the play, Goneril and Regan surely equal EdmundŐs ferocity in their quest for
                      power. Our first glimpse at the two surely begins to prove that fact. In this
                      scene, the King asks that each of his three daughters profess their undying
                      love to him before he distributes parts of the kingdom to them. Goneril and
                      Regan both, unlike their sister Cordelia who is to true of heart to sink to such
                      a level, give incredibly pompous speeches telling of how great their love for
                      their father is. The speeches, as we soon find out, are total lies. As soon as
                      they receive their land, the two, accompanied by their husbands, join forces,
                      and, using their newly found power, strip their father of all power. They used
                      their fatherŐs own need for affection to manipulate him and take his power.
                      This is indeed an act worthy of the most disgusting of personŐs. Having taken
                      this very quick glimpse into King Lear shows us a very good reason for both
                      Goneril and Regan to be attracted to Edmund. Edmund shares their
                      ambition-power. He shares their strength-treachery. And he is possibly the
                      only person more evil than they are. Evil has a tendency to align itself with
                      evil. In its constant quest to triumph over good evil unites to gain power. The
                      two daughters follow this pattern. They are instinctively drawn to the pure evil
                      that emanates from EdmundŐs very being. Their attraction to Edmund is
                      merely a symptom of their quest for power.