The Most Villainous of the Evil

Throughout King Lear, most of the characters have proven themselves to be villainous and disloyal. However, there are a few characters that rank above the rest in their amounts of villainous behavior.

            Edmund is a man who holds no bond sacred. He deceives both his brother and father, all in the quest to gain power. Not only is he deceitful, but he is also willing for others to die as a result of his actions. This evil nature is especially apparent when Edmund tells Cornwall of Gloucester’s alliance with Lear. He does not give a second thought when Cornwall declares that Gloucester should be killed. Arguably there is a reason that Edmund is angry at Gloucester; he was constantly regarded as the lesser son and Gloucester was embarrassed to be his father. However, there is no reason for Edmund to have so much hatred towards Edgar. Edgar treated Edmund like a true brother, trusting him and confiding in him. Edmund completely misuses this trust to stab Edgar in the back. Once Edgar runs away, Edmund forgets about him and searches for his next victim.

            Goneril is a villain to all throughout the play, and destroys lives with no regard for others. Goneril has a certain amount of control over Regan, so Goneril gets the blame as the mastermind of the evil treatment of Lear. She ruthlessly casts him out to suffer in the storm, hopefully that it will lead to his demise. After learning that Lear is still alive, she makes sure that those who help Lear will be punished as well as plot to kill Lear himself. She then punishes Gloucester by removing his eyes. Regan’s idea to kill Gloucester is cruel, but at the same time uncreative. Goneril creates a twisted scheme to be sure that Gloucester will continue to suffer after the punishment, rather than escaping her though death.

            Therefore, while both characters are evil, Goneril is the most villainous character in the play. Edmund deceives others but doesn’t do any of the dirty work himself. Goneril, on the other hand, takes direct action to inflict pain on the innocent.