King Lear

Many of the characters in Shakespeare's King Lear undergo a change and are forced to see society from a different angle. Initially proud and somewhat ignorant, King Lear begins to see the poverty and austerity of the world. Lear's banishment introduces a "new" society to influence him, allowing him to realize his foolishness and lose much of his pride. Gloucester only begins to see the truth and the world for what it really is when he physically loses sight; this new perspective of society sheds light onto the true nature of the characters of the play.

Despite these significant changes, when I consider my question, Edmund actually immediately comes into mind. At the core, Edmund's immoral scheming against his own brother and father, and eventually the king and his family, stems from his illegitimate birth and the societal stature of it. Edmund is first introduced in the play when he (in his mind) justifies his future actions in his soliloquy. Edmund is bitter about the fact that his title of "bastard," something completely beyond his own control, has cursed his entire life. Such "base" (1.2.10) social status (as well as being the younger brother) cause him to have no claim to his father's inheritance. Edmund states: "I stand in the plague of custom" (1.2.2-3). Because of the consequences of his birth, Edmund feels the need to defy social conventions, and to therefore claim his father's land and fortune in place of his brother. Edmund wishes to show the world that the legitimate son can be unfaithful, and the bastard loyal. Society and its morals are ultimately what cause Edmund to do all of the deeds he does throughout the play. Without these supposedly justified reasons, it is difficult to see what reason Edmund may have had to betray those who were close to him.