Theme Of Greed In King Lear Essay Example

Actions speak louder than words, love is not merely pleasant words, and greed can make one act out of character. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the character for whom the play derives its title learns a valuable lesson about love and loyalty. These lessons are learned when he challenges his three daughters; he longs to know which of them loves him the most. The victor will inherit his kingdom. Goneril, the eldest of King Lear’s daughters, uses flattery to her advantage to prove her love for her father is greater than her sisters’. Goneril becomes the villain in the Shakespearean story of King Lear, proving that a thirst for power leads to ultimate betrayal. 

GONERIL

This man hath had good counsel. A hundred 

knights!

'Tis politic and safe to let him keep

At point a hundred knights! Yes, that, on every

dream,

Each buzz, each fancy, each complaint, dislike,

He may enguard his dotage with their powers

And hold our lives in mercy.—Oswald, I say! (1.4.340-347) (Quote 9)

GONERIL

Put on what weary negligence you please,

You and your fellows. I'll have it come to question.

If he dislike it, let him to our sister,

Whose mind and mine I know in that are one,

Not to be overruled. Idle old man,

That still would manage those authorities

That he hath given away! Now, by my life,

Old fools are babes again and must be used

With checks as flatteries, when they are seen 

abused.

Remember what I have said. (1.3.13-23) (Quote 13)

Deception is an act of misleading a person into believing a lie is the truth. In Quote 9, Goneril has devised a plan in to rid her father of his guards. She confronts her father telling him that his guards are too loud and disruptive to her household. When her father is absent, she confesses to others saying, “Each buzz, each fancy, each complaint, dislike, / He may enguard his dotage with their powers / And hold our lives in mercy.—Oswald, I say” (Quote 9). Goneril dislikes her father’s guards because even their presence gives him too much power in her opinion.  To successfully overthrow her father and reign she knows she will have to convince her father he does not need his faithful guards. This deception is just the beginning leading up to the ultimate betrayal that is to follow. 

Untrustworthy actions may deceive a person at first, but true motifs will always shine through in a matter of time. In the beginning of the play, Goneril is very flattering and loving toward her father. She confesses that her love for him is greater than anything. After she overthrows her father, her once loving sentiments are now condescending as seen in Quote 13. Goneril refers to her father as an idle old man and old fool being babes. She references that her father has given away the kingdom and she will not be overthrown. Her deceitful lies have driven her father mad. He trusted that she would do what was morally right. He could not see the reality of her heart through the fairytale that she led him to believe. Once, in charge those flattering pleasantries were replaced with vile words of insult. This criticism from Goneril towards her father shows that she is untrustworthy and a threat to her father. 

Greed is the unrestrainable desire for something that they do not possess. In King Lear, that desire would be for the kingdom. Goneril knows her father is arrogant and foolish. She also knows that he is going to play his daughters against one another in a competition to see who loves him most. She uses this knowledge to create a scenario where she says all the things her father wants to hear. Although these words are pleasant to the ear, they are not the truth. Behind his back she is developing a plan to overthrow him. This is revealed when she speaks to Albany about Lear’s guards. She lets this greedy desire for control trump her father’s authority. Once she gains control, she then is very vocal that she will not be overthrown. She does not respect her father and is very condescending toward him. This act of greed shows that Goneril will not let anything come between her and the throne. 

A villain is an individual who will do anything regardless of right or wrong, no matter the cost to achieve what their heart desires. The article, “Unnatural Hags: Shakespeare’s Evil Women in Titus Adronicus, King Lear, and Macbeth” by Ana Sentov proves Goneril to be a villain in this story when she states, “Subsequently, the characters of Goneril and Regan are demonized in two ways: they are portrayed as women attempting to seize the power that rightfully belongs to men; at the same time, they are loose women, whose sexuality has escaped their husbands’ control. They are called unnatural, because they display characteristics typically perceived as male, such as ambition, ruthlessness and hunger for power” (Sentov 30).  Sentov is basically stating that women of this era are normally housewives caring for their families. Men, on the other hand, hold the positions of power and control. Goneril shows no regards for the societal order of women versus men. Unlike man, she believes control is rightfully hers. Sentov also refers to her lust for Edmund, regardless of her marital status. In addition, the same article by Sentov implies Goneril’s thirst for power leads her to be in control of even her death when it states, “Goneril commits suicide in an attempt to rule her own destiny, rather than suffer the punishment for disrupting the patriarchal order” (Sentov 30). Goneril’s thirst for power has gone so far out of control that she even choses her own fate. Therefore, this statement furthermore proves Goneril’s villainous ways, that she would rather die than lose power of the kingdom.   

Power will cause people to do things out of character that under normal circumstances they would not do.  The article, “Dragon Fathers and Unnatural Children: Warring Generations in King Lear and Its Sources” written by Meredith Skura proves the theme of the thirst for power and its corruption when she states, “For this darker vision of human relationships, Shakespeare moves outside the old Leir play entirely. He borrows from Montaigne’s unsentimental account of the nature of fathers and children, who have good reason to hate each other as they compete for scarce resources” (Skura 122).  Skura is reiterating the fact that when it comes down to material possessions or family, greed normally takes over and will ruin a family as they come for the scarce resource, which in this story would be the land and power that King Lear possesses. This article goes on to say, “Generations always threaten to eat each other like creatures of the deep. They must if they try to preserve themselves” (Skura 122). What Skura is saying is that only the strong survive. It is a natural in all creatures under heaven to look out for themselves above all else. This is a concept that has been around since the beginning of time. Goneril has chosen this theme of greed and thirst for power in all aspects of her life from her marriage to Albany, to her patriarchal order for control, to her ultimate betrayal against her father. 

King Lear is a tragedy of sorts. One full of betrayal. True feelings are covered by clever speech or the lack there of. Every character has their own agenda to achieve. Every character has their own flaw.  King Lear’s flaw is he cannot tell the difference between reality and fairytale. He let Goneril’s meaningless words sway him to believe that she loved him, but she wanted her rightful place in line as the ruler of the kingdom at all costs. His arrogant, ego driven games cost him his sanity and his kingdom. He was betrayed by his own blood.  Goneril is clever. She uses her talent of flattery to sway the king into believing that she is sincere. Her father listened to these flattering, meaningless words spoken that lead to the ultimate betrayal against him and the loss of his kingdom. It is easy to speak complimentary words that are appealing to the senses, but true character lies in a person’s actions. King Lear learns this valuable lesson too late. He listens to the flattering words of his daughter, instead of looking beyond pleasantries and focusing on loyalties, which would show him the truth that he is seeking. 

These deceitful, untrustworthy villainous traits become all to present when presented with such a rare position as a ruler over a land. Goneril becomes the villain in the Shakespearean story of King Lear, proving that a thirst for power leads to ultimate betrayal. Maybe if King Lear had listened to his council, he would have seen through the flattering yet meaningless words. The Fool, King Lear’s servant was the wisest off all. He riddled King Lear with the following, “[…] I can tell why a snail has a house. Why, to put 's head in, not to give it away to his daughters and leave his horns without a case.”

Works Cited 

Sentov, Ana. “‘Unnatural Hags’: Shakespeare’s Evil Women in Titus Andronicus, King Lear and Macbeth.” European English Messenger, vol. 23, no. 1, Summer 2014, pp. 27–31. 

Skura, Meredith. “Dragon Fathers and Unnatural Children: Warring Generations in King Lear and Its Sources.” Comparative Drama, vol. 42, no. 2, Summer 2008, pp. 121–148.