EDMUND IDENTIFICATION

. Identify with Edmund. What do you know about family dynamics and parents’ treatment of children that might make him act the way he does? What is there to respect about him? Why do you think Gloucester treats him the way he does? Is there any modern day equivalent to this?


Though Edmund is raised equally as his brother, it is known that Gloucester is ashamed of him as he is a bastard son. Edgar, however, may be treated a bit better because he is the legal son- he is the one that will inherit- etc. Edmund is scheming, but there is also a lot to respect about him. He is very intelligent and cunning. His drive for power is a drive to be seen equally as his brother, as his society forces him to be viewed as something lesser, even though he is clearly more intelligent than Edgar. Gloucester may treat him the way he does to try to suppress his ego, to try to keep him humble and thus keep him from striving for power, but this is obviously not effective. I can’t really think of a modern day equivalent to this, except people finding legal loopholes to cheat each other out of money. The idea of bastard sons having less power than legitimate sons has kind of dissipated.
One family dynamic that is interesting is that Edgar seems to be very innocent and not treat Edmund badly. Edmunds schemes would seem to make sense if the entire family treated him as if he were something lower, but in fact it seems as though only Gloucester does- and in fact, Gloucester may not treat him all that badly. This is what forms the realization that Edmund truly is a villain in the story- in the beginning, the reader wants to feel sorry for him, and though out the first few scenes it is easy to sympathize with Edmund, but when Edgar is brought into the story, oblivious and obviously loving of his brother Edmund, it is easy to begin to see the switch into Edmund’s true intentions.