| Goneril | |
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Goneril and Regan by Edwin Austin Abbey |
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| Creator | William Shakespeare |
| Play | King Lear |
Goneril, or Gonerill, is a fictional character in William Shakespeare’s King Lear. She is the eldest of King Lear's daughters. Along with her sister Regan, Goneril is considered a wicked character.[1] She is obsessed with power and overthrowing her elderly father as ruler of the kingdom. She is an aggressive woman, a rare trait for a female character in Elizabethan literature.
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The earliest example of her deceitful tendencies is in the first act. Lear is dividing his kingdom among his three daughters, as long as they express their true love to him. Knowing her response will get her closer to the throne, Goneril says, “Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter,” (1.1. 53).[2] She has no reservations while lying to her father.
She finally begins to show her true colors when Lear asks to stay with her and her husband. She tells him to send away his knights and servants because they are too loud and too numerous. Livid that he is being disrespected, Lear curses her and leaves.
Goneril, the wife of the Duke of Albany, has an intimate relationship with Edmund, one that may have been played up in the earlier editions of King Lear.[3] In the final Act, Goneril discovers that Regan has a sexual desire for Edmund as well. Goneril poisons her sister’s drink, goes offstage, and kills herself.
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