King Lear - Comparison between Edmund and Cordelia's Sisters

In the first two scenes of Act I, the readers are introduced to two families, both with problems to deal with. King Lear’s two older daughters, Regan and Goneril, flatter their father with insincere speeches, while planning an evil scheme to purge their father of his remaining authority. In a rather parallel situation, Edmund forges a letter to perform an act to frame his half-brother Edgar in order to claim the inheritance. It is …

…are parallels between the treacheries of Gloucester’s family and that of King Lear’s. The key characters, Regan, Goneril and Edmund, suggest this parallel for the most part. Although Edmund’s motive is more complicated than the sisters’, they share several qualities in their acts of treachery. These qualities include their cleverness, insight, and the ability to tell lies smoothly. Consequently it enables them to deceive their fathers, and blind them from the truth.