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Shakespeare's King Lear is a story of betrayal and dishonesty. There are no limits to the evil behavior of the characters throughout the play and family relationships are ignored in a strong desire for power. This wickedness is found in the characters of Edmund, bastard son of the Earl of Gloucester; Goneril and Regan, the two eldest daughters of King Lear. Edmund is displayed as “the most evil." When we first see Edmund, he is already entrenched in treachery. His need for power has clouded his mind to the extent that he deceives his brother, Edgar. Edmund writes a false letter to his father accusing his brother in a plot to kill Gloucester. Edmund then goes to Edgar and convinces him to run away. Edgar, like his father is easily deceived, and runs. Is it his ‘evil nature’ that makes him write the letter? Or is it the ‘hatred’ that gives rise to such bitterness? I would say that it could very well be a combination of the two, but