The characters of Goneril and Cordelia in King Lear Nothing makes a story better than a good villain, or in this case, a good villain. They are the people we love to hate and want to see burn. Goneril, from Shakespeare's King Lear, is no exception. His woes flared from the beginning of the play with his lack of sincerity in professing his love for his father: "Lord, I love you more than words can express the matter; Dearer than sight, space, and freedom; Beyond what can be esteemed, rich or rare; with grace, health, beauty, honor as a child has ever loved, or a father has found; ) In his words you can sense insincerity and exaggeration, perhaps even a touch of hatred that boils like a volcano on the verge of explosion, which will bring destruction to everyone and everything that comes in its path. Shakespeare does not disappoint. The volcano is actually a good analogy for this character, because he does exactly what is expected of not only his father, but also his husband, the Duke of Albany, who killed the Duke of Gloucester I; whose eyes are gouged out in his presence; the other sister, Regan, who kills out of jealousy; and Goneril herself, when she comes face to face with her true self. Regarding his role in the Elizabethan age, Goneril not only represented evil, but also rebellion. She rebelled against the accepted role of women by rebelling against both her father and her husband. This reflects much of the theme of the play in that rebellion against the accepted social order which undermines that order, which leads to the fall and chaos. Ag...... middle of paper ......the wicked prosper and the virtuous fail. . . the public will not wake up ever more satisfied by the final triumph of persecuted virtue. What exactly was Cordelia's role in the play? Was he there as an angel-like character who made the distinction between good and evil more visible? as a little goodness that did no harm and that perhaps, to a certain extent, we should have despised? Or was it there to make us more aware of a crumbling society in which many things were opposite of what one might think they should be, with evil generally prevailing over good (which to some extent is prophetic for today's society)? There are many theories surrounding this particular character, and none have reached a definitive conclusion as of late. The best I can come up with, however, is simply the "Yes" answer to all of the above.