Goneril

Play

King Lear

Summary

Goneril is Lear's eldest daughter and the first to move against him, systematically stripping him of his knights, his dignity, and finally his shelter. Cold and strategic where her sister Regan is openly savage, she despises her decent husband Albany and pursues Edmund as a lover and potential co-ruler. When Regan becomes her rival for Edmund, Goneril poisons her sister, then kills herself upon Edmund's defeat.

Notable Quotations

"A little to disquantity your train; / And the remainder that shall still depend, / To be such men as may besort your age, / And know themselves and you." *(I.4)*

"I have been worth the whistle." *(IV.2)*

Cross-references

• King Lear — the play
• Tragedies
• character_lear — her father whom she drives into the storm
• character_regan — her sister and rival
• character_edmund — her lover
• character_albany — her husband