Goneril

Family: Lear's family · Role: eldest daughter · First appears: King Lear · Act I, Scene I

At the opening, King Lear divides the kingdom and transfers its cares to younger rulers, granting Goneril a hereditary third for herself and Albany’s issue. He asks his daughters which loves him most; Goneril speaks with Regan about their shared interests and questions Cordelia’s sisters’ declarations. King Lear makes Goneril and Regan his guardians and depositaries, while Goneril’s household includes Oswald, whose service she commands.

When King Lear returns from hunting, Goneril decides not to receive him and orders Oswald and his fellows to treat him with deliberate negligence. She demands that Lear reduce his retinue, cuts it from one hundred to fifty, and writes to Regan to coordinate their opposition: “I’ll write straight to my sister To hold my very course.” Lear leaves her, cursing her with sterility, and Goneril sends Oswald to warn Regan about him. Together, the sisters refuse to accommodate Lear’s followers, shut him out into the storm, and defy his attempts to find shelter with them.

By Act IV, Goneril urges Edmund to hasten the military musters and conduct his brother’s forces, while pursuing him herself and plotting against Albany. She offers Edmund a favour and courtship, promising that he may hear “A mistress’s command,” and her letter reveals plans for him to remove her husband. Goneril and Regan become rivals for Edmund’s allegiance; he is contracted to both, while planning with Goneril to use Albany in battle and arrange his death afterward. When Regan is poisoned for Edmund’s sake, Goneril kills herself.