family

cornwall endorses edmund’s betrayal of gloucester by telling him ‘i will lay trust upon thee, and thou shalt find a dearer father in my love’. cornwall represents how greed in society overtakes familial bonds, and also shows how a greedy society favours power over love (such as the dowry, act 1 scene 1). edmund earns titles as well as cornwall’s favour

pursuit of power is such a corruptive force that it comes with destroying families. by destroying the chain of being, it also destroys the familial hierarchies of the father being on top and the children serving - which is why edmund can only became an earl by betraying his father. shows that the chain of being is not only essential to keep national order, but smaller orders as well