Hi so I’m working on this King Lear staging ideas post that I’ll be posting soon, and I mention your theory of Cornwall’s relationship with Edmund (I really liked it and thought it was a great idea). Anyway can you tell me more about them? I’m really curious now- in your theory where you mention that Cornwall could have manipulated Edmund like Edmund manipulated everyone else. Which I think is great, but now I gotta know- what would be Cornwall’s purpose in doing so? What would he get out of it?
Ooh thank you for asking! I think their dynamic is so underrated so I love that you’re thinking about posting about it!
The straightforward answer is probably that Cornwall just recognizes how smart and capable Edmund is (at a stage of the play when a lot of other characters haven’t) and he’s the kind of person who would rather have him on his side than working against him. He manipulates Edmund in that he understands how to give Edmund a taste of what he wants (affection) at the right times in order to keep him loyal, but I don’t think he necessarily has a big master plan for him. It’s more that he’s figured out how Edmund operates, and since Edmund is really good at figuring out how other people operate using that to his advantage, Cornwall could possibly use him as a means of becoming sort of a puppet master.
It’s hard to figure out what Cornwall might have done/was planning to do if he hadn’t died, but I’ll throw out some speculation anyway. He likely would have gotten rid of Gloucester and possibly tracked down Edgar too then, I’m guessing, turned his attention toward Albany. I can 100% see him trying to get Albany killed off and then arranging a marriage between Edmund and Goneril, knowing Edmund is sort of under his thumb, so he effectively has absolute authority and goes unquestioned. (How long would Edmund defer to Cornwall if he also had a wife who he felt loved by? That could be another story)
The fucked up answer is that Cornwall also seems to have some uh…thing, I suppose, for abusing the power he has over people, so it’s possible he also just, like, gets a kick out of this.
Edit: just got your other ask, I’ll definitely think about some Edmund and Cornwall hcs and post those soon
Very cool- I genuinely love this theory, it makes so much sense.
Now I really wish Cornwall didn’t have to die so I could see where he was going with his epic “manipulate Edmund” plan