From the beginning of the play, "King Lear," we learn that Edmund is a bastard son, born out of wedlock. Gloucester says in introducing Edmund to Kent "His breeding, sir, hath been at my charge: I have so often blushed to acknowledge him, that now I am brazed to it." This shows that Gloucester is less than pleased with having this illegitimate son but is now used to introducing him as so. The era in which the play takes place identifies the oldest son as the one to inherit everything and that was Edmund's older brother Edgar. So not only is he the illegitimate child, he is also not set to inherit anything from his verbally abusive father. One would think that most of Edmund's behavior is because of the verbal abuse and possible neglect that he had to endure in his childhood and into his adult years. It is fascinating to see how these things manifest themselves in his behaviors in the play. Edmund is quite manipulative and is a Machiavellian type character, because he will do whatever he can to get what he wants. Edmund does whatever he wants to gain power with no remorse, and I think that this is because he is trying to make up for the fact that he was always put down and made into less of a person by the words and comments of Gloucester. One would also be able to see that his collective treacherous behaviors are his uprising against a society that is set to deny him of the same status that his legitimate brother is set to inherit. "Now, gods, stand up for bastards," says but in fact he depends not on divine aid but on his own initiative. Edmund is truly the definition of a self made man and the fact that he is the "bastard" son, yet ends up in command of power that only those with the highest power are able to obtain, is proof of that. His desire for status and power is something that is amplified because of these issues surrounding him. I think that these things and their consequential behaviors are what make him a fascinati