The success and unsuccess of characters in king lear

Point
Example
Key word

The success and unsuccess of characters in King Lear
The comparative text that I have chosen for this answer is King Lear written by William Shakespeare.
The character I am going to focus on in this essay is Edmund. Edmund challenges the cultural context of the time as he tries to gain power despite being a bastard son of the Earl of Gloucester.

Edmund challenges the cultural context as he is trying to take power from his father. This challenges the cultural context of the time as he is a bastard son. Being a bastard son meant you wouldn't inherit anything from your father, and this is what causes Edmund to do what he does. If Lear represents the old monarchy, then Edmund would represent the new order which wouldn't be so harsh on "bastards"

In the beginning of the play, Edmund creates a plan to get his brother, Edgar out of the picture as Edgar is set to inherit from Gloucester because he is his legitimate son. Edmund tells his father that Edgar was planning against him while in truth it is Edmund that is deceiving him. Edmund is successful in this as he tricks his brother into thinking that their father is angry at him, telling him he should hide from him. This deception is ultimately sets off a large chain of events in this subplot causing greatly tragic moments in the play. From this, Edmund gains a better relationship with his father, in hopes to inherit his title and wealth.

Edmund also is successful in gaining romantic attention from both Regan and Goneril in the play. As they are the daughters of Lear, this means that they have a lot of power which is exactly what Edmund craves. By flirting with both Regan and Goneril, Edmund attempts to essentially pit them against each other. We see how Edmund, despite being quite an evil character, is quite a complex and smart character too. His decision to play both the sisters means that they both fall for him, an are both prepared to give him anything that he wants. An example of the is when Regan's husband is slain. Edmund is discussing ideas with Albany when Albany explains how he is above Edmund, therefore no needing of his advice. This in turn angers both Edmund and Regan. Regan then gives her power to Edmund by claiming they are gong to get married. This is exactly what Edmund wants and this is his best, but final success in the play.

Question 2: Compare the success and unsuccessful attempts made by one main character in the challenging of the cultural context of the time.

Both "King Lear" and "Pride" have characters that challenge the cultural context of the time.
"Mark Ashton" is one of the main characters in "Pride" who challenges the cultural context of its time. Pride is set in 1980s Britain, and therefore it is not the most inviting place for a gay man. Mark Ashton is successful in his challenging of cultural context and becomes a well-known activist.

Mark is the founder and leader of the LGSM. This is an organisation created by lesbians and gays in order to support the miners. At the start of their journey the decide on helping a small mining town in Wales. Despite the fact that they are trying to help the miners, they are not welcomed with open arms due to their sexuality. At this time it was very hard in Wales. People were on strike and therefore had no income. In the little mining town the LGSM were visiting, people were living off of donations and rations. The population of Wales at this time are generally old-fashioned. This meant they were generally unsympathetic to homosexuals. Mark is successful in challenging this as by the end of the film, not only do the miners and the village accept him, but they support the gays by joining their protest march.