Like many villains in Jacobean drama, Edmund seethes with frustration about the 'plague of custom' (Act 1 Scene 2) that keeps him on the fringes of society. His Machiavellian qualities include his political ambition and willingness to use unscrupulous methods to achieve his aims. The theme of appearance and reality prevails through Edmunds character. We see him as courteous to his father, even loyal, but through his soliloquy's we discover the real Edmund and his ulterior motives to the treatment of his father and others. As Edmund says himself, he is adaptable and ready to manipulate e…
