Villainy destroys itself, or perhaps more succinctly, villainy destroys the villain. Nowhere is this adage more applicable than Shakespeare's The Tragedy of King Lear. The play provides the audience with three characters whose stories embody this statement: Regan, Goneril, and Edmund. Edmund and the corrupt sibling partnership of Regan and Goneril function as separate antagonists for the play's dual plot lines. Furthermore, they function holistically as the antagonists for the plot created when the dual lines converge towards the end of the tragedy. The villains' individual downfalls occur at the moment when their alliances with each other are superceded by a selfish desire for power.

Through the course of the play, the audience witnesses the various destructions of the villains caused directly by their own villainous actions and desires. At the play's beginning, Edmund writes a letter that implicates his half-brother Edgar in a conspiracy plot to overthrow their father, the Earl of Gloucester. It is revenge that fuels Edmund. The bastard son of Gloucester, he seeks restitution for the mistreatment paid to him by his father. Moreover, Edmund is hungry for land and the power that accompanies that ownership. At the end of Act I, scene II, Edmund pledges, "Let me, if not by birth, have lands by wit. (I:ii:183)" With this, he begins his campaign for vengeance and land. He succeeds in ousting Edgar and establishing Gloucester as a traitor, but once the title of Gloucester is passed on to him, he sets his sights upon the British throne. He desires more land and more power. This constant thirst leads to his downfall, as well as the demise of Regan and Goneril. He causes the sisters to fall in love with him in an attempt to capture the throne for himself. Finally, in Act V, Edmund's lust for power culminates in an act of defiance toward Albany, his political superior. Once Lear and Cordelia are captured, he goes around Albany's wishes that they be treated well. He gives orders to his captain that Cordelia should be hanged. After Edgar enters and fatally wounds him, Edmund sends a messenger in an attempt to repeal this order. The messenger he sends does not make it in time, and Cordelia is hanged. It is interesting that Edmund attempts to repent of his villainy at the moment immediately prior to his death. It appears that his impending death forces him to acknowledge his wicked actions. He tries desperately to atone for his transgressions, but it is all in vain.

The antagonistic team of Regan and Goneril begins its villainy in the famous scene of Act I. King Lear gathers his daughters together, and he asks each one to express their love for him so that he might distribute each child one third of his kingdom and power. Goneril and Regan answer him directly making large hyperbolic claims. Goneril claims, "Sir, I love you more than [words] can wield the matter, dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty. (I:i:55-56)" Regan extends Goneril's sentiment in saying, "She [Goneril] comes too short...I am alone felicitate in your dear Highness' love. (I:i:69-71)" The two, due to Cordelia's honesty, each acquire one half of Lear's kingdom and power. Like their counterpart, Edmund, they desire increasing amounts of power. In their lust for control, the sisters progressively revoke all of Lear's kingly rights and dignities. Toward the end of the tragedy, the sisters' individual villainy serves to rip their partnership apart. They are placed on opposing sides of a battle as each sister desires to be with Edmund. This struggle between the sisters comes to a tragic end, offstage, as Goneril poisons her sister and commits suicide with a dagger. It is their collective, as well as individual offenses that lead directly to their deaths.

Therefore, villainy destroys itself. The unquenchable nature of villainy represented in The Tragedy of King Lear is clearly to blame for the self-destruction of the three villains of the play. The villains were in a constant state of desire. The trio sought power, wealth, and position for themselves. However, upon each success, more was needed. As Edmund and the sisters moved closer to realizing absolute power, each person was forced to become increasingly isolated. Their alliance began to deteriorate as each character's selfish desires began to take control of them; the three turned their villainy upon each other. Once this happened, their destruction was eminent. Truly, each found their destruction in the hands of their own villainy.