One way I like this very well,
But being widow and my Gloucester with her
May all the building in my fancy pluck
Upon my hateful life.
– William Shakespeare
King Lear, Act 4, Scene 2. Goneril says this in an aside after hearing about Cornwall’s death. On one hand she is glad that Cornwall is dead, but on the other she is worried because Regan is now a widow and Edmund ("my Gloucester") is with her and might choose her over Goneril. Goneril’s hopes of having Edmund to herself would then be shattered and she would have to continue this hateful life, she says. Both sisters are in love with Edmund and jealous of one another. Goneril’s use of the words "hateful life" and "pluck" – Gloucester’s eyes were plucked out by Goneril’s cruel husband Cornwall on her bidding – could be seen as Goneril foreshadowing her own downfall.