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Oswald is Goneril’s primary servant, and throughout the play, his primary goal is to assist her in carrying out acts of treachery against King Lear. Endlessly obedient, Oswald follows any and all instructions that his mistress gives him without considering their moral implications. This quality inevitably renders him a cruel and heartless figure as he follows in Goneril’s footsteps. He quickly agrees to antagonize Lear in Act I, for example, in order to help Goneril develop an excuse to take him down. After Oswald proves his loyalty to his mistress by confronting her father, Goneril becomes even more emboldened to act. Knowing that she has someone like Oswald on her side who will support her unconditionally reinforces her belief that her villainous behavior toward her father is justifiable. This relationship becomes even more crucial in Act IV when he reveals that Albany, Goneril’s husband, is turning against them. Between Albany’s betrayal and Regan’s attempts to steal Edmund away from her, Oswald is one of the few people that Goneril feels she can trust as the play’s tragedies unfold. Oswald, despite his corruptibility and deceitfulness, largely upholds his oath to his mistress until the end. In Act IV, Scene 5, for example, he refuses to let Regan read a letter he is delivering from Goneril to Edmund. This choice reinforces his commitment to protecting Goneril above all else. Oswald’s greed, however, ultimately overpowers his loyalty, and he agrees to Regan’s proposal to kill Gloucester in exchange for a reward. This bargain leads Oswald to his death at the hands of Edgar and suggests that, like his mistress, he allowed his selfish desires to blind him to the dangers surrounding him.
