In Shakespeare's King Lear....?

Question

In the secondary plot of the tragedy, why would Edmund save his father, Earl of Gloucester from suicide even though his father had been trying to kill him since the beginning of the play? i know it is about the nature which the play is fundamentally about, but isn't it kind of unnature to save someone who tried to kill you before? please share your thoughts.

10points wil be awarded to the best answer.

Answer 1

The theme of the play (or one theme) is the parent-chilld relationship, and the devotion of Edgar (not Edmund) to Gloucester mirrors Cordelia's devotion to Lear. Even though each father has cast off his most loving, dutiful child, that child goes on being loving and dutiful even when he or she has to resort to deviousness to do it. (Kent does the same to continue being a faithful servant to Lear.) Besides, Gloucester hasn't been trying to kill Edgar. He just favors Edmund over Edgar and is quick to believe that Edgar is trying to draw Edmund into a conspiracy against him. Maybe it's unnatural to try to save the life of someone who tried to kill you (which, I repeat, Gloucester didn't do, anyway); but, as Cordelia makes very clear in Act I, it's also natural for children to love their parents. Another perspective is that Edgar and Cordelia are being very Christian by turning the other cheek and returning good for evil. (Incidentally, seventeenth-century playwright Nahum Tate rewrote the ending of the play so that Cordelia survived and married Edgar.)

Answer 2

Aida gave a very good answer.
While I normally don't believe in "unconditional love," that is what Edgar and Cordelia are showing--at the least, it is unconditional fidelity to their fathers.
They are in stark contrast to Goneril, Regan, and Edmund. In spite of all they receive from their fathers, they are not grateful and conspire against them, hoping to kill them. They have everything and would take everything.
Edgar has nothing but would give everything--keep in mind, too, that by saving his father from suicide, he does more than save Glouster's life. He saves his father's soul.