Betrayal

Could you define betrayal in purely technical terms? Or is betrayal better defined through an emotional response? Can't everyone produce an instance where they have felt betrayed? More importantly, hasn't everyone betrayed another to a certain point and simply rationalized it as something else.

I've wondered what motivates someone to betray another. I've come to the conclusion that there is something underlying the circumstance. In simple terms, the betrayer feels betrayed. Did Robert E. Lee betray the U.S. when he declined Lincolns offer to lead the Union troops? Or did he first feel betrayed by the ever-growing centralized government that lessened State's rights?

Did Benedict Arnold, hero of the American Revolution and later traitor, feel betrayed by politics, a waning fortune, and American bedding up with the French? What motivated him; is it black and white, or is there some gray? After all, wasn't it the founding fathers who betrayed the English crown?