Throughout the semester we’ve been discussing the importance of
spiritual growth to the development of characters in Cervantes’ novellas
and Shakespeare’s plays. The concept of a spiritual journey is certainly
not unique. Many authors have employed the idea that characters do need to
change and grow in order to hold the attention of the audience. In stories
like “The Jealous Hidalgo” and “The Liberal Lover,” Cervantes shows how
some characters absolutely need to change the way they think and act before
they can consider themselves worthy of the women they love. Shakespeare
follows this pattern of spiritual growth and restoration in The Winter’s
Tale. This play is somewhat unique in that nearly all of the principle
characters have to improve themselves in some way, whether it is learning
humility or learning to trust true vision. In The Winter’s Tale,
Shakespeare displays the destructive power of jealousy and the incredible
potential for redemption that all humans possess through the spiritual
journeys of his characters.
As the play opens, all seems right with the world. Leontes is teasing
his friend Polixenes, trying to convince him to extend his visit by just a
few more days. Polixenes, who has been away from his throne for nine
months, feels that it is time he returned to his own country and attended
to his responsibilities. When Leontes can’t convince Polixenes to change
his mind, Leontes asks his wife, Hermione, to try persuading him as well.
Hermione is possessed of great wit and intelligence, and she uses that to
her advantage when she invites Polixenes to remain in Sicily for a while
longer. She teases Polixenes and says he would “Force me to keep you as a
prisoner, not like a guest…How say you (I.ii.52-54)?” Essentially she
says she’ll have to lock up Polyxenes in order to keep him as a guest like
she and her husband want to do. Leontes sees Hermione and Polixenes having
this intimate conversation and touching each other’s hands and, without so
much as asking the two of them, assumes that they are having an affair.
This inherent mistrust for women is nothing new, especially in
Shakespearean times. Leontes can’t trust Hermione because he can never
know for sure that a child she carries is his. There is always that
possibility that she may have cheated on him and conceived the child with
another man. This kind of mistrust was incredibly apparent during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It helps to explain why women were
married off at such a young age and kept under constant supervision.
Hermione and Polixenes have no idea that Leontes suspects such a
thing. The three of them have been good friends for many years, which
explains why Hermione feels comfortable enough in Polixenes’ presence to
offer him her hand or sit very close together. Leontes, however, is
incredibly narcissistic and sees every action in the context of how it will
reflect on him. He doesn’t recognize Hermione as an individual person, but
as an extension of himself. Because of this, Leontes feels as though he
has cheated himself when he suspects Hermione of committing adultery. Once
he makes these accusations, his incredible pride prevents him from seeing
any other possible explanation for Hermione’s and Polixenes’ actions.
To punish his wife and friend, Leontes has Hermione imprisoned and
instructs Camillo to poison Polixenes. Camillo reflects, rather wisely,
that very little good ever came to the man who was responsible for killing
a king, and instead of poisoning Polixenes as he promised Leontes he would
do, Camillo warns Polixenes and they escape to Bohemia together. When
Leontes discovers this, he says, “Camillo was his help in this, his pandar:
there is a plot against my life, my crown; all’s true that is mistrusted
(II.i.46-49).” He sees it only as further proof that Polixenes was up to
no good and that he probably hired Camillo from the beginning to help in
his seduction of Hermione. Leontes even begins to suspect that his son,
Mamillius, may not even be his. He is also convinced that the baby
Hermione is carrying has to be Polixenes’ child.
Hermione delivers her baby while in prison, and has Paulina show the
baby to Leontes, hoping that the innocence of their daughter might move
Leontes to forget his cruel imaginings. Rather than regard the baby as an
innocent, Leontes is enraged by her presence and orders Antigonus,
Paulina’s husband, to carry the baby off and abandon it in the wilderness
somewhere, but he only makes that choice after some of his advisors tell
him not to dash out the baby’s brains like he originally planned to do.
Not long after this decision is made, the Oracle of Delphi sends a message
to Leontes, telling him “Hermione is chaste; Polixenes blameless; Camillo a
true subject; Leontes a jealous tyrant; his innocent babe truly begotten;
and the king shall live without an heir, if that which is lost be not found
(III.ii.132-136).”
When Mamillius discovers that his father has imprisoned his mother for
adultery, the boy – who was already suffering from some kind of illness –
dies of grief. A servant enters the hall to tell this to Leontes as he is
questioning Hermione just after he receives the message from the Oracle.
Hermione faints and is declared dead on the spot. Only then does Leontes
question his hasty judgment and more closely consider the words of the
Oracle. In the space of a few days, Leontes has attempted to murder his
closest friend, falsely accused his wife of adultery, and caused the death
of Antigonus, his own son and infant daughter, and his wife. If that
doesn’t make him a jealous tyrant, I can’t imagine what else would.
Now that he realizes the awful mistake he has made, Leontes begins his
spiritual journey towards self-improvement and redemption. The Oracle made
him see that he was wrong, but it is Paulina who guides Leontes and makes
him face the consequences of his actions. For sixteen years, Leontes
grieves over his wife and children and commits himself to running his
country. His advisor, Cleomenes, actually tells Leontes “you have done
enough. And have perform’d a saint-like sorrow: no fault could you make,
which you have not redeem’d (V.i.1-3).” He also agrees to never marry
unless Paulina approves the match. Through the years of grief and
remembrance, Leontes learns to see Hermione as an individual rather than an
extension of himself. He also learns humility, as seen in the way he
defers to Paulina’s judgment regarding his personal life.
Paulina, even though she is the guide on Leonte’s journey to self-
discovery, has her own spiritual growth to deal with. She has always been
a noble and virtuous lady, but in The Winter’s Tale, she is shown as
somewhat cold and harsh in her attitude towards other characters. When
Hermione dies, Paulina yells at Leontes, “Thy tyranny, together working
with thy jealousies…o think what they have done, and then run mad indeed:
stark mad (III.ii.179-183)!” After the death of her husband, which Leontes
is responsible for, she seems to mellow and soften her attitude somewhat.
Though she is still strict in her morals, Paulina learns to be more
compassionate and she also learns to forgive Leontes for his mistakes.
Perhaps the most unusual spiritual journey is that of Hermione. For
the sixteen years that she is thought to be dead, she doesn’t do much. In
truth, after she faints it is sixteen years before we see her again and all
she does then is pretend to be a statue. This might have something to do
with the fact that she was nearly perfect to begin with. All of the lords
and ladies in Leontes’ court implored him to forgive her or forget his foul
suspicions. One of his lords even says, “For her, my lord, I dare my life
lay down, and will do’t, sir, please you t’accept it, that the queen is
spotless I’th’eyes of heaven, and to you – I mean in this which you accuse
her (II.i.129-133).” Hermione is too virtuous a person to ever commit
adultery. It’s very difficult to improve on someone like that, yet
Hermione does change.
She is described as having more wrinkles when they
first see her posing as the statue, and she has earned the lines of wisdom
that now appear on her face. During her sixteen years in hiding, she has
lived off of the hope that the Oracle’s prophecy would come to pass and
Leontes would find their lost daughter. She has also come to forgive
Leontes, and when he comes to see her statue, she reaches out to him first
and embraces him. I suppose you could say that Hermione goes from near-
perfection to the real thing, at least on a spiritual level.
Her suspected partner-in-crime, Polixenes, also has a smaller
spiritual journey. He wasn’t a bad person to begin with, so his redemption
doesn’t seem as dramatic or important as that of Leontes, but they do share
certain similar qualities. Like Leontes, Polixenes is very proud and has
trouble seeing people as individuals. He sees his son, Florizel, in much
the same way Leontes saw Hermione – as a reflection of himself. Rather
than treat him as an independent person with his own mind, Polixenes tries
to control his son. He is also something of a snob, as you can see when he
refuses to let Florizel marry Perdita because she isn’t from a wealthy or
noble family. However, Polixenes does have true vision – he sees that
Perdita has a noble quality about her that is beyond her current status as
a shepherd’s daughter. Through his spiritual trials, Polixenes learns to
use his true vision and he also has to forgive Leontes.
Polixenes’ son, Florizel, is nothing if not the typical steadfast
lover. He pledges himself to Perdita and once he makes that promise,
nothing will make him go back on it. He is willing to give up his
inheritance and his station as a prince and member of the nobility to be
with a shepherd’s daughter. There is an innocence about Florizel that
reminds Leontes of the days when he and Polixenes were growing up together.
In many ways, Florizel reminds Leontes of his father. Leontes makes a
comment that they look very much alike – “Your mother was most true to
wedlock, prince; for she did print your royal father off, conceiving you.
Were I but twenty-one, you’re father’s image is so hit in you, his very
air, that I should call you brother (V.i.123-128).”
But Florizel can’t rely on his father forever, and when he and
Polixenes fight over whether he can marry Perdita, Florizel makes the
decision to leave Bohemia. Camillo acts as his spiritual guide and steers
Florizel toward Sicilia, explaining to the young man that he could expect a
warm welcome there and so could Perdita. He tells Florizel to “…make for
Sicilia, and there present yourself and your fair princess…’fore
Leontes…Methinks I see Leontes opening his free arms and weeping his
welcome forth (IV.iv.544-550).” Even though they escape his wrath for a
short time, Florizel and Perdita still have to confront Polixenes when he
shows up in Sicilia as well. From all of this, Florizel learns the
importance of remaining steadfast and he also declares his independence
from his father.
Camillo is another guiding force in the play. It is his choice at the
beginning to warn Polixenes rather than poison him as Leontes asked him to
do. Camillo is incredibly honorable and has a vast store of common sense,
which is more than can be said for many of the other characters, especially
at the beginning of the play. When Leontes asks him to poison Polixenes’
drink, Camillo responds, “I must be the poisoner of good Polixenes, and my
ground to do’t is the obedience to a master (I.ii.352-354).” Just a few
lines later, though, Camillo is considering this proposition and comes to
the conclusion that he wouldn’t kill Polixenes for honor’s sake, but also
because very few people in legend and reality have lived well after causing
the death of a king. So rather than kill Polixenes, Camillo warns him and
they escape Sicily together.
For sixteen years, Camillo is exiled from his
home and serves Polixenes in Bohemia though he misses Sicily. Camillo’s
journey is pretty much entirely physical. He is already an honorable and
intelligent person at the beginning of the play, although he does go back
on his word to Leontes about killing Polixenes. He’s also a little devious
when he plans a way to get Florizel away from his angry father. He sends
the boy and his mistress to Sicily, knowing that Polixenes would go after
his son and probably invite Camillo to join him on the trip. This provides
Camillo with a plausible reason to go back to Sicily, even though he is
banished from speaking or staying very long once there – particularly in
the presence of Leontes.
Perdita’s journey is rather strange for any girl, but typical of
pastoral plays done during Shakespeare’s lifetime. Her life actually
parallel’s that of Cervantes’ “Gypsy Maid.” Just like Preciosa, Perdita is
separated from her family as an infant and taken in by people of much lower
social status. While Preciosa is raised a gypsy, Perdita’s life takes a
more pastoral tone as the adopted daughter of a shepherd. Also like
Preciosa, Perdita has an air of nobility that can’t be mistaken for
anything else. Her beauty and personality make it obvious that she isn’t
really the daughter of a shepherd.
However, she seems content presiding
over the sheep-shearing festivities and she also appears to truly believe
that the shepherd is her father. She knows that Florizel shouldn’t really
marry someone of such low social status. She tells Florizel, “To me the
difference forges dread…even now I tremble to think your father, by some
accident should pass this way (IV.iv.17-20).” And she truly does have
reason to fear this. When Polixenes discovers that his son intends to
marry a shepherd’s daughter, he becomes absolutely furious. When he
removes his disguise at the sheep-shearing festival, he sentences the
shepherd to death for raising Perdita. He also accuses Perdita of
bewitching Florizel and says he will “have thy beauty scratch’d with briers
and made more homely than thy state (IV.iv.426-427).”
From then on, Perdita and Florizel must prove their independence and
they sail away to Sicilia so that they can be together. It is their
steadfast love and honor that redeem the play. The older generation of
characters all have flaws, either real or imagined, that have to do with
them being inconsistent in love. Leontes obviously invents a reason to be
jealous and kills his wife and children. Hermione supposedly had an affair
with Polixenes. Camillo deserted one master for another. With these
adults as his influences while growing up, it’s a wonder that Florizel can
be so steadfast and sure in his love for Perdita.
Perhaps it is Perdita herself – the complete innocent who also seems
wise beyond her years – who truly redeems her parents’ generation. She was
raised in the country and brought up to be practical, but she also is
unable to hide her inner nobility. Her influence on Florizel may be what
allows him to remain so steady in their relationship. It probably doesn’t
hurt that she’s beautiful beyond comparison and that he is madly in love
with her.
Mostly, though, I would say that the characters had to redeem
themselves, especially Leontes. He goes through sixteen years of grieving
and trying to atone for his mistakes, guided by Paulina the whole time. He
feels incredibly guilty and probably very lonely now that he has no more
family. Paulina helps Leontes to recognize his own flaws and, in the end,
is the person responsible for reuniting him with Hermione. In the scene
where the Hermione statue comes to life, Leontes picks up immediately on
the changes in her appearance – “Hermione was not so much wrinkled, nothing
so aged as this seems (V.iii.28-29).” He also picks up on her posture and
the way she stands – pointing out that Hermione often stood in the same
way. Had he not changed and remained as self-centered as he was at the
beginning of the play, he would not have noticed these subtle changes and
nuances of Hermione’s appearance.
The Winter’s Tale is not entirely unique in theme – many plays and
stories address the need for people to grow and change in order to improve
themselves. However, Shakespeare has a way of bringing his characters to
life that few other writers possess. His language and tone set the stage
for this sad tale of jealousy, loss and eventual redemption. In this play,
the principle characters are all flawed in some way, just like real people.
Also like real people (college students especially), they find themselves
on a journey of self-discovery and spiritual learning in order to improve
themselves or atone for wrongs they have done.
Shakespeare displays this
theme of self-improvement and a guided journey to spiritual health through
characters like Leontes and Paulina, Florizel and Camillo. Each must find
his own path to redemption and walk it, but they all have a nudge in the
right direction. Leontes, of course, gets the biggest nudge since he made
the biggest mistake. Yet in the end, all of the characters are redeemed
and I suspect that they do live happily ever after.
