I'm still on a pro-Hermione kick, and, to be honest, probably will continue to be. It's probably partly because she's so easy to sympathize with - she did nothing wrong, but her name is dragged through the mud
I think it's interesting, in contrast to Hamlet, how there's so little ambiguity in the character's motivations. In Hamlet, it was almost impossible to tell who was being sincere and who wasn't at any given time. That's not the case here. It seems like almost everyone is being sincere almost all the time. Leontes sincerely thinks that Hermione cheated on him with Polixenes. Hermione is sincere in her denial and her grief. There's a pureness to the characters that I don't think existed in Hamlet.
It makes for a very interesting dynamic. In Hamlet, everyone was running around deceiving everyone else. You, as the reader or the audience member, knew that you couldn't trust anyone. In The Winter's Tale, you know that people are going to act on their convictions, but their convictions might be crazy.
This is a good thing to mention, and a great comparison between the two plays. I also noticed that everyone respects Queen Hermione and therefore believe her and stand up for her. The characters have a definite different quality that in Hamlet. I wonder, does this play also have the acting theme that Shakespeare seems to put into his work?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, Hermione is so hard core. She is obviously a pillar of virtue and in many ways, the ideal woman. I love the way Shakespeare portrays his women in a lot of ways, because in most cases, they are portrayed as femininely powerful. Shakespeare had so much respect for women and knew that they were the ones who truly ruled the house.
ReplyDeleteMaybe part of the reason the King was so adamant was because everyone was against him in Hermione's defense?
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