The Immersion Library

But, O thou tyrant!
Do not repent these things; for they are heavier
Than all thy woes can stir; therefore betake thee
To nothing but despair. A thousand knees
Ten thousand years together, naked, fasting,
Upon a barren mountain, and still winter
In storm perpetual, could not move the gods
To look that way thou wert.

Whereas some Shakespeare plays feel like stories which tell themselves with Shakespeare simply the conduit to make the lines manifest on paper, in The Winter’s Tale I imagine Shakespeare creating an interesting conflict and then concienciously mapping the resolution rather than allowing the characters to play it out.

At times, I wondered if this would make a better tragedy than comedy. Perhaps the theater business demanded the latter. Or perhaps he just wanted to create a blockbuster production. In any case, much of the play seems forced as, for Leontes, Fate seeks to resolve a self-inflicted conflict for which I felt no sympathy.

So why this approach from Shakespeare?

The first three acts depict the tragedy wrought by Leontes’ jealousy. Then, in Act IV, Shakespeare pivots to resolution, where duality sets in and Fate proves the power to resolve all.

Perdita survives in a low-born social status and Florizel pretends common heritage despite their respective royal lineage. We have Polixenes and Camillo disguising themselves and Camillo betraying Leontes’ and Polixenes’ commands because of his moral sense. And, of course, Autolycus profits from roguish behavior. Everything is turned on its head, much like the first three somber acts where Hermione’s virtue and Polixenes’ innocence do not get their just reward. The effects do not naturally follow their causes. But Fate can put things right again regardless of the weight of the task.

In countering Leontes’ madness, women such as Hermione and Paulina represent virtue like honour – often mentioned by most characters as something to defend and prize above all else – truth, courage and reason. While many of the men play nobility as if boys with wooden swords and dress-up robes, the women hold the real power and direct the hands of Fate. Consider Leontes transformation and how Paulina guides him like a mother, or Hermione’s suffering like a bullied schoolgirl at the hands of jealous boys. For me, the women inspire more sympathy and cheer than any man on the stage. Yes, because of their maturity and virtue, but also because of their power and love for these idiotic boys. They remain steadfast through the play, never embodying contradictions like the others.

And these steadfast virtues bring about Fate’s resolution, while all other happenings seem perverted against the natural effects to these wretched causes. Because of this, perhaps the play feels “forced”, as if Shakespeare has something to say as the true master of Fate rather than the characters, puppets on his strings.