Do strike at my injustice."
In the space of a single sentence, Leontes sees his error. Does that fit what you already know of his character, or are you shocked?
Update:
Hey, this is Paul. A few questions for everyone.
1) Did Mamillius's death surprise you? Or did you expect it to happen beforehand?
2)What do you think is the strangest thing you learned in this reading?
For next week: Scene 3.
4 comments:
I think Leontes has always known he was wrong, but his pride would not let him admit this. He is, after all, King and kings are not supposed to be wrong. He clearly suffers from rage. As we know when the message is first read from the Oracle, Leontes declares it is false. Perhaps he is hoping to maintain his bluff. Whether he would have gone further in this rage had not Mamillius died, we can only debate. However, I think Mamillius had to die.
The way in which M's death is presented--so quickly, offstage--to me seems to magnify its sadness. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the sense of how fast a life can vanish.
My reaction to Mamillius's death in part is clouded by a review I read of a book by Roger Rosenblatt about how he dealt with his daughter's sudden death and his grandchildren's loss of their mother (Nice review by Carolyn See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/18/AR2010021805127.html) So what's the connection? Partly just how Mamillius must have felt to have his mother suddenly disapper. The phrase "sick to death" seems fitting. Leontes said earlier that Mamillius grew sick because of his shame about his mother; of course, it seems more likely he grew sick because he missed his mother. Remember how sweet he was; telling her the "Winter's Tale."
The strangest thing I think in this section of the play was that the Queen had the right to have her fate determined by the oracle rather than the court. I'm trying to think of what is an equivalent in our systems of justice these days. Is it Judge Judy on tv?
I'm just so sad about Mamillius. Hermione and Leontes and the missing baby seem secondary to the poignancy of his loss.
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