The Winter's Tale

Hermione’s self-defense during her trial is one of the most famous monologues of The Winter’s Tale and highlights both her honor and her husband’s jealousy. In the previous act, it is clear that Hermione knows of her husband’s refusal to believe anyone but himself, an idea she elaborates on in her defense: “[I]t shall scarce boot me / To say ‘not guilty:’ mine integrity / Being counted falsehood” (3.2.1237-40). She breaks down the false logic of her charge, recounting how Leontes knows her best and never thought ill of her before Polixenes’s visit. This monologue is significant as it allows her to tell her own story, which is not common for the heroines of Shakespeare’s plays. For example, Hermione’s story parallels Hero’s story in Much Ado About Nothing, as Hero is denied the chance to prove her innocence when charged with infidelity and must fake her death to be believed. Despite Leontes’s relying on Providence and Prophecy to reinforce his own truth, Hermione’s monologue foreshadows his guilt. When he tells her that he had their daughter killed, she asks, “Tell me what blessings I have here alive, / That I should fear to die?” (3.2.1324-25). This not only foreshadows her own fate, but that of her husband, who is soon left with no blessings and only regret.

Jealousy’s Destructive Consequences are finally revealed at the end of Act III, Scene 2, when Leontes is suddenly left without a family. He is called a “jealous tyrant” (3.2.1355) before he denies the Oracle’s prophecy, which seals his fate. Even when faced with the word of Apollo, his self-righteousness blinds him to truth. As punishment, Leontes’s son is announced dead, a direct consequence of his jealousy. He claims “Apollo’s angry; and the heavens themselves / Do strike at my injustice” (3.2.1374-75), finally recognizing the error of his ways.

Leontes’s guilt and grief come all at once with the triple loss of his daughter, son, and wife, as well as his public disgrace in front of all his kingdom. These emotions will direct his actions for the rest of the play. Paulina, forever loyal to the queen, is not afraid to confront the king, telling him “O thou tyrant! / Do not repent these things, for they are heavier / Than all thy woes can stir” (3.2.1444-46). She forces Leontes to recognize the gravity of his jealousy, and he responds, “Go on, go on / Thou canst not speak too much; I have deserved / All tongues to talk their bitterest” (3.2.1452-54), finally accepting the truth and the weight of Paulina’s scorn. She shames him for the rest of the play, acting as his moral compass. He asks for his wife and son to be buried in the same grave, symbolic of how their deaths were caused by his inability to listen.