Actor Insights: Hermione (The Winter's Tale)
"Sir, spare your threats: The bug which you would fright me with, I seek."
“Sir, spare your threats: The bug which you would fright me with, I seek.” — The Winter’s Tale, Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 90-91.
For anyone who needs a dose of fiery feminist rhetoric this week, I’d like to introduce Hermione of The Winter’s Tale. In particular, Act III, Scene 2, which you can read here. I discussed the entire play in a Substack on January 5, 2023 titled “Bear-Naked Shakespeare” available here.
In this scene, Hemione stands in court to defend herself from a baseless accusation. In the first scene of the play, her husband King Leontes becomes suddenly convinced that she is having an affair with his best friend who has visited from a neighboring kingdom. Shakespeare is clear that he has no basis for this belief, but he refuses to be convinced. He has his wife arrested and sends his newborn daughter (believing her to be the product of the alleged affair) to be abandoned in the woods.1
In the speech analyzed below, Hermione is responding to her husband threatening her with death for this alleged affair. But she has truth on her side. She gives a powerful speech highlighting his cruelty and capriciousness. She will not be judged by one who cannot see reality.
If you want to read more about the speech, including context, character stats, and line by line analysis, venture beyond the paywall. If you want to upgrade to paid membership, you can find instructions here. I’m pretty chaotic in getting the paid Substacks out, so no shade if you want to occasionally buy a month and check out the back log ;).
Back to Hermione—