Something that stood out to me in Act IV scene IV was the way everyone is impressed by Perdita's grace and beauty and is surprised that she could be a shepherd's daughter. This seems to suggest that Perdita's royal blood shows in the way she looks and acts, even though she wasn't brought up as a princess. I found an article ("Themes" by Joan Lord Hall) that talks about this idea and how it conflicts with the way Laertes is shown so negatively in the beginning of the play even though he is a king. It went on to talk about how the play shows both sides of the argument as to whether royal blood naturally makes someone more honorable or not. It gave examples of different characters who were honorable despite their low birth, such as Camillo and the Shepherd, and then addresses how Perdita is a "perfect hybrid" of the ideas that honor can come from high birth or "can be achieved through virtuous actions". She is "down-to-earth" due to her upbringing but also "instinctively courteous" because of her royal blood. I agreed with this view that the characters in
A Winter's Tale seem to be able to act independently of their social class, while at the same time Perdita has some inherent characteristics that are associated with royalty despite her upbringing.
That's a really interesting idea, I never even thought of that...
ReplyDeleteThis is fascinating to me. The idea of a this whole switched at birth scenario, and how you can still tell that someone is who they are. It suggests quite a bit about the nature vs nurture argument. That's curious to me. Excuse my dorky Disney reference, but the same could be said for Rapunzel is Tangled, right? I mean, she's a princess lost at birth almost, and despite the fact that she grew up away from her family, she is very clearly a princess, both in how graceful and kind she is, but also in her bravery. Even more interesting when you consider she is separated from society completely until she is eighteen.
ReplyDeleteCool comparison! I've always viewed that as a plot hole in Tangled (how she grows up to be relatively normal after living in a tower with an emotionally abusive "mom") but Shakespeare totally did it too! Granted, his motivations were likely different from Disney's, but it still shows an interesting view on the nature vs. nurture argument.
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