Free Will vs. Fate in The Winter's Tale

The Winter's Tale

The Winter's Tale is one of jealousy, betrayal and redemption. While this story involves many characters and opens questions of the flaws in human nature and the power of forgiveness, there are two main characters of particular anomaly. The actions of Leontes and Perdita in this play are unique unto themselves. As King, Leontes' every decision weighs heavily upon the court and his country. As we have seen in several other plays by Shakespeare, when the King is in distress, Nature herself is disrupted. The cosmic connection between Leontes and Nature allows for the supernatural forces that are seen late in the play. He has the opportunity to use these forces to accomplish great things. Instead he chooses to let his own human nature interfere with the order of the Universe. Perdita, as descendent of Leontes, is also connected in a similar way. Perdita, however, does not act against Nature. She represents what was meant to be, what has been divinely decided. Even though they are father and daughter, they are complete opposites. Leontes represents our human ability to exercise free will, and Perdita represents the power of Fate over our lives.

Early in the play, Leontes shows his own fallible nature. He reveals himself to be a jealous, self-doubting tyrant. He brings about the his own demise, curses his family and dooms his own child to death. Though these characteristics are appalling, it is important to remember that Leontes chooses his own path. The actions he takes and the ghastly results they produce are of his own making. Leontes commits these acts of his own volition. Robert Grams Hunter supports these ideas in his book Shakespeare and the Comedy of Forgiveness. He compares Leontes to ...

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...e would have been no resolution. In the end, Hermione forgives his sins against her and the family. With the return of Perdita and the mercy of Hermione, Leontes is also exonerated by Nature. Hermione's act of forgiveness was necessary for his own redemption and also so that the restoration of the order of the Universe.

Bibliography

Brown, James Russell. Shakespeare and his Comedies. London: Methuen, 1962.

Hunter, Robert Grams. "The Winter's Tale." Shakespeare and the Comedy of Forgiveness. New York: Columbia University Press. 1965

James, Max H. Our House is Hell: Shakespeare's Troubled Families. Westport, Ct.:Greenwood Press, 1989.

Knight, G. Wilson. The Crown of Life. London: Methuen & Co. LTD. 1948.

Shakspeare, William. "The Winter's Tale." The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, et al. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1997. 2883-2953