The Winter's Tale | Key Characters & Character Analysis

The Winter's Tale Character Studies

Leontes

In Act I, scene ii, of The Winter's Tale, Polixenes, after a nine-month stay in Sicilia, is preparing to depart for home. Leontes unsuccessfully requests that Polixenes stay, and then asks his wife Hermione to implore their guest to extend his visit. Hermione succeeds, and shortly after Leontes is convinced that his friend and his wife are having an affair. His jealousy explodes suddenly and seemingly without cause, confounding students and scholars alike. Some commentators view Leontes's jealousy as a weakness inherent in his character. Similarly, some say that Leontes is by nature a coarse, physical, and sensual man. While his jealousy may be irrational, they say, it is not unnatural. Another approach is sometimes taken in the examination of Leontes's jealousy as an aspect of his character. Some critics suggest that Leontes is hampered by his obsession with his childhood. This produces in him a tendency to view the...
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