The Winter’s Tale Act 2 Summary

The Winter’s Tale Act 2, Scene 1 Summary • Meanwhile, Hermione hangs out with her Ladies in waiting and her young son, Mammilius. • Hermione asks her Ladies to entertain her precocious boy (he’s really cute but also a little out of control, so mommy needs a break). • Mammilius says he doesn’t want to play with the First Lady because she’s always kissing him and treating him like a baby. She, in turn, warns him that he’ll be jealous when the baby is born and none of the ladies want to play with him anymore. • Mammilius replies that he loves the Second Lady better. • After the Ladies banter and play with Mammilius for a bit, Hermione asks her son to tell a nice story. Mammilius obliges and says he knows “sad” story about goblins that’s just perfect for “winter” time. (Yep, that’s a reference to the play’s title all right. Check out “What’s Up With the Title?” if you want to know more, but come right back because we’re not done.) • Mammilius whispers the story into his mother’s ear. • Meanwhile, Leontes walks on stage with Antigonus and some other Sicilian Lords. Leontes is all riled up because Polixenes has escaped Sicily with Camillo in tow. Leontes is convinced that Polixenes and Camillo are plotting against his life and have been in cahoots for quite some time. • Leontes turns to Hermione and says he’s glad Hermione never breast fed their son (apparently, Mammilius had a wet-nurse) because Mammilius is already way too much like his mother. • (History Snack: In Shakespeare’s time, women who breastfed infants were thought to have transmitted their personal traits and characteristics to children through breast milk. Apparently, Mammilius, had a wet-nurse, which was pretty common among royalty and nobility in Shakespeare’s day.) • Hermione says something like “You’ve got to be joking” and Leontes orders Mammilius to be taken away from his mother and accuses the pregnant Hermione of carrying Polixenes’ baby. • Hermione denies Leontes's charges of adultery, says only a “villain” would accuse her of such a thing, and tells her husband that he’s making a huge mistake. • Leontes repeats his accusation of adultery and says Hermione is a traitor, along with Polixenes and Camillo. • Hermione says Leontes will be sorry when he realizes his mistake and says he owes her an apology. • Leontes orders Hermione away to prison. Then Hermione blames her husband’s behavior on the alignment of the planets. • Hermione declares her heart is heavy with grief and begs to be allowed to have her Ladies with her while she’s in jail. • After Hermione is carted off to the slammer, Antigonus and a Lord try to convince Leontes that he’s making a big mistake. • Antigonus says he’s so sure Hermione is innocent that he’d cut out his own daughters’ wombs if it turned out that Hermione was having an affair. Antigonus, who is kind of off on a weird tangent, says he’d castrate himself if it turned out that one of his own daughters turned out to be sexually promiscuous. (Yikes! Antigonus is suggesting that, if Hermione is a floozy, then all women, including his own daughters, are promiscuous too. Check out “Gender” if you want to know more.) • Leontes tells his men to pipe down – if they’re too stupid to realize that Hermione is an adulteress, he no longer needs their services. • Leontes informs his men that he has sent some guys to Apollo’s temple on the island of “Delphos,” to consult the Oracle to confirm Hermione’s guilt. In the meantime, Hermione is going to rot in jail so she can’t flee Sicily like Camillo and Polixenes. • FYI: In the play, the sacred island of “Delphos” (a.k.a. Delos) is linked with Delphi, a real Greek town where people often travelled to consult with Apollo’s Oracle. An oracle, by the way, is a wise person who can predict and interpret the future. In Greek mythology, Apollo appointed an Oracle to speak on his behalf since he was always being pestered by folks who wanted him to tell them what the future had in store for them. The Winter’s Tale Act 2, Scene 2 Summary • Paulina (Antigonus’s wife and a good friend of Hermione) shows up at the prison where Hermione is being held and demands to see the queen. • The Jailer says gee, he feels really bad and all, but he’s got strict orders that Hermione is to have no visitors. • Fine, says Paulina, who asks to see Emilia, one of Hermione’s ladies, instead. • Emilia and Paulina talk while the Jailer stands guard. Emilia informs Paulina that Hermione is doing the best she can, under the lousy circumstances, but she went into labor before her due date and delivered a daughter in prison. • Paulina is outraged – she proclaims Leontes a lunatic and says she’s going to try to talk some sense into him. Maybe if she shows Leontes his newborn baby, the evidence of Hermione’s innocence will convince him that Hermione is a faithful wife. • Emilia says that if anyone can convince Leontes, it’s Paulina who, apparently, has a way with words. • The Jailer seems on board with this scheme, but since he’s not allowed to let the baby leave the prison, he wants to know how the heck Paulina is going to smuggle the infant out of Hermione’s cell. • Paulina convinces the Jailer that Hermione’s baby should be allowed to leave the prison with her, since, being a newborn baby and all, it’s completely innocent of any wrong-doing. The Winter’s Tale Act 2, Scene 3 Summary • Back at the Sicilian palace, Leontes paces around muttering about how his “adultress” wife should be burned at the stake. • A Servant enters with news of Mammilius, who has been pretty sick lately. • The ever delusional Leontes suggests that Mammilius is ill because he’s so ashamed that his mom’s a floozy. • Leontes sends his servant away to check on his son and mutters to himself about how Polixenes and Camillo are probably off somewhere laughing at him right now. • Paulina bursts through the door carrying Leontes's newborn daughter while a Servant and a Lord try to restrain her. • Leontes has demanded total privacy (turns out he hasn’t been sleeping very well at night) but Paulina insists on showing Leontes proof that he’s been acting irrational and unjust. • Leontes looks at Antigonus and asks him why he can’t “control” his wife, but Paulina isn’t having any of his nonsense. • Paulina says she’s come to Leontes as his loyal servant to convince him of his “evils” against the queen, Hermione. • Leontes tells Paulina to scram, but before the Servant can drag her away, Paulina whips out the baby and shows it to Leontes. • Leontes calls Paulina a “man-like witch” and accuses her of spying on him. • Paulina, who seems to be the only one willing to stand up to Leontes, tells the king he’s bonkers. • Leontes tells his Lords to get the “bastard” out of his sight and screams that Antigonus is hen-pecked by his wife (that’s an insult, in case you were wondering). • While Leontes rants and raves, Paulina tells him off – she demands that Leontes acknowledge his child and his wife’s innocence. • Leontes calls Paulina a “callat” (a shrew and/or a tramp) and some other obnoxious names, threatens to have her burned at the stake, and yells at Antigonus for not being able to keep his wife in line. • Paulina points out how much the baby girl looks like Leontes and says she doesn’t care what Leontes does to her – he needs to take care of his baby and his baby’s mama. • Leontes orders Antigonus to get rid of the kid, or else. Then Leontes gets all Lady Macbeth on us and threatens to “dash out” the kid’s “brains” with his own hands if Antigonus doesn’t obey him. • After screaming at the servants, Leontes decides he wants Antigonus to take the little “bastard” out to the middle of nowhere and abandon it to the harsh elements. If someone comes along and saves it, fine. Otherwise, too bad. • Antigonus agrees to take the baby for a little ride and says he really hopes a bird or a bear will decide to nurse it and raise it as its own. (We know you’re probably snickering at Antigonus right now but this kind of stuff happens all the time in fairy tales, which is kind of what The Winter’s Tale is. Check out “Genre” for more on this.) • Antigonus leaves with the baby and a Servant enters with news that Cleomenes and Dion have returned from their trip to see the Oracle in “Delphos.” (Remember, Leontes sent some guys to visit the Oracle to verify Hermione’s guilt or innocence.)