The Puppet Master of Rome: the Mother-Son Relationship in Shakespeare's Coriolanus
Sarah Sutor
English 297
Shakespeare
Dr. Cooke
3/18/11
The Puppet Master of Rome There is one thing in the world that everyone has: a mother. Some people never knew their mothers, some have bad relationships with their mothers, and some love their mothers more than anything else. In William Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, Caius Martius, or Coriolanus, has a very intense relationship with his mother, Volumnia. He loves, respects, fears, and is controlled by her. This is made very evident throughout the play. Everything she asks for is done promptly after a simple proclamation of her need for it. This includes anything from fetching a drink for her to calling off an attack on a city. Coriolanus has his mother’s voice in his ear throughout the play. Sometimes, it saves him, but it also gives him a lack of identity and ultimately causes his demise. The first time we are introduced to Volumnia is in Act 1, Scene iii of the play. She is sitting and sewing with Virgilia, Coriolanus’ wife, and Valeria, Virgillia’s friend. At this point in the play, Coriolanus is in battle, fighting the Volsces in the city of Corioles. Virgilia worries for the safety of her husband and prays that he comes back unharmed. Volumnia responds to her and lets the audience see what kind of mother she really is. As Virgilia expresses her concern for her husband’s well being, Volumnia proceeds to tell her that she would rather have her son die in battle than come back uninjured. She makes a short speech about how his injuries and his involvement in battle enforce his manhood.
“When he was but tender-bodied and the only son of my womb, when youth with comeliness plucked all gaze his way, when for a day of kings’ entreaties a mother should not sell him an hour from her beholding, I, considering how honor would become such a person – that it was no better than picturelike to hang by th’ wall, if renown made it not stir – was pleased to let him seek danger where he was like to find fame. To a cruel
English 297
Shakespeare
Dr. Cooke
3/18/11
The Puppet Master of Rome There is one thing in the world that everyone has: a mother. Some people never knew their mothers, some have bad relationships with their mothers, and some love their mothers more than anything else. In William Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, Caius Martius, or Coriolanus, has a very intense relationship with his mother, Volumnia. He loves, respects, fears, and is controlled by her. This is made very evident throughout the play. Everything she asks for is done promptly after a simple proclamation of her need for it. This includes anything from fetching a drink for her to calling off an attack on a city. Coriolanus has his mother’s voice in his ear throughout the play. Sometimes, it saves him, but it also gives him a lack of identity and ultimately causes his demise. The first time we are introduced to Volumnia is in Act 1, Scene iii of the play. She is sitting and sewing with Virgilia, Coriolanus’ wife, and Valeria, Virgillia’s friend. At this point in the play, Coriolanus is in battle, fighting the Volsces in the city of Corioles. Virgilia worries for the safety of her husband and prays that he comes back unharmed. Volumnia responds to her and lets the audience see what kind of mother she really is. As Virgilia expresses her concern for her husband’s well being, Volumnia proceeds to tell her that she would rather have her son die in battle than come back uninjured. She makes a short speech about how his injuries and his involvement in battle enforce his manhood.
“When he was but tender-bodied and the only son of my womb, when youth with comeliness plucked all gaze his way, when for a day of kings’ entreaties a mother should not sell him an hour from her beholding, I, considering how honor would become such a person – that it was no better than picturelike to hang by th’ wall, if renown made it not stir – was pleased to let him seek danger where he was like to find fame. To a cruel
Cited: "Coriolanus Themes." GradeSaver.com. 14 Mar. 2011. GradeSaver LLC.. 1999 <http://www.gradesaver.com/coriolanus/study-guide/major-themes/>. "Freudian Interpretation." New York University.edu. 14 Mar. 2011. New York University. <http://www.nyu.edu/classes/jeffreys/Coriolanus/Text/freudinterp.htm>. Putney, Rufus. "Coriolanus | Mother-Son Relationship." eNotes.com. 14 Mar. 2011. eNotes.com. 2011 <http://www.enotes.com/coriolanus/mother-son-relationship>.