Volumnia in Coriolanus and Machiavelli - Essay Example

Inserts His/her Inserts Inserts Grade (20, 07, Volumnia in Coriolanus and Machiavelli Introduction The play Coriolanus is a famous play by Shakespeare written in 1600s. The play is based on the great Roman leader Gaius Marcius Coriolanus. The play has received critical acclaim from many writers. The character of Volumnia, mother of Coriolanus, is a very important character of the play. She is the main female character of the play and her role will be the main focus of the essay. Volumnia actually uses many tactics in the play to persuade her son Coriolanus. The behavior of Volumnia in the play will be analyzed under the light of Machiavelli, the famous Italian philosopher. The philosophy of Machiavelli has a great deal to day about deception and its use in politics. He thinks that in order to maintain power rulers have to use deception and force to move everyone in the direction they want. In this essay we will close read the play using Machiavelli and will try to answer the question whether Machiavelli would approve of Volumnia’s behavior in the play or not. This is the question we will attempt to answer. Coriolanus: The Play The play starts in Rome where there are riots going on because Coriolanus, the deputy of commander of the Roman army has hold grains from ordinary citizens. Coriolanus is a man who believes that ordinary people should not be given grain because they are not taking part in the military service. He is a great fighter but he has contempt for the common people. His attitude towards common people is that of an arrogant soldier. The character of Volumnia now plays an active role to make her son consul. She persuades Coriolanus to run for consul even though her son is not willing to do so. But when he couldn’t win the support of the commoners he became angry and talks badly about the plebeians. He is in turn condemned as a traitor and banished from Rome. After his exile he goes to his fierce enemy Aufidius, the commander of the Volscian army. They accept him and allow Coriolanus to lead an attack on Rome. All generals of Rome become worried and try to persuade him not to attack Rome. After all efforts are gone in vain Volumnia is sent to dissuade her son from attacking Rome. She is successful and Coriolanus spares Rome but later is killed by Aufidius for conspiracy. The Character of Volumnia and Machiavelli Volumnia is an important character of the play. She plays a great role in changing the mind of her son twice in the play and both times the outcome is in her benefit. She portrays role of a women who cannot seek power personally but tries to attain power by making her son powerful. She tried to gain power and popularity through her son Coriolanus and for this she has used all the tricks in the book. In this section we will try to view the character of Volumnia under the light of Machiavellian philosophy. When people do not like Coriolanus for his evil words against the common people Volumnia tries to persuade her son and teaches her the art of politics. She persuades him to act in a manner that will please the commoners and then he will be elected consul. She actually advises him to act a hypocrite. She says in the play "To have my praise for this, perform a part / Thou hast not done before" (III.ii.). Here she is clearly asking her son Coriolanus to perform a part that he has never done before. The cunningness nature of Volumnia can be seen from these words as she is asking her son to act so that he can gain the approval of the commoners in order to become politically successful. Volumnia also suggests to her son that he should be politically right. In her words “You are too absolute" (III.ii.). Volumnia thinks that one should not be absolute in politics and should tread a neutral line. This is how she is giving political education to her son. It was in the direct interest of Volumnia to make her son successful because through him she could have gained power. This was the only way for Volumnia to gain power. She was actually looking her image in her son. The philosophy of Machiavelli is also about deception and how it can be used to gain political strength. He argues that people can easily be deceived and in order to rule over people deceit should be used cunningly. Machiavelli in his famous book ‘The Price’ argues that price should not even keep their promises necessarily. According to him people are by nature deceitful therefore it is important to use deception to ruler over them and for that reason promises are not always required to be kept. Machiavelli also believes that a ruler should pretend to be someone else in order to enforce his rule and maintain power. He thinks that a ruler can only be successful when he uses the tricks of deception like a fox. This he believes is the main characteristic of the prince. He says in his book “But it is necessary to know well how to disguise this characteristic, and to be a great pretender and dissembler; and men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived” (Machiavelli, Chap. 18). It is essential for a ruler according to Machiavelli to pretend as someone else. There can be seen a clear connection between the Volumnia and teachings of Machiavelli. Volumnia is actually following the exact teachings of Machiavelli. When she asks her son to pretend and to not be absolute to persuade people and gain power and popularity she is actually following Machiavelli verbatim. Volumnia is also interested in seizing power through her son and for that she is willing to go to any limits. Volumnia is also trying to teach her son the lessons of politics that are taught by Machiavelli. Deception is a powerful tool in politics as through it one can win the hearts and minds of people. Therefore she is teaching Coriolanus how to win the support of the people and gain power. Volumnia also dissuades Coriolanus from attacking Rome in revenge. This is another form of Volumnia as she is trying to save her city and herself. For this aim she uses all her wisdom. She tries to invoke the love of mother in Coriolanus hearts and by doing so she tries to convince him not to attack Rome. "Thou hast never in thy life / Showd thy dear mother any courtesy" (V, iii, 160-161). This is evidence of the cunning nature of Volumnia as she is trying to invoke her love in the heart of Coriolanus and in this way stopping him to attack Rome. She is actually trying to protect herself and at the same time she wants to achieve popularity by saving Rome. This aspect of Volumnia’s personality is also similar to the teachings of Machiavelli as he argues that a person should remain neutral no matter what. This is what she is doing in the play. She is just thinking about herself and Rome, and not about her son. Volumnia is also using cunning tactics with her son. She says "treading . . . on thy mothers womb" (V, iii, 124). This shows the level at which Volumnia can fall just to convince her son to spare Rome and her life. She was actually thinking that if Rome was attacked then she would die herself and it was also an attempt to save Rome. This was the time for her to gain popularity and she used it to her full advantage. Machiavelli would have approved of her tactics as she was using fear effectively to help change her son’s mind. Machiavelli says “Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred” (Machiavelli, Chap. 17). This is what Machiavelli suggested a price to do if he wanted to stick to power. The same is being followed by Volumnia. Volumnia also advised her son to deceive people of his country. She teaches Coriolanus the art of politics when she tells him to deceive the people. She says “If it be honor in your wars to seem the same you are not, which, for your best ends, you adopt your policy, how is it less or worse, that it shall hold companionship in peace with honor, as in war, since that to both It stands in like request?” (III, ii, 46-51). She says here that if Coriolanus he can deceive in war he can do so in peace. It is very clear from all the evidence presented above that Machiavelli would definitely approve the behavior of Volumnia as she is following his teaching and is using deception as a tool to get what she wants. She is teaching her son deception just because she wants him to become powerful. Conclusion Coriolanus is a play written by Shakespeare and Volumnia plays an important role in it. She is the mother of the main character Coriolanus and she is persuading him twice in the play, first to win the hearts of the people and the second time to not attack Rome. Volumnia is using all the tactics of Machiavelli to convince her son to pretend in order to gain power. Also she tries to protect her city and herself by using skills of neutrality as prescribed by Machiavelli. Works Cited Page Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. London: Penguin, 1961 Translated by W. K. Marriott Shakespeare, William. Coriolanus. London: Filiquarian Publishing, LLC. 2007. Print Read More