Hermione and The Winter's Tale

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 44391

A couple of weeks ago I saw a production of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, which I had neither seen nor read before.  I was very curious about the character Hermione, because this is the play which JKR has stated was the source of Hermione's name.  JKR stated in one interview (http://www.magicalharrypotter.com/TodayShow.html) that she chose it because she *just* liked the name (emphasis mine).  And according to the Lexicon, JKR stated in an earlier interview (that I cannot find) that the two characters are not at all similar.   

But that's not what I saw in Shakespeare's play.  Though The Winter's Tale began by Shakespeare's Hermione acting in a coquettish fashion most unlike JKR's Hermione, as the play progressed, little parallels in plot and character absolutely leapt out at me, and since this isn't one of Shakespeare's more popular plays, I thought I'd go ahead and post them.  For example:

1.    Shakespeare's Hermione, a Queen of Sicilia, is accused of treason by adultery, by her irrationally jealous and insecure husband, Leontes.  Surely JKR must have had Leontes' accusations in mind when she wrote the following Yule Ball dialogue:

"He's from Durmstrang!" spat Ron.  "He's competing against Harry!  Against Hogwarts!  You -- you're --" Ron was obviously casting around for words strong enough to describe Hermione's crime, "fraternizing with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"

(That JKR might have put just a little bit of Leontes into Ron's character also occurred to me, though my focus here is Hermione.)

2.    Hermione is tried and convicted for her *crime* and Leontes ignores an oracle proclaiming her innocence.  Their son dies and Hermione collapses and is presumed dead; Leontes repents, plunging into a lifetime of penitence for his foolish rage.  In the last scene, Leontes is shown a "statue" of Hermione, properly aged to reflect the 16 years since her presumptive death.  But there's been a curse, and as the curse has just been lifted by the return of L&H's long-lost daughter, Hermione comes to life.

An apparently dead person appears in a statue-like form and is restored to life when the curse is reversed?  Sounds a lot like being petrified by a basilisk to me.   And indeed, Colin Creevey in petrified form is described as "a statue" at least three times in a page and a half (CoS ch. 10).

3.    Then there's Hermione's character.  Even in the face of false accusations, Shakespeare's Hermione bears herself with dignity and honor, bearing witness to the truth.  She does not denigrate or show disloyalty to her tyrannical and irrational husband, though she would appear justified in so doing.  Likewise, JKR's Hermione shows unusual strength of character for a young girl.   She is willing to stand alone for what she thinks is right, as she does in her lonesome campaign for House-Elf rights, in her refusal to apologize for her decision to tell McGonagall about the Firebolt in spite of the rift it caused between her and her two best friend, and in her willingness to break rules -- but only for a higher cause.  The two Hermiones may not have the same personality, but IMO they do share much in their strength of character.

So, JKR chose the name Hermione because she *just* liked the name?   Yeah, right.  Though I've long suspected it, this seems to me to be just one more clue that JKR's interviews are intended to obfuscate and confuse, and that her every word should be taken with a grain of salt.  A very large grain.

Debbie,
who's now beginning to wonder whether there's a story behind the English village of Snape.


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