SIN AND FORGIVENESS IN THE TEMPEST

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1 SeireiWomen'sJunior Women's resa,iikm j(\ke#eg 7 e (1979) SIN AND FORGIVENESS IN THE TEMPEST Sr.Agnese Deeken, S.Sp.S.* Shakespeare'$ last romances, Cbimbeline, The LVinter'sflale. and 7Vie 71ernpest. continue to develop elements of the great tragedies. They present a world fuliof tensions and evii, yet all of them end with the motif of forgiveness.forgivenessbecomes the catharsis of the hero, who after having been purified either forgives or receives forgiveness. In Clyrnbeline and 71Pte' Tempest the motif of forgivenessenters most deeply into the action and the meaning of the plays. In 71he Winter's 7Ule this theme is only part of the ending of the events without developing necessarily from the action of the play. In this paper 71FbeTempest will be in the eenter of discussion,iintend to show that in this play, which is considered by many critics as "a summing-up of Shakespeare's dramas,"ithe therne of sin and forgivenesshas been brought to perfection. The only undisputed source for any part of I7ie Ternpest is a minor one, Montaigne's essay "On Cannibals," which Shakespeare read in John Florio's translation{1603). In this essay Montaigne opines that the New World furnishesan example of a completely natural life uncorrupted by civilization. A likelysource of several important featuresin 7he Tempestis a type of pastoral tragicomedy belonging to the commedia,dell' arte well known in 16th-centuryItaly, Ferdinando Neri was the firstto collect and pubtish a group of these plays under the title of &enari delle Maschere in Arcadia(1913), The scene of these marine pastorals is always the sameasthat of Shakespeare's romance, a remote island demiparadise appropriately called "Enchanted Arcadia" er "Lost Island." The central figure of some of these plays is a benevolept magician equipped with the cqnventional insignia of his art, a staff and a book. His white magic enables him to control beneficentfamiliar spirits, as well as satyrs, devils,and ether malevolent creatures. All of these subjects he imprisons in a cave that is always in the center of the stage in Renaissance "pastoralf' or "satyrical" sets. From this cavern the magician calls forthhis subjects when he wishes them to do his bidding, The purpose of all his majic is to settle old quarrels and to bring about the marriage of young lovers. Besides these sources there were certain pamphlets dealing with the wreck of the ship The Sea- Venture which furnished Shakespeare with some detailsof the storm with which 71he 71?mpestopens.2 A comparative study of Shakespeare's ZFie 7lempest and its sources is difficultṭhe study of the seurces of King Lear and MOasure formeasure would show more clearry that Shakespeare added the theme of forgiveness to his plot. According to Sehrt one may conclude, however, that Prospero's forgivenessdiffers greatly from the cenventional endings of the romantic dramas, A comparison with Montaigne, too, shows that Shakespeare's presentation greatly from the classical-humanistic idea Qf mercy, of the Christian viewpoint on mercy, differs * scep, i" xgin' Aber wenn so auch nicht eindeutig gezeigt zu werden vermag, dass das Drama Shakespeares den Vergebungsgedanken neu in die Handlung ein NII-Electronic Library Service

2 SeireiWomen'sJunior Women's filhrte,so zeigte doch der Vergleich mit Montaigne, dass Shakespeare offenbar begrifflich auch hier eigene Wege ging.3 More than any other of Shakespeare's plays, 71he Tempest insistsstrongly upon the indestructibility of evil. It cannot be completely destroyed; it will always exist; it can only be forgiven. Humanum genus in 71he 71empest is Alonso. His sin is the depesitionof Prospero from his dukedom and the attempted murder both of Prospero and ef his innocent child. Alonso's offence,unlike the crimes of Lear, Angelo and other hurnanum genus figures, cannot be presented to us on-stage. "Through however, Shakespeare makes certain that his audience narration, reenactment, and parody, is kept constantly aware of the guilt to be atoned and forgiven."4 Alonso's crime is the central subject of the long story of the past which Prospero tells Miranda for our benefit.he explains how, when rightful Duke of Milan, he had withdrawn from adirect concern with the affairs of state in order to devote himself to the betteringof his mind. This retirement provided a ternptation and an oppertunity for his evil-natured brother, Antonio, who proposed to subject Milan to Naples in return for Alonso's help in a coup d'etatwhich would depose Prospero and put Antonio in power. Now the condition. This King of Naples, being an enemy To rne inveterate,hearkens my brother's suit; Which was, that he, in ]ieu o' th' premises Of homage and I know not how much tribute, Should presently extirpate me and mine Out of the dukedom, and confer fair Milan, With all the honours, on my brother: whereon A treacherous army levied, one midnight Fated to th' purpose, did Antonio open The gates of Milan; and, i' th' dead of darkness, The ministers for th' purpose hurried thence Me and thy crying. self,5 Alonso and Antonio add an attempted slaughter of the innocents to their political treachery: In few, they hurried us aboard a bark, Bore us some leagues to sea; where they prepared A rotten carcass of a butt,not rigg'd, Nor tackle, sail, nor mast; the very rats Instinctively have quit it:there they hoist us. To cry to th' sea that roar'd to us; to sigh To th'winds whose pity, sighing back again, Did us but loving wrong,. (II.ii.l44-51) Besides such narration and verbal comment, Shakespeare makes the original crime as vivid as pessiblethrough reenacting it for us in the next seene, where we see Antonio and Sebastian attempt to murder the sleeping Alenso. Two of the actors in the original drama play parts in the reenactment, but their roles have altered, Alonso, who was tempted to villainy in the original plot, has become the intended victim of the second. Antonio, who previously combined the roles of tempter and treacherous brother, is now the tempter only, while Sebastian is tempted to destroy his brother and king NII-Electronic Mbrary Library Service

3 Seb. Thy case, dear friend, Shall be my precedent; as thou got'st Milan, I'11come by Naples. Draw thy sword: one stroke Shall freethee from the tribute which thou payest; And I the King shall love thee. Ant. Draw together: And wheni rear my hand, do you the like, To fallit on Gonzalo. Seb. O, but one word. (They talk apart.i (II.i ) From reenactment, Shakespeare passes immediately to parody. The Caliban-Stefano-Trinculo plot to murder Prospero and seize the island is a comic analogue both to Alonso's original crime and to Antonio and Sebastian's frustratedattempt to repeat it. The most important equation in this analogue is that of Caliban to Antonio. Caliban tempts Stephano to killthe sleeping Prospero just as Antonio had tempted Sebastian to killthe sleeping Alonso: Ste. How now shall this be compass'd? Canst thou bring me to the party? Cal. Yea, yea, my Iord: I'II yield him thee asleep, Where thou mayst knock a nail into his head. (III.ii.57-60) Traversi points out that evil in 71he Tenzpest has two aspects -- personal and social -- which stand in the closest relation one to another. Throughout the tragedies the first consequence of evil 'degree', is anarchy and itsstarting-point the overthrow Qf of natural order in itsvarious forms, by the dominating force of passien. In the story of Prospero's expulsion evil strikes both at the roots of human stability (for as head of the state he was the guarantor of that 'degree' by which alone societies can prosper) and at the unity of the family in order to overthrow the natural order of things, In casting Prospero with his daughter on to the open sea, Antonio transgressed against both the Duke of Milan and his own brother.6 Antonio's crimes against the state and against the bond of unity in the family are "a common subversion of the natural order of things, a descent into anarchy prompted by personal selfishness which is,in the Shakespearean outlook of the great plays, the supreme cause of tragedy."7 In the second plot Antonio acts as the arch criminal. It is he who shows a strong urge to destroy all that stands in the way of his personal advancement. IIe also moves therelatively languid Sebastian to act. Ant. What might, Worthy Sebastian? - O, what might? - No more: - And yet methinks I see it in thy face, What thou shouldst be: th' occasion speaks thee; and My strong imagination sees a crown Dropping upon thy head. Seb.Ant.Seb. What, art thou waking? Do you not hear me speak? I do; and surely It is a sleepy language, and thou speak'st Out of thy sleep. What is it thou didst say? This is a strange repose, to be asleep With eyes wide open; standing, speaking, moving, Ant. Seb, And yet so fast asleep. Noble Sebastian, Thou let'st thy fortune sleep - clie,rather; wink'st Whiles thou art waking. Thou dost snore distinctly; NII-Electronic Library Service

4 There's meaning in thy snores, Ant. I am more serious than my custom:you Must be so too, if heed me; which to do Trebles thee o'er. Seb. Well,Iam standing water. Ant. Ifllteach you how to flow. (II.i ) When Sebastian doubtfully brings up the name of Claribel, determination to dispose of an obstacle in his plans. onecanfeeltheintensity ofantonio's Ant. Then tellme, Who's the next heir of Naples? Seb.Ant. Claribel. She that is Queen of Tunis; she that dwells Ten leagues beyond man's life;she that from Naples Can have no note, unless the sun were post,- The man i' th' moon's toq slow, - till new-born chins Be rough and razorable; she that from whom We all were sea-swallow'd,though some cast again, And that by destiny,to perform an act Whereof what's past is prologue; what to come, In yours and my discharge. (II.i ) about. The It is important to notice that Prospero's past retirement has helped to bring these crimes 'retired', Measure for Measure, Like Vincentio, Prespero lived withdrawn from the world and 'liberal' devoted entirely to contemplation and the arts, and like him again, he delegated thewhole of his power dominions. account given of Prospero and his dukedom reminds us of the story of Vincentio in to another. In so doing, both opened the way for the entry of evil into their The similarity between Prospero and the Duke of Vienna, two characters separated by several years of Shakespeare's mest intense creative activity, is some indication of the continuity of spirit in which the plays were cenceived.b Lear's dividing of his kingdom, his withdrawal from his duties as a king, can also be interpreted as one of the causes which bring about the crimes of two of his daughters. By presenting a series of rebellions, Shakespeare shows that evil men are found inevitablyin both primitive and civilized societies and that they prevent the establishment ot' an ideal political state. Ebner points out in a convincing way that Shakespeare intended ]PLe Tempest to be more than a romantic fantacy,through the action of the play Shakespeare refuted Montaigne's wellknown concept of cultural primitivism. Montaigne was convinced that civilized man was eorrupt and primitive man good and that the solution to European decadence lay in a return to a simple existence modelled upon the natural utopias supposedly being discovered in the New World. Only in this way could civilized man purge himself of the evils brought about by artificial manners.9 Shakespeare, however, did not agree with this theory, The aecounts he read of the New World inhabitants confirmed his essentially Christian belief that -48- NII-Electronic Mbrary Library Service

5 the evils in society stem from the evil within man and not from the corruption of manners, Montaigne's view was too simp]e for the man who had studied human evil so thoroughly in Macbeth, Othello,and Lear So in 71he 71empest, he undertook to refute Montaigne and all others who based their hopes fer the improvement of soeiety upon a return te primitive conditions which were supposed to bring out man's natural innocence. He eliminated the dichotomy underlying such a view. Ie Shakespeare shows that civilization could produce a Prospero or Ferdinand as easily as a Sebastian or Antonio. A Caliban as well as a Miranda could be found in primitive surroundings. Human evil in the form of rebellion is eyerywhere and is even aggravated by primitive conditions. In spite of the happy outcome of the play Shakespeare in no way presents a simplistic view of the problem of evil. We must remember that Antonio and Sebastian have not repented, Pros. LAsideto Seb. and Ant.] But you, my brace of lords, Were I so minded, I here could pluck his highness' frown upon you, And justifyou traitors: at this time I will tell no tales. Seb. LAsidelThe devil speaks in him. (V.i ) We notice that the possibility of rebellion is not dead and that no perfect Sebastian and Antonio can also be considered as successors of Iago: society has been attained. With no conception of value, divorced from that free reverence for the established order upon which any tolerable spiritual life must, according to Shakespeare, be based, the part of these two in T7ie 7lempest is necessarily destructive,anarchic; and that is why they, unlike Alonso, remain finally beyond the limits of Prospero's reconciling action. 11 After having presentecl the powerful force of evil Shakespeare does not show from the very beginning a Prospero easily willing to forgive, The motif of forgiveness develops only slowly from the question of punishment of evil and the need to repent. There is hardly a scene in Shakespeare's last plays where punishment of evil is presented in such an emphatic way: Pros. Hey, Mountain, heyl/ Ari. Silver!there it goes, Silver! Pros. Fury, Fury! there, Tyrant, there! hark, hark! [Cal.,Ste.,and Trin. are driven oul] Go charge my goblins that they grind their joints With dry convulsions; shorten up their sinews With aged cramps; and more pinch-spotted make them Than pard or cat o' mountain. Ari. Hark, they roar! Pros. Let them be hunted soundly. At this hour Lies at my mercy all mine enemies: Shortly shall all my labours end, and thou Sha]t have the air at freedom: for a little Follow, and do me service. (IV.i ) -49- NII-Electronic Library Service

6 Yet, while Prospero intends to destroy evil through punishment, Ariel informs his master that "brimful all three are of sorrow and dismay." (V.i.l4) Ariel asks for mercy: Pros. Say, my spirit, How fares the King and's followers? Ari. Confin'd together ln the same fashion as you gave in charge, Just as you leftthem; all prisoners,sir, In the line-grove which weather-fends your cell; They cannot budge tillyour release. The King, His brother, and yours, abide all three ctistracted, And the remainder mourning over them, Brimly of sorrow and dismay; but chiefly Him you terrn'd, sir, "The good old lord, Gonzalo" ; His tears runs down his beard, like winter's drops From eaves of reeds. Your charm so strongly 'em, Works That if you now beheld them, your affections Would become tender. (V.L6-19) The need for repentance has been stressed by Ariel already in Act III, where he reminds the sinners of their evil deeds against Prospero and warns them that only "heart-sorrow" can save them. But remember,- For that's my business to you, - that you three From Milan did supplant good Expos'd Prospero: unto the sea, which has requit it, Him and his innocent child: for which foul deed The powers, delaying, not forgetting,have Incens'd the seas and shores, yea, all the creatures, Against your peace. Thee of thy son, Alonso, They have bereft;and do pronounce by me Lingfring perdition - worse than any death Can be at once - shall step by step attend You and your ways; whose wraths to guard you from,- Whieh here, in this most desolate isle,else falls Upon your heads, -is nothing but heart-sorrow And a clear life enslling. (III.iii.68-82) The conception of repentance is not new in 711te71empest. Shakespeare's last plays threw an increasing stress upon the Christian conception of penitence. When Ariel calls for repentance from Alonso and his fellows he argues that, uniess their sojourn 'on this most desolate isle'has taught them their own evil and folly,unless it has shown them the necessity for'heartfs sorrow' and a 'clear life`to follow, their doom is certain.i2 Alonso responds to Ariel's call for repentance. Though his penalty is severe, because he believesthat he has lost his only son and heir, he accepts it as justḥe recognizes "that the evil he committed was something against the natural order of the universe, referring to it as 'monstrous' and genuinely desiring to make restitution by sacrificing himself if it were possible."i3 O, it is monstrous, monstrous! Methought the billews spoke, and told me of it; -50- NII-Electronic Mbrary Library Service

7 The winds did sing itto me; and the thunder, The deep and dreadful organepipe, pronounc'd The name of Prosper: I did bass my trespass. Therefor my son i' th' ooze is bedded; and I'11seek him deeper than e'er plummet sounded, And with him there liemudded (IILiii.95ul02) Pro$pero's own catharsis is founded on his personal consideration inanswerto Ariel's plea. Pros.Ari.Pros, Dost thou thrnk so, spirit? Mine would, sir, were I human, And mine shall. Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling Of their afflictions, and shall not myself, One of their kind, that relish all as sharply Passion as they, be kindliermov'd than thou art? Though with their high wrongs I am struck to th' quick, Yet with my nobler reason 'gainst my fury Do I take part: the rarer action is In virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent, The sole driftof my purpose doth extend Not a frown further.go release them,ariel: My charms I'll break, their senses I'llrestore, And they shall be themselves. {V.L19-32) Prospero demonstrates the genuineness of his inner change when, after having allowed his enemies to suffer for a brief period, he releases them. Alonso completes the process of repentance, which began with his contrition, by corfessing his "Thy and making satisfaction to Prospero. dukedom I resign, and do entreat! Thou pardon me sin my wrongs. " (V.i )Prospero rewards the regenerated AIonso with the resurrection of his son. My dukedem since you have given me again, I will requite you with as good a thing; At leastbring forth a wonder, to content ye As much as me my dukedom. (V.i ) The moment of Alonso's "discovery" of Ferdinand and Miranda "playing at chess" is the momefit of"miracle" that has been used by Shakespeare as a climax in forgiveness scenes of other plays. The resurrections of Hero, Helena, Imogen, Hermione, and Claudio have preceded this. Alonso discovers that the crime of which he believed himself guilty - the deaths of Prospero and Mirandahas not occurred, and that his punishment - the death of Ferdinand - has been spared him in reality. The Iove of his son and Prospero's daughter will ratify the reeoneiliation of their fathers, though Alonso must firstrequest the pardon of Miranda. "But, O, how oddly will it sound that If Must ask my child forgivenessr (V.i,197-98) Prespero insists,however, that the time for torment of consclence ls past. Let us not burthen A heavinessthat's There, sir, stop: our remembrance' with gone. (V,i ) -51- NII-Electronic Library Service

8 Alonso is welcomed with complete forgiveness. For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother Would even infectmy mouth, I do forgive Thy rankest fault,- all of them; (V.i ) Gonzale, express]y described in religious terms as 'holy' and 'honourable', is of course capable of entering into the new world of 'grace'. Caliban, too, repents and receives pardon. [Pointing to Caliban.] Pros. He is as dispreportion'd in his manners As in his shape. Go, sirrah, to my cell; Take with you your companions; as you look To have my pardon, trim it handsomely. Cal. Ay, that I will; and I'11be wise hereafter And seek for grace. What a thrice-double ass Was I, to take this drunkard for a god, And worship this dull fool! (V.i290.97) The tragedy and suffering caused by human sinfulness have turned into instruments of reconciliation and a richer and fuilerlife. "The entry into this lifeis symbolized, as usual, bythemutual act of blessingand forgivenessby whieh fathersand children are united in reconciliation."i4 The situation recalls that of Cordelia and the restored Lear and that of the final scenes of llhe Winter's 7hle. Ferdinand kneels for blessing and is joined to Miranda. In their words to one anether "the vision of a reconciled, redeemed humanity is at last given clear poetic expression."i5 repentance. The most striking gesture is the forgivenessof Antonio, who does not show any sign of Here forgivenessis unjustified by contrition, confession or satisfaction. If Antonio were to face the Last Judgment of the medieval mystery cycles in the spiritual state in which we find him at the end of 71PLeZempest, he would take his place among the darrined.to Prospero, however, he is forgivable precisely because Prospero is not the God of Judgment. As a man, Prospero forgives even the unregenerate, for the justice of man should be tempered with as much mercy as man would hope to find upon the Latter Day. i5 "There Unlike Angelo, Antonio is not moved by forgivenessto repentance. is more than a trace of Macbeth in the sterility of his evil."l7 Prospero knows human frailty.having experieneed the grace of God himself, he is able to forgive others. He is convinced that he too, a passionate and weak man, is in need of the prayers "indulgence" and of his fellow-men: Now my charms are all o'erthrown And what strength I have's mine own, 'tis true, Which is most faint:now, I must be here confin'd by you, Or sent to Naples. Let me not, Since I have my dukedom got, And pardon'd the deceiver,dwell In this bare island by your spell; -52- NII-Electronic Mbrary Library Service

9 SeireiWomen'sJunior Women's But release me from my bands With the help of your good hands: Gentle breath of yours my sails Must fill,or else my project fails, Which was to please. Now I want Spiritsto enforce, Art to enchant; And my ending is despair, Unless I be reliev'd by prayer, Which pierces so, that itassaults Mercy itself,and freesall faults, As you from crimes would pardon'd be, Let your indulgence set me free. (EpilogueỊ-20) Though this interpretationdoes not present stresses the aspect of forgiveness. the only significance of the Epilogue, Dowden rightly Prospero, the pardoner, implores pardon, Shakespeare was aware - whether such be the significance (aside - for the writer's mind) of this Epilogue or not - that no life is ever lived whieh does not need to receive as well as to render forgiveness.he knew that every energetic dealer with the world must seek a sincere and liberal pardon for many things. Forgiveness and freedom: these are keynotes of the play.is Severar critics claim that Prospero stands for Shakespeare himself.though biographical facts on Shakespeare are meagre, Howse's interpretationcan deepen our understanding of Shakespeare's speeial interest in the theme of forgivenessin 7:he Ternpest. Howse concludes that Shakespeare, taking his leave of the stage and of lifeitself,has found his way through the turmoil of the years, and through all the bitter experience that has laid its shadow upon his life,to a sympathy and tolerance that at firsthe did not know. This mature tolerance is based not upon indifference to evil but upon understanding. Having suffered wrong and felt resentment, he forgives the world his suffering and learns that in his forgivenesshe has reached a new happiness and a new life,19 Icannot claim that through the discussion of sin and forgiveness as major themes in Tlhe ZempestIhave done justice to Shakespeare's masterpiece. Many critical questions have not been touched in this study. Yet, one may conclude that Shakespeare's powerfui presentation of the destruetive force of evil, his stress on the need for repentance and Christian penitance, together with the need for mercy among men, proves that among the Elizabethan dramatists Shakespeare most distinctlyfinds an answer to human sin and frailty in mutual forgivinglove. NOTES icharles Haines, William Shahespeare and His Plabls(New York: Franklin Watts, 1968), p scarJamesCampbell, of fhe Tlempest', 71he Reader's Encyclopedia of Shahespeare "Sources (Tokyo: Toppan Company, LTD., 1966), p Ernst Theodor Sehrt, Vergebung und Gnade bei Shahespeare (Stuttgart:K.F. Koehler Verlag, 1952), -53- NII-Electronic Library Service

10 SeireiWomen's Women's p Robert Grams Hunter, Shahespeare and the Comedy offorgiveness (New York: Columbia University Press, 1965), p te 71empest,The Arden Shakespeare, I.ii Subsequent references to the play will be made in the text. 6Derek Traversi, Shakespeare: 71heLast Rhase (Stanford: University Press, 1953), p 'Ibid., 8Ibid., p p gdean Ebner, 'flhe 71empest: Rebellion and the Ideal State," Shakespeare Quarterly, XVI, (Spring, 1965), 173. ioibid., 173. iiderek Traversi, " 71he71empest,"tserutinor,XVI (June, 1949),134. i2ibid., 147. i3honor i`ibid., i5ibid., i6hunter, i7matthews, ' Matthews, Character & Elymbol in Shahespeare's Plarvs{Cambridge:Atthe University Press, l962), p p p p p. 186 i8edward Dowden, Shahespeare: A oriticalstudy ofllismind and Art(London:KeganPaul,Trench, igernest TrUbner & Co., LTD., 1901), p Marshall Howse, Spiritual Values in Shahespeare (New York: Abington Press, 1955), p NII-Electronic Mbrary Library Service