Florizel and Perdita: The Art of Love

Today’s discussion about the themes of clothing and disguise in Garrick’s “Florizel and Perdita” fascinated and prompted me to look for visual renditions or covers of the adaptation. In order to better understand or embrace several interpretations of Garrick’s message in emphasizing garments and clothing, we can take a closer look at the artistic choices and aesthetic freedom several artists exercised in recreating their image of Florizel and Perdita.

B. Pownall’s publication of “Florizel and Perdita” in 1783

The renowned symbol of “Florizel and Perdita”, this artistic depiction illustrates half of Florizel and half of Perdita, a line down the middle in order to mirror each other. This artistic decision of dedicating the piece to each lover 50-50 provokes the audience to compare the two in terms of both likeness and differences as they are pictured together as one figure consisting of two individual halves. In contrast, their separated entities create a sense of inevitable comparison. Pictured on the left, Florizel is dressed in medals and sashes, his clothing elaborate with laces and frills; there is no mistaking his high status of royalty and power as he stands stiffly with his collar starched and straightened. In the background is an elderly King crying, “Oh! My son, my son” and bemoaning his son’s fall into the arms of a lowly shepherd’s daughter. On the right side, Perdita appears homely in comparison as her garments are more revealing and no where near as elaborate or frilly. The caption in the background reads: “King of Cuckolds.” Although the intention or allusion of this caption is unclear, it can be interpreted as King Leontes who once believed that Hermione was an adulteress, carrying an affair with King Polixenes. In this case, this King of Cuckolds is King Leontes, the father of Perdita, unbeknownst to all until the happy ending. Therefore, although the two lovers are dressed differently based on their claimed social classes, their fathers in the background are two Kings of equal power and weight in the upper class. Consequently, this work of art juxtaposes Florizel as a member of royalty and Perdita as a member of the lower class while simultaneously exposing their true origins. Furthermore, the figure of Florizel in this picture is inspired by the Prince of Wales, later George IV of the United Kingdom and Perdita his mistress Mary Robinson. Echoing the coy theatricality of Mary Robinson in today’s discussion, this painting directly makes a reference to the scandal of the theater and the ironic reversal of Perdita’s role as, in this case, a lower class actress attempting to achieve royalty through her acting.

Joseph Durham’s “Florizel and Perdita” in 1870

Durham’s marble sculpture focuses solely on the theme of young love as the central focus. The specific poses of the two lovers draw inspiration from the sheep-shearing fest during which Florizel convinces Perdita to act as a cheerful hostess rather than dwell on the possible exposure of their forbidden love. His possessive grasp on her forearm and her dreamy yet obedient state illustrates their dynamic as a male figure of authority commanding a lower class female; however, their posture also connotes love and intimacy as their heads touch gently. In this sculpture, Perdita carries a bouquet of flowers which is a prop continuously mentioned in Garrick’s adaptation. Duham also chooses to dress the two in similar quality of clothing instead of juxtaposing their outward garments. Unlike Pownall’s drawing, Durham’s shifts the attention from their origins and class questions to the universal intimacy of true young love.

Mary Raphael’s “Florizel and Perdita”

Raphael’s oil painting of Florizel and Perdita is much more romantic in terms of settings and natural emotion in comparison to Pownall’s and Durham’s. Similar to Durham’s, this painting depicts Florizel’s grasp on Perdita’s hand and his gaze is also upon her. The posture of the two are completely relaxed as they merely enjoy each other’s company; without a hint of foreshadowing regarding the discovery of their love or Perdita’s constant anxiousness, the two lovers relax in what appears to be the gardens around the Shepherd’s house. In contrast to the garments of Florizel in previous depictions, this Florizel is dressed strangely like a peasant or a man of wilderness. Adorned in a fur coat and a peasant’s coarse hat, he is entirely immersed in his feelings of love and the romance of nature. Perdita is pictured with flowers in her hair while the two lovers are surrounded by the beauty of colorful flowers. Therefore, this painting chooses to focus on the theme of love and nature, the aesthetic aspect of Garrick’s love story, rather than class conflicts and the theme of clothing. In this, one can interpret the painting as the argument that love possesses the ability to transcend worldly possessions and material concerns.

In order to deconstruct Garrick’s intentions in emphasizing the role of clothing in social classes, an examination of these paintings and the artists’ aesthetic choices explores love juxtaposed against disguises and garments.

Waterhouse Images

I found some images by John William Waterhouse, an English painter who was inspired by Greek mythology in addition to Shakespeare's plays. He painted numerous historical, classical, and literary subjects in his lifetime. Waterhouse, or "Nino" as he was nicknamed, was born in 1849 in Rome. He was raised in an artistic family and is known for borrowing styles from the Pre-Raphaelites and Impressionists. He received training from the Royal Academy and died in 1917 from cancer. 

  1897

This is one of his works of Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers and Spring. Earlier in one of my posts, I compared several characters to the seasons. Perdita in The Winter's Tale resembles a flower, and represents Spring time. While her father can embody the coldness of winter (with his heartless acts), Perdita represents change with the promise of hope and Spring. Florizel himself even compares Perdita to Flora when he says,

"These your unusual weeds to each part of you 

                                                Do give a life: no shepherdess, but Flora 
                                                Peering in April's front. This your sheep-shearing    
                                               Is as a meeting of the petty gods,   
                                                And you the queen on't."

Are there any other similarities that you can find between Perdita and Flora? In other words, in the Perdita-visual that you have imagined (from your interpretation of the reading), does it come close to this painting of Flora? Can you truly see a Perdita in this image? 

Oil on Canvas 1916

"O, wonder!

                                                                     How many goodly creatures are there here!
                                                                    How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
                                                                   That has such people in't!"
                                                                                                  Miranda
                                                                                   The Tempest Act V, Scene I

This is an image of Miranda. JW Waterhouse created numerous variations of Miranda at the beginning and end of his career. This representation of her differs from the image that I have created in my mind. I pictured her  to be younger and not so elegant-like. She seems so preserved, mature, and wise in this interpretation. I wonder, what are your interpretations of this image and do they differ from your visual interpretation of Miranda? 

Note: I can't help but feel that this image is more "waiting for her husband  lost at sea" than a look of one who is more worried about strangers on a ship. It brings an entirely different story into my mind. 

Since we're going to be reading Hamlet, I thought that it would be a nice idea to put up an image or two of Ophelia. Similar to the image of Flora/Perdita, Ophelia is surrounded by a bunch of flowers and is very posed-like. Waterhouse created numerous images of Ophelia during his career.

The entry in Academy Notes for 1889 reads:

"Ophelia lying in the grass, with the wild flowers she has gathered in the folds of her dress. In one hand she holds a bunch of buttercups; in her rich brown hair, which half hides her face, is a coronet of daisies; in the background through the willow-stems a stream winds, and swallows fly low in the air (no sketch received)."

So, what do you think the story is about just by looking at this image? What attitude or tone does this image suggest concerning the play? 

 1894

Here's another famous image of Ophelia by Waterhouse. 

Themes & Magic

There’s ton of magic leaping off the pages in Shakespeare’s final plays, The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale. Both plays were written around 1611, and it appears (at least to me) that Shakespeare wanted to be more experimental by writing more about the fantastical. There definitely seems to be more magic in The Tempest, while we get some magical elements near the end of The Winter’s Tale. Hermione’s transformation at the end of the play—from statue to real life—adds more mystery to the play itself. In fact, Hermione’s entire role is one that is full of mystery. Her powers of persuasion involving Polixenes, for instance, is something that raises questions not only in the readers but in King Leontes himself. One would think, however, that Leontes would’ve been more satisfied with the result.

Ultimately, it is Hermione’s transformation that leaves the audience with satisfaction due to its happy ending, but also with various questions as to how she was able to hide herself for sixteen years (relating to the age of the statue, if the transformation was due to her own will or by Paulina’s direction, and so forth). While The Tempest has more overt magic (powers, magicians, witches, airy sprites, and so on), The Winter’s Tale hints at magic through the use of language. For instance, the Shepard mentions “fairy gold” (l 1616), while Mamillus attempts to tell his mother a tale of “goblins and sprites” (l 630). The play also contains an oracle in it and subtly hints at figures or inspirations of Greek mythology. Even the language that Paulina uses to re-animate Hermione in the final scene hints at a kind of magical ritual. However, all of this makes me wonder, why would Shakespeare put more magic in The Tempest and less in The Winter’s Tale? In my opinion, the title, The Winter’s Tale, has more of a magical feel to it; its title alone has more potential to tease and play with magical elements. It just seems odd to me that this play would lack more magic when the title is just so fitting. It is, after all, fairytale-esque like the Princess and The Frog title. Does anyone have any thoughts concerning Shakespeare’s reasoning for all this?

As for the themes, the themes of The Winter’s Tale are quite similar to those of The Tempest. Both these plays have romances, deal with the power of youth, and wrestle with the importance of forgiveness. In these plays we see how the younger characters are the ones to reconcile the differences between the old kings. In The Tempest, it is Miranda and Ferdinand, and in The Winter’s Tale, it’s Perdita and Florizel who are able to give hope to a better future, to make “old hearts fresh” (l 39). This renewing of relationships through youth also echoes the importance of time. Time, in short, helps when it comes to forgiveness and reconciliation. It is ultimately at the end of both plays where we see how time (in addition to the assistance of the younger characters) has generated growth in Prospero as well as in Leontes.

Moreover, it is time and forgiveness that are important themes in Shakespeare’s final plays. Hermione, for example, eventually forgives Leontes for all that he has done to her, and in The Tempest, Prospero forgives his brother Alonso for his betrayal. Both plays also deal with injustice. While Prospero wants justice, or rather, revenge for his brother’s treacherous act, Leontes wants his own sense of justice against Hermione and Polixenes for their supposed betrayal. In addition to the characters’ own sense of justice and feelings of injustice, both plays contain trickery by magic (Prospero conjuring up a realistic tempest, and Hermione playing a statue). Overall, magic is used in these plays in order to manipulate reality, trick the characters’ senses, and to drive the plot forward.