A Winter’s Tale in The Winter’s Tale, and the Real Winter’s Tale

Abstract

As the generic identity of the play is suggestively registered in its very title of The Winter’s Tale, the play can be read as a tale about the winter’s tale of old wives. As such the play has a structure of a play within a play, and it is revealed at the critical moment when the prince tells a winter’s tale to his mother queen. Above all, the prince’s role of gender reversal can be identified with the role of a master playwright who tries to appropriate old wives’ winter tale. But since when the prince’s tale was abruptly stopped by his father king and the prince died soon, meta-dramatic frame of winter’s tale receded into background and the real winter’s tale of mother developed who has lost their children. And at the final statue scene, master playwright’s early concern with the appropriation of the tradition of old wives’ tale turned into the self-reflective recognition of old wives’ right and competence for the winter’s tale. In the statue scene, no literal miracle occurred; no transcendent presence appeared, but women who had overcome the winter of life came to possesses the power of faith and even magic to make the male audience remain faithful to the illusion of experiencing a miracle. Thus, the master playwright’s creation of his own winter’s tale comes to the conclusion that old wives who have overcome the life of winter are best for winter’s tale, rescuing from male prejudice against old wives’ tale the unique mode of old women’s perception and belief.