Act III , Lines
656-660, 685-693, 702-707
SEGISMUND: My
father, who is here to evade the fury
Of my proud nature,
made me a wild beast:
So when I, by my
birth of gallant stock,
My generous blood,
and inbred grace and valour,
Might well have
proved both gentle and forbearing.
...
SEGISMUND: Fate
should not be coerced by man's injustice-
This rouses more
resentment. So it is
That he who seeks to
tame his fortune must
Resort to moderation
and to measure
He who foresees an
evil cannot conquer it
Thus in advance, for
though humility
Can overcome it,
this it can do only
When the occasion's
there, for there is no way
To dodge one's fate
and thus evade the issue.
…
SEGISMUND: Can I,
young in age, less brave, and less
In science than the
king, conquer that fate?
Sire, rise, give me
your hand, now that heavens
Have shown you that
you erred as the method
To vanquish them.
Humbly I kneel before you
And offer you my
neck to treat upon.
The character
Segismund is present in three different settings throughout the play: the
prison/tower, the palace, and the country. It is significant that Segismund is
in the first two settings unwillingly. He was thrown into prison as a child and
then he is drug out of prison and placed on the throne to see how if he will
fulfill the prophecy. As the introduction said, placing Segismund in isolation
as a child turned him into a human monster. He comes off as merciless, rude,
and stubborn in his first interactions with Clarion and Rosaura. His actions
upon being released into the palace are very abrupt and hasty (i.e., throwing a
man off the balcony). This can be expected of someone who has been treated like
a beast as long as they can remember. His actions in prison and after his
initial release fulfill the predictions of the royalty and the characteristics
of a human monster, or beast.
The play ends with
Segismund in the country. He leaves for the countryside willingly to prepare
for battle. At this point in the play, he has the support of the soldiers who
want to see him as king of Poland vice Astolfo. This is scene that the passage
above comes from. The passage demonstrates the humanity that Segismund possess
as he pardons his father. Further, it confirms that sympathy and kindness are
innate to man, as mentioned in the introduction to the play. This is the point
of Life is a Dream: humanity is innate
to mankind and fate cannot be manipulated by man. Calderon chose for
Segismund's innate humanity to be exposed at a point in the play where
prejudices would have that Segismund seek revenge and act merciless and
ruthless towards his father. Although a prophecy told of Segismund becoming a
tyrant and alluded to Segismund killing his father, it was ultimately "the
free will which man holds direct from God", or fate and humanity, that
drove Segismund's actions at the end (Act I, Line 568). Moreover, Calderon's
choice of these events occuring in the country is significant because beasts
(animals) tend to inhabit the country freely. Here, Segismund (the beast) is in
his more natural element and can choose to act freely. Calderon constructed
Segiusmund's actions to be sympathetic, merciful, and humane to again
demonstrate the point of the play.
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