Underestimation and the Road to Character Development

Being the rather hopeless romantic that I am, I was more than annoyed when King Cymbeline dismissed Posthumus as a suitable husband for his daughter due to his lack of noble blood. “Thou took’st a beggar; wouldst have made my throne A seat for baseness” (1.1.178-179) he decries to Imogen furiously after Posthumus’ banishment, showcasing a pettiness that immediately marks him as a dislikable character. While Imogen’s tart comeback is more than welcome after such a remark, this underestimation of Posthumus is a crucial line because it sets up the path of his character development.

From the very beginning of the play, we find via the conversation between the two gentlemen of the court that despite his status, Posthumus is a “worthy gentleman” (1.1.9). In fact, after hearing the reason behind his banishment, the second gentleman remarks to the first “I honour him Even out of your report” (1.1.61-62). Throughout the play, we readers search for reasons to believe the second gentleman’s esteem of Posthumus and we root for him even when he does things that let us down (such as his lightning quick denouncement of his wife after Iachimo’s machinations) because we believe that in order for the fairy tale ending to work Posthumus must prove the king wrong.

I’ve noticed that Henry IV also uses underestimation to jumpstart character growth. Just like Posthumus, Prince Hal is vastly underestimated by a king (in his case, not just a king but his own father). However, unlike Posthumus, who is underestimated only by a small number of individuals (aka Cymbeline and Cloten), an entire kingdom frowns upon Hal. Also unlike Posthumus, it is found that Hal’s poor reputation is all a ruse- he wants to be underestimated because he’s waiting for the day he can finally show everyone his true greatness.  I look forward to seeing how this take on overcoming underestimation works for him.