I jotted down these points about the character of the Shepherd and the Shepherd's son on March 10 this year. It is a collection of impressions about these two characters in The Winter's Tale
The shepherd is very noble.
When he saw an infant in the savage land he could have chosen to give the infant away to someone else or could be like the characters in the story of the good Samaritan who did not help the man in the street and he could have walked away from the infant thinking someone else would help.
Instead he chose to pick up the child and raise the child as his own.
He did a good job because Perdita grew up to be a good young person.
In the sheep shearing feast he encourages Perdita to play the part of the hostess.
This gesture tells us that he wants her to take leadership positions.
He is generous in praising her.
When Polixenes compliments her dancing he says she is good in everything.
Just as Florizell and Perdita are getting married he vows to make her an equal heir with his own son.
She is only adopted.
But he gives her full status as his own child.
For this he is willing to give the inheritance that is his son's to her.
Perhaps he does this because he feels she is a girl who needs his protection.
Or because he feels love for her because he raised her for all these years.
And she would leave him to be with Florizell so he could not bear to send her without giving her full inheritance as his child.
I also liked his relationship with his son.
Together they make the most hilarious twosome in the play.
They are so gullible and get taken in by every tale told them by Autolychus.
When they decide to tell the king that Perdita is not their flesh and blood the conversation they have is very funny.
The conversation they have with Autolychus shows how worldly wise they are not.
Finally in the end of the play they are made gentlemen because they are related to Perdita and their simple joy shows that their sincerity.
Only once does the shepherd get angry.
And that is a righteous anger.
It was when Polixenes gets angry at the engagement of Florizell and Perdita and threatens to punish Florizell Perdita and the shepherd and he scolds Perdita for liking a prince and for not understanding her station in life.
The Shepherd takes the initiative to go to the king and tell all about where he found Perdita so he could be saved from punishment.
The Shepherd's son is also a laudable character.
We meet the Shepherd's son in the scene where the Shepherd finds Perdita.
The Shepherd's son at this time witnesses a gory scene and the father says to the son you see things dying and I see things new born.
Then during the prep to the sheep shearing feast the Shepherd's son faithfully buys everything in the list given to him by his sister.
On the way he meets Autolychus who claims to be waylaid by robbers and he goes out of his way to help Autolychus.
He does this without realizing Autolychus has robbed him.
It was his idea to save his father by telling the king Perdita is not their flesh and blood.
He believed that once this was disclosed his father would be saved from the kings wrath.
He does not resent his father wanting to give Perdita a share in the inheritance although it would have made his inheritance lesser.
This shows that he does not have avarice and is willing to share.
He is excited to become a gentleman.
In the class ridden society that Shakespeare wrote in to become a gentleman is the ultimate social accomplishment.
When he and his father were made gentlemen he says that only after becoming gentlemen could he shed real gentlemen tears.
This shows that even a normal human emotion like crying is connected to your social status.
Although both the Shepherd and the Shepherd's son had no dearth of human emotions like kindness and compassion.
It was the person in the highest class the king Leontes who lost all human emotion because he was consumed by jealousy and suspicion.
He became so cruel that he banished a newborn to a savage land.
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