Volumnia

rdf:langString Volumnia

rdf:langString Volumnia

rdf:langString Volumnia

rdf:langString "Venturia at the Feet of Coriolanus" by Gaspare Landi. Volumnia was named Venturia in Plutarch's version of the story. Coriolanus' wife, named Volumnia in Plutarch's Lives, is called Virgilia in Shakespeare's play

rdf:langString "...the breasts of Hecuba,

rdf:langString "Say my request's unjust,

rdf:langString Thou art not honest; and the gods will plague thee,

rdf:langString And spurn me back: but if it be not so,

rdf:langString At Grecian sword, contemning. Tell Valeria,

rdf:langString Than Hector's forehead when it spit forth blood

rdf:langString That thou restrain'st from me the duty which

rdf:langString To a mother's part belongs."

rdf:langString We are fit to bid her welcome."

rdf:langString When she did suckle Hector, look'd not lovelier

rdf:langString – Volumnia reasoning with Coriolanus in the play Coriolanus

rdf:langString – Volumnia

rdf:langString background:#c6dbf7;width:30em;max-width:30%;

rdf:langString Volumnia is a character in William Shakespeare's play Coriolanus, the mother of Caius Martius Coriolanus. She plays a large role in Coriolanus' life, encouraging him in his military success and urging him to seek political office. When the people of Rome put her son in exile and he joins their military enemies, she manages to persuade him not to besiege Rome and becomes a heroine to the city. Scholars have noted her profound control over her son and her effect on his attitude towards life throughout the play. Rather than offering nourishment, Volumnia constantly urges her son towards aggression. Psychoanalytic literary scholars even suggest that she protects him as if he were her sexual partner, even keeping Coriolanus' own wife away from him. Performance of the role has changed over time as focus shifted from male roles to female roles. During the Romantic Period, she was portrayed as a stately, calm woman. More recently roles have made her much more emotive.Scene 3 also separates her from the other women in the play. Volumnia speaks of "blood," "swords," and "death," while women like Virgilia speak of "sewing" and "butter".