This Month's Coriolanus Feature >>

Coriolanus was a failure at wielding his political power because he did not have the capacity nor the emotional strength to learn how to surrender a bit of his position for the greater good and for the retention of power. His pride overwhelmed his sensibility and he responded out of ignorance to all situations involving his power. Like Meneius, whose "belly speech" reflects a disdain for the common man, Coriolanus rejected Brutus and others who might have helped him. He refused to accept social cooperation because of his distorted sense of social reality. Without the burden of pride, Coriolanus might have achieved more success in fulfilling social order among his people. Yet Coriolanus is not the tragic hero. He is more the failure because he is only faintly aware of his own conflicts and dilemmas. He believes despotism will be acceptable to the people since he is seeking total control. This is the only way he himself has been guided, through fearful submission to the control of his mother.