The characters of Hermione, Perdita and Paulina in The Winter's Tale Although Hermione is one of the main characters, we see very little of her in the play. She is horribly betrayed by her husband, but we never really see her feelings about it. In many other plays, Shakespeare uses asides and soliloquies to provide insight into the character's mind. Hermione must be having complex and very disturbing thoughts, but we never see them. Hermione is in Act I Scene II where she plays the perfect royal hostess. In Act I, scene iii, she is accused of adultery with Polixenes by Leontes and taken to prison. She is not seen again until Act III, Scene II, where she is tried for her treason. Immediately after this scene, she dies, or appears to die, behind the scenes. The audience has no indication that she is still alive until Act V Scene III, where the statue becomes flesh. Hermione is portrayed as an innocent victim throughout the play. When her husband's fist becomes jealous, she is intrigued by his behavior and wonders if affairs of state bother him. His lack of knowledge of his jealousy lends credence to his plea of ​​innocence. She had obviously never been an unfaithful wife, so she had no reason to worry that her husband would suspect her. Polixenes flees for fear of death, but he leaves Hermione behind. If she had known that she was guilty and that she might be punished, she could have left with Polixenes. When she comes back to life as a statue, she says that she preserved herself in the fortuitous event that Perdita was alive. The audience is never given any further explanation, so we cannot conclude that she even saved herself illegally or falsely. The character of Perdita is a wonderful study of sociological theories of the opposition between nature and culture. She leaves the royal court when she is only a few days old and is raised by an old shepherd and his son, the Clown. Although the family found a lot of money when they found the baby, the education they received could not equal a traditional royal education. Nevertheless, Perdita seems endowed from birth with a regal manner. She's been crowned Queen of the Sheep-Shearing Festival the moment we first see her again, and she's won the deep love of a prince..