Cymbeline, King of Britain Women and Femininity

Iachimo's been around the block. He thinks all women are just like jewels—shiny objects that men think are amazing… until they meet a prettier one. It's clear that he has a lot to learn about Imogen—but is he partly right about Posthumus?

We know Imogen must be a looker, because when cynical Iachimo actually sees her, he's impressed. We're talking very impressed. We learn that Imogen is pretty here, but we also see that deep down, Iachimo realizes that women can be smart and pretty—even if he won't admit it to his buddies.

Iachimo tells Imogen that lots of women can't be trusted, so he's just testing her. Well, that's ironic, not to mention totally hypocritical, since he is the onecan't be trusted, and she doesn't even need testing. Why doesn't Posthumus realize how good his wife is? Why test her like this?

Once he thinks Imogen has cheated on him, Posthumus says he can't trust any woman, since in his mind, all women are liars. He's a little dramatic, yes, but he's also right on the money in terms of 17th-century thinking. A lot of men then really did believe all women were untrustworthy and would give in to their every desire. Have things changed since then?

Yikes. All women are traitors and go back on their word? It sure seems that way to Posthumus. What's funny is that he's just done that very thing: he promised Imogen he wouldn't let go of his ring until he was dead, and—voilà—he bet it right away to Iachimo. One thing that many of the men in this play lack is self-awareness; they pretty easily spot problems in others, but they have a hard time seeing the bad or imperfect things about themselves.

This dude is outraged at the fact that his bride is not as honest as he thought. There might be a little more to it than that, though: we can't help but wonder whether he's mad at the fact that his wife cheated on him, or that he lost the bet. Which one is he more upset about when he rants about Iachimo besting him? Why is there a bet in the first place? To test his wife's loyalty, or to be the big man around town?

Women are always changing, but Posthumus wants them to stay the same. That, however, hints at how insecure he is about women. He only feels like he's in control if his wife remains exactly the same forever. One thing he learns in this play is that remaining exactly the same forever is impossible—more than that, it's not even desirable. By the end of the play, Posthumus seems more okay with the idea of change; he's been forced to rethink his views (and his insecurities) by the events in the play.

Here's a how-to manual on becoming a man. Aside from the comedy of it all, we think this is an important quote because of what it tells us about men and women: women are always changeable, fearful, pretty, and weak hearted. We don't agree with these characteristics, but we do think they sum up what many of these men think about women.

As Imogen wanders around in Wales, she thinks about gender since she's just "become" a man. Is she just tired from her own experiences, or does she think all men's lives are as bad as hers is right then? There's not much else in the play to support a full-scale investigation into what makes a man a man, but we get a small glimpse here. It turns out that being a man and being a women may be equally difficult, if in different ways.