Character Analysis
Cue the thunder and lighting, because there are some spirits in the house. The witch and conjurer get Eleanor in deep doo-doo because people were definitely not supposed to dabble in witchcraft back in old Shakes's day. It was a serious matter—so serious, in fact, that people were tried and executed for it regularly.
Now, let's be real: it's not like Eleanor is casting spells on anyone or selling herself to the devil. She's pretty much just doing the medieval equivalent of calling up Miss Cleo for some career advice. She just wants some answers.
Unfortunately, even calling up Miss Cleo would have been punishable by death back in the day, and that's pretty much what happens: Eleanor herself is banished forever, and the witches are put to death in gruesome ways. So maybe that wasn't really the way to go; but on the other hand, Eleanor does get three very important pieces of information:
- A duke will depose Henry but die a violent death.
- Suffolk will die by water.
- Somerset should avoid castles.
All of these come true, which makes us wonder whether the spirits weren't just part of the plan to trap and arrest Eleanor, after all. Since the spirits were able to predict the future, what does that mean? Should we believe everything is all predetermined by fate, or that the witches were able to make some educated guesses with some insider info? After all, it's not that difficult to see Henry being bumped off the throne when he can't keep anyone in line.
This definitely isn't the only time witches make some very correct predictions in Shakespeare—anyone remember Macbeth? There, too, ambition seems tied up with the supernatural in weird ways. In both plays, the super ambitious characters always think that they're in control of their destinies—but they always turn out not to be.
Whether it's fate at work or just an acknowledgment that no individual has total control over his or her destiny, it always turns out that the purely self-interested characters get their comeuppance in this play.