Confusion and Discomfort in Cymbeline

1. As proof of his supposed seduction of Imogen, Iachimo cites a mole under Imogen’s breast. Posthumous accepts this as the ultimate proof, and declares that Iachimo has won the bet. Yet Posthumous claims never to have had sex with Imogen: “Me of my lawful pleasure she restrained / And prayed me oft forbearance” (2.5.9-10). In view of the fact that he presumably has not yet seen her naked, and therefore would not know whether she had this mole or not, his acceptance of this “proof” seems strange. Two acts later we witness Imogen completely convinced that the body of the beheaded Cloten is that of Posthumous. The fact that he is missing his head and wearing Posthumous’s clothing makes this mistake understandable, but the dialogue here complicates matters as Imogen claims the following: “I know the shape of’s leg; this is his hand, / His foot Mercurial, his Martial thigh, / The brawns of Hercules” (4.2.309-311). Imogen believes that she knows every part of Posthumous’s body so well that even without his head she can unmistakably identify him. The fact that the body is actually that of the man she most loathes makes this scene extremely bizarre. How does this lack of physical/sexual familiarity affect the characters and our reading of them? How does corporeal confusion operate as both a plot device and as a theme throughout the play?
2. Corporal punishment arises as an issue more than once in this play. First, Belarius suggests that Cloten receive proper burial after his beheading: “Our foe was princely, / And though you took his life as being our foe, / Yet bury him as a prince” (4.2.249-251). Later, the jailer bringing Posthumous to his execution states the following: “I would we were all of one mind, and one mind good. O, there were desolation of jailers and gallows! I speak against my present profit, but my wish hath a preferment in’t” (5.4.203-5). The jailer wishes that no one needed to go to the gallows, even though he would lose his job. While neither Belarius nor the jailer pass judgment on whether or not Cloten and Posthumous deserve to die, they do express a discomfort with the idea of execution. What is the effect of this uneasiness with violent death? How might it extend to other parts of the play? (i.e. the ongoing war, the doctor’s suspicion of the queen and refusal to give her the poison she requests . . .)