IACHIMO | These are the words that Iachimo says after Innogen rebuffs his seduction attempt when they first meet. He uses this speech to explain his actions and to regain her trust. Ostensibly, the audience will see this as "true" at this point in the play. We don't yet know that Iachimo plans to slander her since he cannot succeed in his wager to seduce her. Although Iachimo will go on to make Innogen look (to Posthumus) like a "whore," we the audience see her as an exemplar of "most perfect goodness." |
Innogen appears in a vaginal shape that is connected to the bracelet, the "manacle" of Posthumus's love, in order to show how Iachimo's slander works. By equating her sexuality with the value of the ring that Posthumus wears, Iachimo was able to commodify Innogen and enter her reputation into an exchange circulation. Securing the bracelet from her when she sleeps makes it so that he can trade in on her sexual reputation in exchange for the ring that Posthumus put up in the wager. The bracelet symbolically becomes her vagina; thus, when Iachimo takes the bracelet, he takes her vagina (as far as Posthumus knows). In reality, he only took the bracelet and he did not take her marital chastity. She remains safely ensconced in the vaginal shape of this image, but the eyes around her watch her relentlessly and the hands around her wait to point accusing fingers at her. She cannot protect her reputation from slander. Her safe space is also a prison.