Pericles, Prince of Tyre Deception Quotes

While the knights stand around and bag on Pericles's rusty armor, King Simonides actually says something smart: he isn't ready to judge Pericles's inner worth based on the guy's outward appearances. 

Thaisa seems like a pretty good judge of character, don't you think? Even though Pericles has presented himself at her dad's court as some kind of "country gentleman," she thinks he's pretty awesome. By the way, why the heck does Pericles lie about his identity at Simonides's court? Why not just come right out and tell everyone he's a king? Is he trying to be more careful after what happened at Antiochus's court? Is he trying to be judged on his own merits, rather than on his title?

So, by this time in the play, Pericles has figured out how to be a better judge of character. During the rest of the play, though, he totally misinterprets some important situations. When it appears that Thaisa has died giving birth to the couple's child, Pericles hastily agrees to toss her body over the side of the ship to appease the superstitious sailors. Of course, Thaisa's not dead, but the decision has major consequences for our hero. It seems like a big part of his maturing process is about learning to be a better judge of his circumstances.