How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #4
I am no viper, yet I feed
On mother's flesh which did me breed.
I sought a husband, in which labour
I found that kindness in a father:
He's father, son, and husband mild;
I mother, wife, and yet his child.
How they may be, and yet in two,
As you will live, resolve it you. (1.1.64-71)
This is the riddle Pericles solves but is reluctant to say anything about. That's because it reveals King Antiochus's secret—he's been sleeping with his daughter. The riddle can be a little confusing (hey, it's a riddle, right?), so let's break it down. Antiochus's daughter is being compared to a viper (snake) that eats her own mother's flesh because she's sleeping with her mom's husband. (Back in the day, baby vipers were thought to eat their way out of their mothers' bodies.) The riddle goes on to say that by sleeping with her dad, Antiochus's "child" is acting like a "wife" to him. And Antiochus, who is his daughter's "father," is acting like he's her "husband" by taking her to bed.
We're not sure why Antiochus is compared to his daughter's "son," and we're not sure why his daughter is supposed to be like a "mother" to him. But it seems like Shakespeare wants us to be confused. Why's that? Because incestuous relationships are confusing, that's why. They blur the boundaries between traditional family dynamics.
Why is Antiochus even asking this particular riddle? It's hard to be sure, but we have a good guess. It's hard to solve, first of all, which means that most of Antiochus's daughter's suitors will just get their heads lopped off. If someone does solve it, that guy—like Pericles—is probably not going to want to reveal the answer. That means that Antiochus can pretty much keep his daughter either way.
Quote #5
Those mothers who, to nousle up their babes,
Thought nought too curious, are ready now
To eat those little darlings whom they loved.
So sharp are hunger's teeth, that man and wife
Draw lots who first shall die to lengthen life: (1.4.42-46)
The famine in Tharsus is so bad that families are turning against each other. Here, we learn that mothers are beginning to think about eating their own children. (In the riddle above, the opposite happens—baby vipers were thought to eat their way out of their mother.) So what do you think is up with all the references to families and cannibalism?
Quote #6
When he was seated in a chariot
Of an inestimable value, and his daughter with him,
A fire from heaven came and shrivell'd up
Their bodies, even to loathing; for they so stunk,
That all those eyes adored them ere their fall
Scorn now their hand should give them burial. (2.4.7-12)
Note to wicked parents everywhere: according to this play, you deserve to die a seriously painful and fiery death for treating your children badly. Here, we learn that King Antiochus has been struck by a fireball sent "from heaven" and has been burnt to a crisp, along with his incestuous daughter. At the end of the play, we also find out that Marina's wicked foster mother and foster father are burned alive in Cleon's palace as punishment for Dionyza's attempted murder of Marina (5.3.95-98).