Obtaining Effective Political Agency through Informal Access: Using Volumnia from Shakespeare’s Coriolanus as a Model

Abstract

Past studies have examined Shakespeare’s historical plays through the lenses of political theory in multiple ways, focusing primarily on formal access to policymaking — official, structured channels of influence. This paper hereby uses Volumnia from Shakespeare’s Coriolanus as a model to examine the attainment of effective political agency through the perspective of a politician with only informal access to policymaking. Volumnia’s success in preserving the city of Rome contrasts with the failed attempts by other male characters’ sole reliance on formal political channels. Through her interactions with her son Coriolanus, a politician with formal access to policymaking, she exemplifies how effective political agency can be achieved by her use of rhetoric, body language, and indirect influence to manipulate politicians with authority to achieve her private political pursuits. Volumnia’s certified success under a patriarchal narrative exemplifies possibilities for politically marginalized minorities in modern society, especially the female body.