In a scene suffused with situational irony, Menenius and Volumnia eagerly await news of Coriolanus’s condition, hoping that he is badly injured in order to strengthen his case for the consulship of Rome:
MENENIUS
Where is
he wounded? (To the Tribunes.) God save your
good Worships! Martius is coming home;
he has more cause to be proud.—
Where is he wounded?
VOLUMNIA
I’ th’ shoulder and i’ th’ left arm. There will
be large cicatrices to show the people when he
shall stand for his place. He received in the repulse
of Tarquin seven hurts i’ th’ body.MENENIUS
One i’ th’ neck and two i’ th’ thigh—there’s
nine that I know.
VOLUMNIA
He had, before this last expedition, twenty-five
wounds upon him.
MENENIUS
Now it’s twenty-seven. Every gash was an
enemy’s grave.
Rather than responding to news of his condition with concern, his mother Volumnia and their family friend Menenius pray that Coriolanus has been badly wounded, with many visible scars to “show the people” when he returns to Rome to receive public honors. Like merchants, they take inventory of all the wounds he has gained in previous battles, hoping that he will add a number of new scars and injuries to the total. Ironically, they show little concern for his safety, but rather, feel that he is more valuable if he has been badly hurt. Shakespeare’s ironic depiction of Coriolanus’s family highlights the bloodthirsty and exploitative nature of Roman society.
