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Bolder, though not so subtle. My valor’s poisoned
With only suff’ring stain by him; for him
Shall fly out of itself.
. . . Where I find him, were it
At home, upon my brother’s guard, even there,
Against the hospitable canon, would I
Wash my fierce hand in ’s heart. (1.10.18–20, 25–30)
Aufidius speaks these lines in response to a Volscian soldier, who, after the Roman victory in Corioles, has just called Coriolanus “the devil” (1.10.17). Aufidius says that Martius is in fact “bolder” than the devil, a fact that stokes his fury for the Roman hero. Yet there is also a sense in Aufidius’s words that he envies and even respects Coriolanus. He suggests as much in his evident eagerness to meet Coriolanus again soon so that he might plunge his hand into his rival’s chest and tear out his heart. Significantly, these words from Aufidius echo similar lines from Coriolanus, who earlier in the play declared: “I sin in envying [Aufidius’s] nobility, / And, were I anything but what I am, / I would wish me only he” (1.1.256–58). Both men clearly despise and admire the other in equal measure.
O Martius, Martius,
Each word thou hast spoke hath weeded from my heart
A root of ancient envy.
. . . Let me twine
Mine arms about that body, whereagainst
My grainèd ash an hundred times hath broke
And scarred the moon with splinters.
. . . Know thou first,
I loved the maid I married; never man
Sighed truer breath. But that I see thee here,
Thou noble thing, more dances my rapt heart
Than when I first my wedded mistress saw
Bestride my threshold. (4.5.111–13, 118–21, 128–31)
Aufidius addresses these words to Coriolanus (referred to here as “Martius”), who has just announced his arrival in Antium and declared his desire to collaborate on a military campaign against Rome. Aufidius is eager to embrace his chief rival as a friend, a gesture that clearly demonstrates the degree to which he respects Coriolanus, even as he envies him. Remarkably, Aufidius’s language carries a homoerotic charge, as he declares that he is happier to see Coriolanus than he was to see his own bride on his wedding day. Of course, his words indicate admiration rather than a sexual invitation, but the erotic undertone speaks powerfully to the bond between men who’ve crossed swords in battle.
I took him,
Made him joint servant with me, gave him way
In all his own desires; nay, let him choose
Out of my files, his projects to accomplish,
My best and freshest men; served his designments
In mine own person; holp to reap the fame
Which he did end all his; and took some pride
To do myself this wrong; till at the last
I seemed his follower, not partner; and
He waged me with his countenance as if
I had been mercenary. (5.6.37–47)
Aufidius says these lines to the First Conspirator, with whom he is discussing a plot to assassinate Coriolanus in the streets of Corioles—the very city whose conquest earned him his honorific. Aufidius is keen to explain why he’s decided to kill Coriolanus. Earlier, we saw him sour on the alliance as the Volscian soldiers increasingly favored Coriolanus over their own general, thereby reactivating his old feelings of envy. Later, their pact was broken when Coriolanus submitted to his mother’s demand that he break off the campaign against Rome, which he did without consulting Aufidius. Being treated this way has further amplified Aufidius’s fury; once again, he feels like Coriolanus’s “follower, not partner.” Thus, motivated by a desire finally to come out on top and demonstrate his superiority, Aufidius conspires to murder his rival.
