Pericles | Act 5, Scene 2 | Summary

Summary

Gower tells the audience the play is about to end, but he tells them that during the festivities to honor Neptune, Lysimachus asks Pericles for the hand of Marina in marriage. This is agreeable to Pericles once his promise to the goddess Diana has been fulfilled.

Analysis

Lysimachus is the key to Marina's security in the future because he has fallen in love not only with her superior qualities but also with her fortitude in maintaining her virtue under the worst possible conditions. In other words, not only does Marina have the attributes of nobility with which she has been born, but she also has the strength of character to act with consistent courage to overcome adverse circumstances. She has, in other words, survived the storm of fortune that placed her in the brothel. Marriage with Lysimachus, then, is symbolic of Marina's having reached a safe shore.