Coriolanus reminds me of Timon of Athens in some ways. It has a lot to say about trust and the way we judge others.
Of the whole play, the part that struck me the most is when the citizens begin to doubt Coriolanus. It was remarkable how quickly and easily they reversed their opinion of him. It seems to make an argument for how frail trust is, and how easily it is broken – therefore, how much appreciation we should have for any trust we are granted.
Similarly, that scene also made me think a lot about how common misunderstandings are, and how little we can actually know about other people. The impossibility of knowing, in other words.
It was a good reminder to keep in mind that the judgments we make of other people are of necessity always incomplete and, because of that, there is always room for perhaps a little more kindness than we feel inclined to give.
