Plot

[Jane Ahn]

I think the death of Thaisa can be interpreted differently from the plot summary above. Shakespeare seems to let his readers know that she wasn't "dead." <br><br>Cerimon does not use "Egyptian ritual" to restore life to her. In III,ii, 60, Thaisa "smells most sweetly," and it doesn't seem to be the scent of the spices. After Cerimon reads from the scroll that Pericles have included in the chest, he states in III, ii, 76-77 and line 79, "If thou livest, Pericles, thou hast a heart that even cracks for woe!...For look how fresh she looks! They were too rough that threw her in the sea." She wasn't dead, and Cerimon understands that whoever threw her in the sea thinking she was was too "rough" in their haste decision. <br>

This comment about Thaisa's death was discussed in one of my classes at The University of Chicago taught by Professor Strier.

[kelby_lake]

She might not have been dead but she was clearly not conscious and did not seem to have much of a pulse.