Aufidius

Play

Coriolanus

Summary

Tullus Aufidius is the general of the Volscians and Coriolanus's great adversary — the only man who has ever come close to matching him in combat, and whose obsession with Coriolanus has an intensity that borders on the erotic. When Coriolanus arrives at his hearth in Antium after banishment, Aufidius embraces him with passionate warmth and makes him co-commander of the Volscian forces. But as Coriolanus's reputation eclipses his own once more, Aufidius's admiration curdled into jealousy and resentment long before their final confrontation. When Coriolanus yields to his mother and spares Rome, Aufidius uses the betrayal as a pretext to have him killed — calling him "boy of tears" to provoke him before the Volscian lords, knowing the taunt will trigger fatal fury.

Notable Quotations

"Let me twine / Mine arms about that body, whereagainst / My grained ash an hundred times hath broke." *(4.5 — welcoming Coriolanus)*

"First he was / A noble servant to them, but he could not / Carry his honours even." *(5.6)*

Cross-references

• Coriolanus — the play
• Tragedies
• character_coriolanus — his lifelong rival and ultimate victim