Jumping to Conclusions

I find it so interesting that Leontes is so quick to assume the Hermione and Polixenes are having an affair. First of all he is the one who entreated Hermione to ask Polixenes to extend his visit. He had been unsuccessful in convincing his childhood friend and so he turned to the charms of a woman. Therefore, expecting his wife to most likely convince Polixenes to stay, he should not have been upset when Polixenes caved in. It is almost as if he was looking for a reason to be angry and suspicious.

Secondly, I wonder if Leontes suspects because of events that may have happened in the past. Perhaps he does not completely trust Polixenes because in their youth they competed for the same girl. Granted we do not know this because this is never mentioned in the play, but there could be that reasoning between his quick conclusions.

This would also apply to Leontes' relationship with his wife Herminoe. It may be that there had been problems in their marriage in the past. Maybe she was a particularly flirtatious women, maybe she'd had a past affair. However at the same time Leontes knows that his son looks like him and fully acknowledges it. It may just be that Leontes is a jealous man. Perhaps they never had male guests before and so he doesn't know how to react to the situation besides assuming that there has to be an affair occurring when the two seem to be friends.

So is Leontes justified in his conclusions, or is he overprotective? We may never know because we don't have that history, but we will find out what harm these conclusions can do. I mean Leontes has already decided to murder Polixenes without even confronting him about the issues first. Shakespeare's works seem to be wrought with rash and impulsive decisions by insecure people, just look at Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.