Shakespearean novels are characterized by conclusions in which all conflicts are happily resolved. It's easy to see these resolutions as fun but unlikely devices the author invents to tie up loose ends. Sometimes, however, there is a deeper structure of conflict and resolution than may at first seem obvious; this is the case of The Winter's Tale. The central conflict in The Winter's Tale is the violation of Nature by the patriarch of the older generation, Leontes. Nature in The Winter's Tale is best understood as the ordered character of the universe. This is expressed in a three-tier structure, ordered hierarchically with the divine at the top, the monarch next to it, and the common man at the bottom. Nature is essentially static in the vertical sense, that is, an individual cannot properly move from a lower level to a higher one or vice versa. However, Nature requires horizontal mobility demonstrated through the continuity of time. A violation of vertical stability or horizontal perpetuation offends Nature and will be punished. Although Leontes' first violation is vertical in nature, it is its horizontal violation that is the biggest problem. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Leontes, consumed by pride, rejects the oracle's voice when it questions his conception of truth. He indignantly declares, "There is no truth in the oracle. This is mere falsehood" (III.ii.138). This declaration marks a vertical infringement against Nature. Leontes, as monarch, ignores the voice of heaven and Apollo strikes down his son in response. This loss of a son and heir is Leontes' most important transgression, the violation of the horizontal continuity of nature. The monarch, the second level of ordered nature, cannot move forward in time. This is the essence of Leontes' tragedy. Redemption from this tragedy can only come through the stabilization of the natural order. Vertical transgression against the divine requires only recognition of the transgression to be overcome. In The Winter's Tale this recognition comes immediately after Mammilius' death. Leontes says, “Apollo, pardon my great profanation against thy oracle” (III.ii.152). With these words and with the proposal to visit his family's tombs, Leontes did everything possible to personally reconcile himself with the god. Yet he was not redeemed by his second, deeper, transgression, childlessness. This infraction is not personal; it can only be overcome by restarting the interrupted horizontal movement. In other words, it can only be accomplished through another person, an heir to the throne of Leontes. Only a second, new generation can solve this problem, redeem Leontes and restore the natural order. There is much evidence of such transgenerational redemption in The Winter's Tale. The structure of the work clearly demonstrates this. The show is organized into two distinct sections based on scene and theme. Sicily, the location of the first three acts, is a land dominated by court life, the kingdom self-built by man, as demonstrated by the coherent placement of each scene ("The Palace of Leontes"). The emphasis here is definitely on man and his action; the outside world is summarily ignored. This is the home of the older generation and is rightly the land of man-made tragedy. Bohemia, the scene of the fourth act, on the other hand, is a land of shining abundance and fertility, populated by shepherds and other farmers. The court is only shown once. Furthermore, Bohemia is associated with the new generation. Sixteen years have passed since thedrama moves to Bohemia for the first time. The tragedy is the legacy of the older generation's barren land, Sicily, while the next generation is brought up in Bohemia. The move to Bohemia places the emphasis on the new and leads ineluctably to the happy conclusion of the work. Further evidence of the importance of the second generation is found in the importance of the sons of the two separated rulers in the final resolution of the work. It is only when Perdita returns to Sicily that the show can end successfully. The two lovers flee to Sicily, the site of the original transgression, from an inhospitable Bohemia where their relationship is "opposed, as it must be, by the power of the King" (IV.iv.37). The fifth and final act takes place in the same land stained by Leontes' initial sin. The new generation reunites with the old to stabilize the twisted axes of the natural order. The decisive acts of the second generation, however, are not carried out independently. The servants of the older generation, Antigonus and Camillus, act as intermediaries between the old and the new. Antigonus, tasked by Leontes with abandoning little Perdita, leaves a scroll indicating his royal heritage along with a casket of jewels, with the clear intention that the little girl will be saved. As he says, "Here are these, who may, if fortune please, both beget thee, fair, and still remain thine" (III.iii.47-49). Antigonus rejects the extreme imperatives of his enraged ruler and thus ensures the survival of the next generation without which there could be no redemption. Camillo also plays a fundamental role in facilitating the redemption of the old generation by the new. Early in the play Camillus recognizes the absurdity of Leontes' action and flees to Bohemia with Polyxenus rather than remain subject to the irrational mandates of his king. In addition to this, it is Camillo who convinces Florizel and Perdita to flee Bohemia when Polixenes denies their engagement. Antigonus ensures the life of the second generation while Camillus reunites it with the previous one. In addition to the evidence offered by the larger plot, the words of the characters also demonstrate the role of the second generation in restoring the natural order. At the beginning of Act 5, Leontes, Clomene, Dio, and Paulina speak to each other about the monarch's condition sixteen years after his original transgression. Cleomenes begins the act by saying: "Lord, you have done enough: you could not commit any sin without having redeemed" (Vi2-3). Leontes, however, still suffers. He replies to Cleomenes: "I cannot forget my imperfections - and therefore I still think of the mistakes I have made myself" (Vi8). His penance absolved him of his vertical infraction against the god, but this is evidently not enough. Dio later refers to the "dangers which, owing to the failure of his highness' progeny, [which] may fall upon his kingdom" (Vi27-28). Paulina characterizes the situation best by referring to the "tenor of the oracle". He says, "King Leontes will not have an heir until his lost son is found" (Vi37-40). This concern about Leontes' lack of problems provides the answer to Clomenes' original concern. Leontes has done enough for his personal redemption, but the situation cannot be fully resolved until the future of the monarchy, its horizontal perpetuation, is secured through an heir. In the next scene three gentlemen discuss Leontes' meeting with Polixenes and his daughter. The second gentleman declares that «the oracle has been fulfilled. The king's daughter has been found" (V.ii.21). The monarchy has been saved and the natural order is thus re-established. Leontes' response to this discovery indicates a clear change in mood. According to the third gentleman, “our king [was] ready to leap out of his mind for joy.