Mariam begins with a soliloquy, saying she has long recognized Herod’s hypocrisy—for instance, in feigning sorrow when Pompey died, yet complaining of his importance when he was alive. Believing Herod has been executed in Rome, she confesses that she is unsure whether to feel sorrow or joy. She simultaneously condemns him for the atrocities he has committed and desires to forgive him for them. Mariam comments that her inner emotional struggle is a result of her being a woman. She believes the tears Herod wept for his perceived adversary, whom he killed, were indeed honest. In fact, she thinks Herod is always sincere, both when he is being kind and gentle and when he is being harsh and cruel.

Mariam reflects on how often in the past she wished that Herod were indeed dead. She muses that the rage and scorn she felt toward him caused her to push aside the love she felt for him in her heart. Now, because of the evil he has done, she can't bring herself to embrace that deep love again. She explains that Herod restricted her movements; before this she had never imagined being apart from him, but once he inhibited her freedom, all she could think about was getting away.