Why, why, why, Paulina? | The Winter's Tale

By this point in the semester, I'm pretty sure we're all aware of the ways in which Shakespeare often portrays his female characters, right? They're either commoners, with little to no intelligence, or they're the titular characters, love interests or general "damsel in distress" kind of woman. So what's the deal with Paulina? 

Initially depicted as Hermione's (the wife of one of the big Kings) handmaid, or lady in waiting (not really sure to be honest), she appears as one of the only people that the queen has permission to talk to. There is a severe lack of women in this play, with Hermione, her ladies in waiting, and Perdita being the only ones mentioned. However, The Winter's tale seems to exhibit some proto-feminist vibes. 

Firstly, Hermione argues back with Leontes when he's blaming her, and accusing her of cheating with him; she states that her opinion matters just as much as a man's does, to no avail. This, in addition to the traditionally female oracle, Apollo, gives a new meaning to leading lady.

But, my main point here is that Paulina often speaks out of turn, and is not punished for her actions. She is the person that provides the biggest argument for Hermione's innocence, hands Leontes his child and demands that he recognises it as his own. More notably, she is the reason that Leontes never marries after Hermione's untimely demise, and blatantly blames him for his death.

My question here is, why is Paulina so important? Important enough to show him a statue of Hermione, decades after her death. Important enough to possibly bring her back from the dead? Is this a subtle indication of witchcraft? Is Paulina more than she appears? Why is she not punished for her impotence, like countless characters before her? 

I guess I'll never know.