Act 3
Act 3. Scene 1
This scene again demonstrates the hypocrisy of the Anabaptists, Ananias and Tribulation. Whilst the headstrong Ananias abhors their contact with the alchemist, "a profane man", the somewhat more pragmatic Tribulation believes that it is a necessary means to an end. He convinces Ananias that their involvement is a necessary evil with specious argument and a bizarre theory about the satanic dangers of working as closely with fire as the alchemist does.
Act 3.Scene 2
Subtle, easily reconciled with Ananias when they profess that "the saints/ throw down their purse before you" (III.ii.17-18), tempts the hypocritical holy men with tales of the power and influence they will wield once in possession of the stone. They are easily deceived, though Tribulation has to rebuke Ananias at various points for his interjections regarding the profanity of certain things. Tribulation's pragmatism and willingness almost to grovel to Subtle reveal how his thirst for power ranks higher in his mind than his adherence to his cause.
This hypocrisy, coupled with language which obfuscates rather than communicates, is common to both the cozeners and the Anabaptists. They consider the question of the forging of money to raise funds for the brethren in Amsterdam. It is decided that since they are making foreign money for the brethren in Holland it is not 'coining' but rather, 'casting' and is therefore deemed legal. They decide however that they must verify the veracity of this claim with the rest of the brethren though they are convinced of its truth. Language, then, once again proves a powerful tool for deception, including self-deception.
Act 3.Scene 3
This is the last scene in the play solely involving the three rogues for from this point on the gulls come thick and the fast until the trickery spirals out of their control. Indeed this scene marks the point at which it takes on a life of its own as neither Dapper nor Drugger have turned up on time and Surly failed to make his meeting with Face. It appears that the tight grip which Face had upon the timing of the gulling is loosening.
Though Surly failed to show, in what Face believes to be a stroke of good fortune, a fresh fool has been found, a Spanish Count. The Spaniard seeks a whore and Face has thus arranged for him to be serviced by Dol. She must "milk his epididimis" (III.iii.22). This highly biological description of sex brings with it the recurrent theme of sex as a business tool. E B Partridge points out that this scene also connects sexual aggression with warfare. "The impostors are at war", he writes, "and have fortified themselves in their castle, from which they daily send out small sorties. Any enemies captured are held to ransom and possibly tortured in to submission by Dol's drum".
Act 3. Scene 4
This scene sees the pace of action increased somewhat as two sets of gulls arrive on the stage. The first is Dapper, the lawyer's clerk, returned for his meeting with the Queen of Faery. The second is Drugger, who has brought Kastril, the young gentleman seeking advice on quarrelling. Kastril wants to live by his wits like the so called "angry boys" who were a set of men in the upper echelons of Jacobean society. It soon becomes obvious, however, that he lacks the wit of these gallants and is therefore a perfect victim for the cunning of Face and Subtle. In order to convince Kastril that he has come to the right place and that his sister should also come and be "instructed", Face regales him with tales of the incredible skills of the Doctor. He tells him of how Drugger's fortunes are to change following his encounters with Subtle, claims which Drugger is all too keen to cooborate. He also speaks of the doctor's skills at "making matches, for rich widows," (III.iv.101). When Kastril hears this he is convinced and exclaims "God's will, my suster shall see him" (III.iv.104) and he goes with Drugger to fetch the nubile Dame Pliant. This leaves Dapper, ready for his meeting with his aunt of the Faery.
Act 3. Scene 5
Whilst most of the victims of the three impostors make themselves look ridiculous through their greed fuelled blindness Dapper is made to look truly ridiculous by the fantastical schemes of the three. They blindfold him in preparation for the meeting and then urge him to throw away all his worldly effects, his purse, his handkerchiefs, his rings, etc. This he does and thus becomes the physical embodiment of the process of gulling; a man blindfolded, willingly throwing away his money whilst the three rogues stand around laughing. The comedy is heightened by the cozeners' impressions of the Queen of Faery's elves, sent to ensure that Dapper has got rid of all "that is transitory" (III.v.30). They pinch him, make high pitched noises and converse with the 'elves' until he admits that he has a half-crown around his wrist given to him by a former lover. Mercilessly the rogues take all.
The visual gags and humour in The Alchemist seems nothing more than intellectually unimpressive farce and 'low' art but as Dutton says there is "no necessary incompatibility between high farce and the asking of awkward questions". The scene with Dapper's first audience with the Fairy Queen is entertaining because of his total belief in the episode, set against the unsophisticated nature of the cozeners' staging of the encounter - we see Dapper enthralled and blindfolded, his mouth stuffed with gingerbread stored in "Fortune's privy lodgings". Whilst the audience may laugh at the man's gullibility, Jonson also pinpoints Man's vulnerability and our laughter turns back on ourselves. The grandiose language of Subtle has conned the fool; he has worked upon his dreams of wealth and self-interest and exposes him only to embarrassment and loss. The real "base metal" on which Subtle's alchemy works is the man's weakness, his profit is created by exploiting and working on vices already present.
Doll enters, interrupting their mirth to warn them that Mammon who, until now they had forgotten about, has returned. This poses a problem, for Dol is integral to the gulling of both Dapper, as Queen of Faery, and Mammon. Since Mammon is the bigger catch, they must deal with him first, but must also occupy Dapper until they are ready for him.They therefore stuff his mouth with a gag of gingerbread and shut him in the toilet. There he stays for so long, like a comic time bomb, that they (and most likely the audience too) forget about him. He, of course, explodes back into the play at a most inopportune moment.
Act 4
Act 4. Scene 1
As this scene opens it is clear that Mammon has just two things on his mind, money and sex. He first asks after the progress of the stone which, Face assures him, is reaching fruition, and secondly he asks of "the lady" who he expects to meet.
Face prepares the meeting carefully, reminding Mammon of "the lady's" fits which will be sparked off at the merest mention of religion. Should she have a fit, Face warns, "The very house would run mad" (IV.i.13) for the alchemist would discover Mammon's desires for the lady and the great project would be ruined. This, of course, is exactly what Face wants to happen, indeed what Face will make happen to ensure that Mammon believes that he is to blame for the lack of philosopher's stone.
Mammon gears himself up for what he believes will be a seduction saying, "The stone will do't./ She shall feel gold, taste gold, hear gold, sleep gold" (IV.i.28-29) Again the recurring image of sex as something to be bought asserts itself, perfectly expressed in the line "we will concumbere(lie together sexually) gold" (IV.i.30). Dol acts the temptress and Mammon is hooked. He flatters her, comparing her to the 'Austriac princes' and other royal houses. The noble epithets which Mammon ascribes to this whore are juxtaposed against Face's asides which serve as a reminder of what Dol really is. Face eventually has to leave the room, unable to contain his amusement at Mammon's ridiculous opinion of Dol.
Mammon continues his attempts at wooing her with tales of the glorious future he has ahead as "lord of the philosopher's stone" (IV.i.120) until he is interrupted by Face who sends them into the garden so that they might escape detection by the alchemist. Mammon survives this scene without a fit from Dol though his speeches are given a new tension through the audiences' knowledge that at some point he will slip up.
Act 4. Scene 2
The enmity between Face and Subtle again rears its head at the start of this scene. Dame Pliant has arrived with Kastril and the two rogues talk of their "business" regarding her, again agreeing to draw lots. Subtle hints that he will not necessarily play fairly with Face, saying in an aside that he shall "perhaps hit you through both nostrils" (IV.ii.9) a phrase which may be given the modern reading "put your nose out of joint".
With the gulls arriving at such a pace, Face has no time to change and so answers the door in the guise of Lungs. It should be remembered that at this point Dapper is locked in the toilet, Mammon is outside wooing Dol and now Kastril and Dame Pliant are in the main room. That Face has no time to change is a sign that things are spinning out of his control and he quickly leaves to resume his role as Captain Face. Subtle enters and immediately engages Kastril in the art of quarrelling, something Kastril is woefully poor at, before taking note of Dame Pliant and under the guise of metoscopy (telling character and fortune by inspection of appearance) kissing her twice. Face soon renters with the news that the Spanish Count is outside thus posing further problems, for he is a third gull for whom the services of Dol are required. To allow Face to deal with the count, Subtle takes Kastril and Dame Pliant away to study some spurious books and nick-nacks.
Throughout this scene there runs a sexual undercurrent for both Subtle and Face desire Dame Pliant and both use sexual innuendo when talking to her. Face states that he 'shall be proud to know' her, knowing being used in both the common and sexual sense here, whilst Subtle makes reference to her monte veneris, both a line on the hand as well as the swelling of the female sexual organ. Their rivalry for the hand or rather the body of Dame Pliant is escalating.
Act 4. Scene 3
The dispute continues into this scene, with Face, in a brief moment which he and Subtle get alone, claiming that he "needs must have this widow" (IV.iii.5). They bicker until the Spanish Count enters. The Count is in fact Surly in disguise though neither Face nor Subtle realise this. Whilst with other victims they make veiled references to the truth of their intentions, with the disguised Surly they abuse him to his face, telling him of their plans to rob and trick him. They believe, after all, that "His great/ Verdugoship has not a jot of language" (III.iii.70-71) and is therefore "So much easier to cozen" (III.iii.72). Here then we are presented with the dramatic irony that the masters of word play, the arch manipulators of language who weave a safety net of deception and trickery are 'hoist by their own petard'. The deceptive use of language is employed by another to undo them - it is with this ostensible Spanish Count, when they believe they are at their most powerful, that they are at their most vulnerable.
Despite this supposed ease they are presented with a problem. The false Count has come for a whore and yet Dol is otherwise engaged. If, they think, they fail to supply, then "the credit of our house" (IV.iii.70) will be endangered for their good reputation will be shattered. Again, one may see their pretensions towards legitimate business in this language. Face, forever the plotter, is reminded of Dame Pliant's presence in the house and, despite his own business-like desire for her, contrives to pimp her to the 'Spaniard'. This he justifies with reference to "the common cause", a hypocritical statement in the light of their deception of Dol. He leaves to engineer the whoring of Dame Pliant whilst Subtle shows Surly to the bedroom.
Act 4. Scene 4
Face enters with Kastril and Dame Pliant in the midst of telling her of her 'good fortune', this being that she is to wed a Spanish Count. She is unconvinced, saying that she has hated the Spanish since "eighty eight", that being the year of the Spanish Armada. Indeed there had been much anti Spanish feeling in England since this battle, as evidenced by the unpopularity of James I's attempts to foster good relations with the country. Kastril, in an attempt to appear worldly and knowledgeable of the worth of Spanish Counts, threatens her with violence if she refuses, his lack of wit leaving violence as his only recourse for persuasion. Subtle and Face employ gentler measures until she is won round, as much by promises of great splendour as by her brother's violent tendencies. The disguised Surly soon enters and she is persuaded by Subtle, to ensure that she acts like a whore, to make the first advances for "It is the Spanish fashion, for the women/ To make the first court" (IV.IV.67-68)
She leaves with Surly, creating audience expectations of the downfall of the cozeners. Subtle then urges Face to "give Dol the word", i.e. to cue her enter her fit, and then takes Kastril off to engage him in a quarrelling lesson.
Act 4. Scene 5
A torrent of nonsense gushes onto the stage as Dol enters with Mammon. She is spouting word for word the works of Arch puritan Hugh Broughton who was known for fantastical biblical exegesis. Mammon vainly tries to stop the flow with pleas of "Lady...Sweet Madam" but to no avail. Face quickly enters and does nothing to ease Mammon's concern, mournfully saying "If/ the old man/ hear her/ We are but faeces, ashes" (IV.v.30). No sooner has he said this than Subtle calls and enters. Dol and Face quickly exit leaving Mammon to face the 'wrath' of the alchemist. He strongly reprimands Mammon until there is a great explosion, the furnace in the laboratory has blown up, or more likely has been blown up.
This explosion has been described by E B Partridge as "an objectification of what happens in the plot". The characters and situations are inflated until the play can stand no more and then they explode. As Ian Donaldson writes, "the explosion...marks the moment at which vanity is spectacularly deflated. It is as if Jonson blew his characters up like balloons and then pricked them with a pin". No character is more inflated than Sir Epicure Mammon and his cry of "O my voluptuous mind! I am justly punish'd" (IV.v.74) could almost elicit sympathy, as his dreams, all be they greedy and selfish dreams, come crashing down around him. Mammon is told that nothing is left of their great project and he is hastily removed from the house by claims of the arrival of "the lady's" (Dol) furious brother. He leaves a broken man.
Subtle and Face then have a few moments to plan their next move before the next piece of action. The plot is well and truly beyond their control now and they will only survive by spontaneous use of their wits, a skill not equally possessed by all in the venture tripartite.
Act 4. Scene 6
Surly has revealed his true identity and dastardly plottings of the cozeners to Dame Plaint. For this service and his honesty he hopes to win her hand. He then confronts Subtle whose less than cunning reply is "Help, murder!" whilst Face manages a somewhat bolder "How, Surly!" Surly then tells them both of his knowledge of their trickery in intricate detail. indeed he gets somewhat carried away and doesn't notice Face slip away to get some form of help. It seems that the impostors' plans are undone.
Act 4. Scene 7
Surly's rant is interrupted by the re-entrance of Face along with Kastril. Face presents the situation to Kastril as an opportunity to practice his quarrelling saying, "The Doctor and your sister, both are abus'd" (IV.vii.3). Kastril attempts to rise to the challenge and though he says little more than "you lie" to Surly he is supported by the greater wits of Face. Subtle takes some time to regain his composure and needs prompting from Face.
They are further aided, however, by the entrance of Drugger who also abuses Surly. A further chemical to this volatile mixture comes in the form of Ananias who immediately takes offence at Surly's "Lewd, superstitious, and idolatrous breeches" (IV.vii.49) Attacked from all sides by an inept quarreller, the humble Drugger, a zealous Puritan and masterful Face, Surly has little choice but to quit the fray. Kastril is quickly dispatched after him to continue the quarrel.
Having recovered from the brink of discovery, Face enlists Drugger to find him a Spanish outfit so that he may provide Dame Pliant with a Spanish groom, namely himself. Drugger is to get the outfit from "the players" who should have the costume of Hieronimo, a character from Kyd's Spanish Tragedy, yet another example of Jonson making contemporary references. It has even been suggested that in his time as an actor Jonson himself had played this role.
Meanwhile, Subtle deals with Ananias who has come to tell him that, true to their hypocrisy, the brethren have decided that the 'casting' of coins is lawful. Subtle gets rid of him by claiming that it is too risky to cast in the house and that they shall meet again soon. With Face and Subtle finally on their own, Face berates Subtle for his slowness of wits and in a moment of reconciliation Subtle thanks him for the help. They are soon at loggerheads again, however, as Subtle states that, though he had lost interest in Dame Pliant earlier when he thought she was to be a whore, he was now desirous of her again since Surly had not taken advantage of her. They are, however, prevented from venting the matter further by the entrance of Dol.
She comes with the news that the thing that has underscored the whole play has happened, the master of the house, Lovewit, has returned home and is talking to a crowd of the neighbours. Whilst the other two despair, Face, always quick off the mark, makes a plan. He shall return to his normal guise as Jeremy the butler and deal with Lovewit, whilst the other two pack up their illgot earnings and take them to Ratcliff, an area in Stepney, where they shall meet the next day to share the booty.
Act 5
Act 5. Scene 1
The arrival of Lovewit seems to bring back the normal order of the world with the neighbours gathering round him regaling him with tales of the strange goings on in his home. A world of judgement seems to arrive, free of the inversions of the "republic" within the house. This sense of reordering is quickly destroyed, however, by Lovewit's unexpected reaction. Rather than being angry, he seems somewhat amused, saying, true his name, "I love a teeming wit, as I love my nourishment" (V.i.16). His only concern appears to be that Face has not sold his hangings and bedding. The neighbours continue their reports, but Lovewit remains unflappable and simply seeks some help in breaking the door down.
Act 5. Scene 2
Face swiftly appears at the door before any damage is done. He has shaved off his beard and so the neighbours now recognise him as Jeremy the butler. Obviously improvising, he claims that they had a death from the plague in the house. When Lovewit asks who this was since he had left Face alone, Face replies that it was the cat. In answer to the neighbours' accusations of strange goings-on Face simply denies everything and accuses them of drunkenness. Such is Face's gulling power that they begin to question themselves and doubt creeps into their minds.
All seems to be well, until Mammon and Surly arrive. This throws even Face who is, for the only time in the play, thrown. "How shall I beat them off?" He moans, "Nothing's more wretched than a guilty conscience" (V.ii.47).
Act 5. Scene 3
This scene sees the arrival at Lovewit's door of almost every victim of the impostors, fresh in the knowledge that they have been tricked, and desirous of revenge. The first to seek recompense is Mammon, accompanied by Surly who has informed all of the true nature of the dealings of Face and his accomplices. They demand entrance to the house which is, of course, refused by Lovewit aided by Face who in the guise of Jeremy denies everything. Undeterred, they leave to get a warrant and some officers to force entry. Face, despite his sharp wits, is clearly struggling here as the odds stack up against him. A neighbour recognises Mammon and Surly and just as Face is asserting this neighbours' insanity, Kastril enters, soon followed by Ananias and Tribulation. All are, in their own styles, furious, Ananias crying 'Satan' and Kastril clumsily quarrelling, whilst the neighbours gossip of how they recognise the revengers.
Just as it seems that the situation can get no worse for Face a scream within reveals that Dapper has finally, after two hours, managed to escape the toilet and swallow the gingerbread gag. Face attempts to cover the cry saying it was "Illusions, some spirit o' the air" (V.iii.66), but fails to cover his annoyance when Subtle's voice is also heard and he makes a comment. Lovewit, who is no fool, realises that Face is not being entirely honest with him and asks for "The truth, the shortest way" (V.iii.74). Face has little choice but to tell all and in recompense tempts Lovewit with the promise of "a widow,/ ...that you shall give me thanks for,/ Will make you seven years younger, and a rich one" (V.iii.85-86). Thus a new alliance is forged between Face and Lovewit and the uneasy venture tripartite is finally broken.
Act 5. Scene 4
With Lovewit now in on the game, Face is free to continue his unfinished business, now adding to his list of gulls his previous colleagues, Subtle and Dol. Subtle has been attempting to deal with Dapper and is so relieved to hear that Face has convinced Lovewit that the voices within were but spirits that he calls him "Face so famous, the precious king/ Of present wits" (V.iv.13-14). Little does he realise that Face has turned his cozening arts against him.
With Dol adopting her role as Queen of Faery they conclude the gulling of Dapper who leaves happy in the knowledge that he is to be a successful gambler. It is of note that he, as one of the humbler gulls is spared the terrible knowledge that he has been tricked, something of a blessing, albeit a small one.
When this is concluded Face enters with the news that Drugger has returned with the Spanish costume which Lovewit shall now wear. Drugger is then dispatched to find a parson so that the marriage may take place. Subtle is still labouring under the illusion that the marriage is to be between Dame Pliant and Face, the original scheme between the two. It transpires that he has told Dol of this plan and they themselves conspire to trick Face who has gone "direct/ Against our articles" (V.iv.71-72). "To deceive him," says Subtle, "Is no deceit, but justice, that would break/ such an inextricable tie as ours was" (V.iv.103- 104). Again we see the pretensions of grandeur of these criminals, so skilled in deception that, with their language, they even conceal the true nature of their enterprise from themselves. In revenge, they plan to run off with the loot, little realising that their 'republic' already lies in ruins.
When Face returns, he checks that they have packed all the goods before revealing that he too has plotted against their union. Lovewit he tells them has forgiven him and it shall be him who shall keep the loot thus determining the "indenture tripartite", the end of their less than happy union. The only favour he can now do them is to help them over the wall to escape the officers who Mammon and the rest of the gulls have gone to fetch. From being Subtle's "precious king", Face is now described as "a precious fiend" (V.iv.138) and that is just about the last epithet Subtle gets to apply to Face as they are interrupted by officers knocking on the door. So the two leave just as they arrived, with nothing, just as Subtle's specious alchemical processes started with base metals, transmuted in the minds of his gulls into gold and then exploded to leave nothing but the base metals.
Act 5. Scene 5
In this final scene, Lovewit reveals that he too has enough cunning to be a partner with Face. He appears on stage in the Spanish costume having married Dame Pliant whilst outside, the officers, accompanied by Mammon and Surly, bang on the door demanding entrance. Lovewit holds them off long enough to remove the Spanish garb before allowing them, along with the Anabaptists and Kastril, entrance. Telling them that he has been away and that his butler had rented the house to the thieving Doctor and Captain, he invites them to search the house. Whilst Kastril runs to find his sister to "thump her" Lovewit tells Surly of how, thanks to the ungracious behaviour of the 'Spanish Count' who had made all sorts of advances and then failed to follow them up, Dame Pliant has married him. Surly curses that "foolish vice of honesty" (V.v.84) thus revealing that his usual habit is perhaps to be less than honest. He, like the rest, is motivated by greed, his only virtue being his cynicism.
On finding his goods in the cellar, Mammon returns, somewhat placated by the thought that at least he shall get them back. Lovewit however, cleverly puts paid to these hopes, stating that since he has no proof that the articles belong to Mammon he shall not return them without a "formal writ of court" saying that he had been "gull'd of them". Of course Mammon's pride will not allow him to publicly display his foolishness and he says "I'll rather lose them" (V.v.71). Just as his greed lost him the goods, another deadly sin, pride, means that he shan't get them back. His dreams of a new world shattered he vows to mount a "turnip cart, and preach" the end of this one.
The same fate befalls the Anabaptists and Drugger is also disposed of when told that he took too long washing his face and so lost the chance of marrying Dame Pliant.
This leaves only Kastril to take care of who is at first appalled that his sister could have married below a knight. Lovewit, however, soon wins his confidence with an invitation to quarrel and smoke tobacco. The naive Kastril's opinion is thus quickly changed for he takes Lovewit to be a worldly man of the sort that he aspires to be himself. He is soon complimenting Lovewit who returns the favour calling Kastril "brother boy".
All gulls then are dealt with and thanks to Face Lovewit has gained Mammon's goods, Kastril's sister as well as a dowry for Dame Pliant. "I will be ruled by thee in anything, Jeremy" (V.v.143) says Lovewit, cementing the final inversion of the play, master ruled by butler.
In his final speech, Lovewit apologises for perhaps leaving the boundaries of behaviour expected by an old man, in life and in the theatre, but points to the benefits of a young wife for an old man as his excuse. In keeping with the inversion of master and servant, whilst Lovewit begins to deliver the final speech, he leaves it to Face to conclude the play. In these concluding lines Face invites the audience to be his jury thus reminding us of the essential purpose of Jonson's comedy, to educate. It is for the audience to judge the folly which has been put on trial and hopefully learn from their verdict.