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Act 2, Scene 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Alchemist, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Alchemy and Transformation
Religion
Sex and Greed
Deception and Gullibility
Summary
Analysis
Face enters dressed as an alchemist’s assistant. Mammon instantly asks if Subtle has been successful in creating the stone, and Face promises it will be ready soon. The “red ferment” has set about Subtle’s lab, and they should “see projection” in just three hours. Mammon is pleased; his only concern is finding material to “project on.” London will not be enough. Face is surprised. Not even if Mammon takes the roofs from the churches and leaves them “bare, as do their auditory,” Face asks? No, says Mammon, but he will clear Face’s complexion and cure his brain, which must be affected by the fumes of metals.
The “red ferment” is a reference to one of the final stages of transmutation, after which “projection”—the turning of base metals into gold—is possible. Mammon is so greedy, he is concerned there won’t be enough metal in all of London to satisfy his desire for gold. Face suggests that Mammon strip the metal from churches, just as the churches strip their “auditory,” or congregates. This reference suggests that churches, too, are deceptive and swindle money out of worshippers.
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Mammon tells Face that he plans to have as many wives and concubines as Solomon, and with the elixir, he will have the strength of Hercules and “encounter fifty a night.” He will have many comfortable beds, and he will fill his home with priceless art. Next, he will line the walls of his chamber with mirrors “to disperse / And multiply the figures” as he walks naked through his “succubae.” He will live in absolute luxury and make everyone rich.
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and this reference implies that Mammon is also lustful and wants the elixir of life to give him sexual strength and endurance—enough to have sex with 50 women each night. He also wants to line his room with mirrors to reflect his naked body as he walks through his “succubae,” or prostitutes, which again speaks to his vice and lustfulness.
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Face goes to check on Subtle and the stone, leaving Mammon alone with Surly. Mammon continues listing all the stone will bring him, and Surly comments that Subtle must be a “pious, holy and religious man.” He must be absolutely free from sin, Surly says. Mammon assures him that Subtle is. Purity is what the stone brings, Mammon says. He can hear Subtle coming, and he tells Surly not to use “profane words” in Subtle’s presence. “’Tis poison,” Mammon warns.
According to legend, the philosopher’s stone can only be used for the greater good, which is what Surly means by saying Subtle must “pious, holy, and religious” to work for the betterment of all society. Mammon is again gullible, as he believes Subtle is pure. This passage also underscores Mammon’s own deception, as he feigns his own purity and pretends not to use “profane words” to get his hands on the stone.
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