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Act 2, Scene 6
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
Ananias enters with Tribulation Wholesome. Ananias complains that he doesn’t care for Subtle and thinks he is a “heathen,” and Tribulation agrees. He doesn’t much care for Subtle either, but he says they must “bend unto all means / That may give furtherance to the holy cause.” Plus, Tribulation says, Subtle can’t be more “antichristian” than the “bell-founders.” He says they must make an allowance for Subtle if they are to get the philosopher’s stone. The “silenced saints” will not be restored without the stone, Tribulation says. Ananias agrees and knocks on the door.
This scene again paints the Anabaptists in an unfavorable light. Tribulation thinks Subtle is a sinner—a “heathen” and “antichristian”—but he is willing to do business with him to get rich and further “the holy cause.” The Anabaptists are religious fanatics. They condemn Catholics (“bell-founders,” a reference to the bells in Catholic mass), and plan to promote their own radical religious beliefs with the wealth they will glean from the stone.
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