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Act 3, 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
Subtle enters and comments that “wicked Ananias” has returned. Tribulation apologizes and claims that Ananias has returned with good intentions. He says Ananias had no right to behave the way he did before, and they are ready to assist Subtle in any way necessary and give him as much money as he needs. Subtle says they have made the right decision. The philosopher’s stone is sure to further their cause. The elixir alone will be profitable, Subtle says. They can cure chronic conditions and make anyone young. They can cure lepers and take away pain, and Subtle says, they will be sure to have many friends.
Again, Jonson adopts a sardonic tone when referring to Ananias (Subtle calls him “wicked”), and this is another veiled attack on Ananias’s religion. Tribulation is obviously trying to smooth things over after Ananias angered Subtle, which again reflects their gullibility. The Anabaptists truly believe that Subtle can make them the stone, and Subtle plays on both their religious beliefs and their greed.
Themes
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Then Subtle reminds Tribulation that he will be able to turn his lawyer’s “pewter / To plate at Christmas,” but Ananias quickly corrects him. “Christ-tide, I pray you,” Ananias says. Anyone who turns metal to gold can’t help but have many friends, Subtle says again. The philosopher’s stone is a miracle he claims, “whose tradition / Is not from men, but spirits.” Ananias interrupts again. He despises traditions, he says. “They are Popish, all!” Tribulation again apologizes to Subtle. Ananias is but a “faithful brother,” Tribulation says and asks Subtle when the stone will be ready.
Ananias’s preference for the word “Christ-tide” to “Christmas” again underscores his religious fanaticism and disapproval of Catholicism, as “Christmas” harkens to Catholic “mass.” Similarly, Ananias’s dislike of “traditions” is a reference to the Catholic practice of lending equal authority on tradition and Scripture. The only spiritual authority Protestants recognize is the Bible. Thus, traditions are “Popish”—a disparaging term for Catholic—to Ananias.
Themes
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Subtle promises to have the philosopher’s stone ready in just 15 days, but for now, he can show Tribulation and Ananias how to melt pewter down to make Dutch dollars. Tribulation asks if such a thing is lawful, and Subtle claims it is “casting,” not “coining.” Tribulation promises to take the idea of the Dutch money to the brethren, who will decide if it is lawful. Suddenly, there is another knock at the door. Subtle tells Tribulation and Ananias they will speak again soon and shows them to the opposite door. Tribulation and Ananias exit, and Subtle yells to Face.
Subtle is himself trying to appease the Anabaptists and buy some time by offering to teach them to counterfeit money, which is illegal, whether it is “casting” or “coining.” The Anabaptists only recognize their own legal rulings, not those of society, so Tribulation must check with his brethren and decide if counterfeiting money is legal, or moral. Tribulation doesn’t instantly call the practice unlawful, which suggests the Anabaptists are quite flexible morally.
Themes
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Test Yourself
