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Act 4, 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, after a hearty laugh with Face, tells him that Dame Pliant and her brother, Kestrel, have arrived. Face says he must hurry into his captain’s disguise, but first they must decide who gets Dame Pliant. They decide to draw straws later, and Subtle orders Face to the door. As Face goes to the door, he complains that Subtle will get to kiss Dame Pliant first because Face has to get in his disguise. As an aside, Subtle admits he will kiss her, “and perhaps hit [Face] through both the nostrils.”
Subtle’s comment that he will “perhaps hit [Face] through both the nostrils” refers to a bull with a ring in its nose that allows a farmer to lead it around. This analogy reflects Subtle’s deceptive intentions. Subtle is deceiving Kestrel and Dame Pliant, but he is also deceiving Face, and he plans to metaphorically lead Face around by the nose.
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Face opens the door, and Kestrel and Dame Pliant enter. Kestrel asks Face where the Captain is, and Face says he will be along shortly. For now, Face says, the Captain’s associate, the “Doctor,” is ready to receive them. Face exits, and Subtle immediately tells Kestrel that he knows all about quarreling and living by one’s wits. Kestrel asks if Subtle will teach him. Subtle agrees but says he must first greet Dame Pliant. Subtle calls Dame Pliant his “soft and buxom widow” and kisses her.
Kestrel has already met Face disguised as a captain, but Kestrel is so gullible that he doesn’t recognize him. Subtle is obviously coming on to Dame Pliant—he kisses her and calls her his “soft buxom widow”—even though he hasn’t yet drawn straws with Face, which further underscores Subtle’s deceptive intent.
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Kestrel asks if Subtle can tell Dame Pliant’s fortune, and Subtle confirms he can. He can tell her fortune by reading her forehead, Subtle says, and by her lips, “which must be tasted.” He kisses her again and asks to see her hand. Studying Dame Pliant’s palm, Subtle tells her she will become “a lady.” Dame Pliant looks excitedly to Kestrel. “He’s a rare man, believe me!” she says, but Kestrel tells her to be patient. There is another man coming, he says. Face enters, wearing the captain’s disguise.
Subtle again references “metoposcopy,” the telling of fortunes by reading the forehead, but his attention to Dame Pliant’s lips is just a ploy to kiss her and further seduce her. He promises that she will soon be “a lady,” or the wife of an aristocrat, and Subtle implies he is that aristocrat (a “rare man”). But Kestrel wants her to be patient because he thinks Face is an aristocrat, too.
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Face greets Kestrel and asks about Dame Pliant. Kestrel introduces them and tells Face he must kiss her, so he does. Subtle quietly informs Face that the Spaniard has arrived and is at the door. Face must distract him for a bit, until Subtle can get Kestrel and Dame Pliant out of the room. Face asks Subtle what he will do with them, and Subtle says he will distract them with books and “dark glass.” Face exits, commenting that he will have Dame Pliant, and Subtle shows Kestrel and Dame Pliant to his laboratory, where he will teach Kestrel to quarrel and “look in a glass” for Dame Pliant.
Kestrel and Dame Pliant don’t seem to notice that “Captain Face” is the same man who greeted them at the door, which again highlights their gullibility. Subtle plans to distract Kestrel and Dame Pliant with “dark glass,” or a crystal ball. He will “look in a glass” and tell Dame Pliant’s fortune and continue their con with Kestrel while Face sees to the Spaniard, who has also come to have sex with Doll.
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