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Act 4, Scene 2
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 and says he must have Dame Pliant at any cost. Subtle enters, too, and says he has distracted Dame Pliant and Kestrel. Face immediately repeats that he must have Dame Pliant, but Face tells him to be quiet, so Doll doesn’t hear, and they begin again to argue. Subtle again says that Doll will hear their argument and orders Face to open the door. He does, and Surly enters, disguised as a Spaniard. Surly greets them in Spanish and pretends not to understand English.
Subtle is again worried that Doll will find out about Dame Pliant, which further suggests they aren’t being honest with Doll either. Face and Subtle are both lustful and greedy and want the rich and beautiful widow for themselves, and they are willing to deceive each other and Doll just to get her. Ironically, Surly is deceiving Subtle and Face as well, and they are none the wiser, which implies Face and Subtle are gullible, too.
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Face and Subtle begin to insult Surly, calling him fat, and they openly admit that they plan to con and rob him. Surly will be “emptied,” Subtle says, “pumped and drawn / Dry, as they say.” Surly continues speaking to them in Spanish, and Subtle asks Face what Surly is talking about. Suddenly, Face remembers. The Spaniard has come to see Doll, he says, but she is decidedly busy. They begin to panic. Subtle asks what they are going to do; he doesn’t want to let the Spaniard go.
Just like with Mammon, if Subtle and Face turn the Spaniard away, they won’t be able to scam any money out of him, and, according to Subtle, they plan to rob him “dry” and take everything he has. Because of their insatiable greed, Face and Subtle have so many cons going at once that they can’t keep them straight.
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Face suggests Subtle tell Dame Pliant her fortune and tell her the Spaniard is her aristocrat, but Subtle resists. He doesn’t want to give up Dame Pliant to the Spaniard, but Face asks him to reconsider and think about Doll. Subtle agrees and they shake hands. Face exits, and Subtle turns to Surly. Surly is about to be “soaked, and stroked, and tubbed, and rubbed,” Subtle says, leading him from the room.
Subtle says Surly will be “stroked, and tubbed, and rubbed,” which means he just assumes Dame Pliant will have sex with the Spaniard. This assumption again implies that inappropriate sex is a common vice in society, even if people don’t openly talk about it the way Jonson’s characters do.
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