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Act 5, Scene 3
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 and Dapper enter, and Subtle asks Dapper if he has eaten through his gag. Yes, Dapper says, it crumbled in his mouth. Subtle tells Dapper that he has ruined his chances to please the Fairy Queen, but Dapper begs to meet her and ask her forgiveness. Face enters and talks with Subtle off to the side. Face says he will send Doll in as the Fairy Queen, and then they will get rid of Dapper. Face exits, and Subtle tells Dapper the Fairy Queen will see him after all.
Even after Dapper has been robed, forced to wear a petticoat, gaged, bound, and shoved in a bathroom, he still wants to meet the Fairy Queen, which suggests that Dapper is both very gullible and very greedy and determined to get his hands on a “familiar” so he can cheat at cards.
Themes
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Doll enters dressed as the Fairy Queen, and Subtle orders Dapper to kneel before her. Doll tells Dapper to stand, and Subtle orders him to kiss the hem of Doll’s dress. Doll gives Dapper a bird with instructions to “Open a vein, with a pin” once a week, and he will find good luck with the games. Dapper promises to do just as Doll says, and she tells him to come back and see her. She promises to give him “three or four hundred chests of treasure, / And some twelve thousand acres of Fairyland.” Dapper agrees and exits.
Dapper’s gullibility seems endless. He easily believes that torturing a bird will bring him luck, and he believes that Doll is the “Fairy Queen” and has the magical authority to gift him treasure and part of Fairyland. Jonson is clearly being sarcastic here, but he seems to imply nonetheless that broader society is at risk of being duped by charlatan alchemists like Subtle who promise magic in exchange for money.
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Face returns and tells Subtle that Drugger is at the door. He tells Subtle to go and get Drugger’s suit, and then he asks Doll if she is all packed. She says she is, and Subtle returns with Hieronimo’s cloak. Face takes the cloak and exits, and Subtle asks Doll if she has “gulled” Lady Pliant out of her jewelry. Doll says she hasn’t yet, but she will. Subtle tells Doll that they will leave for the docks tonight and finally be rid of Face. Doll is happy. She has grown tired of Face, she says. Doll and Subtle kiss, and Face returns.
Clearly, Subtle and Doll have a secret relationship and have been planning to deceive Face all along. This secret relationship also explains why Subtle did not want Doll to know that he was lusting after Dame Plaint. Even though they are caught and have to run, Doll still plans to rob Lady Pliant, which again speaks to the insatiability of Doll and Subtle’s greed.
Themes
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Face asks again if they are all packed, and Subtle reassures him they are. Face asks where the money is, and Subtle tells him it is packed safely in the trunks. Face tells Subtle and Doll that Lovewit knows all about their scams and has promised not to punish him. Suddenly, there is another knock at the door, and they hear the police shout from outside. Face turns to Doll and Subtle and tells them there is no time for the trunks. They must leave now, Face says, or be arrested. Doll and Subtle exit, calling Face a “rogue,” claiming they wish they had time to beat him.
Doll and Subtle plan to deceive Face, but he beats them to it. Face says Lovewit pardoned him, not Doll and Subtle, so they must run and abandon their share of the profits, which are bulky and not easily moved. Face is greedy, too, and he wants all their profits for himself.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
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