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Sir Epicure Mammon
Face and Subtle’s first victim. Dapper is a law clerk, and he is exceedingly gullible. When he arrives to see Subtle—who Dapper thinks is an alchemist and mystic—he is nearly late because he lent his watch to a thief the night before. Dapper is looking for a “familiar,” a piece of alchemical magic to give him luck at cards and gambling, and he is hoping Subtle will help him. Subtle agrees but informs Dapper he must first meet the “Fairy Queen” (who is really Doll in disguise), so he orders Dapper home to complete the necessary ritual. Dapper must fast, apply vinegar to his nose and eyes, wash the tips of his fingers, and “hum” and “buzz” three times. Dapper rushes home to complete the ritual, and when he returns later to meet the Fairy Queen, Face and Subtle dress him in a petticoat and strip him of all his valuables. They blindfold him and run around him with Doll, pinching him and pretending to be the Queen’s fairies. When Mammon shows up unexpectedly, they gag Dapper with a rag and piece of gingerbread and shove him in the bathroom. Dapper remains locked in the bathroom until he eats through his gag and finds Face in trouble with Lovewit. Dapper, however, is still looking to meet the Fairy Queen and get his familiar, so Doll dresses up in a fairy costume and dupes him out of even more money. As the Fairy Queen, Doll gives Dapper a bird and tells him to let some blood out with a pin once a week for good luck. She then promises to leave him trunks full of treasure and “some twelve thousand acres of Fairyland.” Duped again and again, Dapper represents gullibility in The Alchemist. He easily falls for Subtle and Face’s con, and he subjects himself to ridiculous rituals just to get the familiar. Furthermore, Dapper wants alchemical magic to help him win “all the games,” not just some or even most of them. Like the other characters, Dapper is greedy and willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead, but this attitude only sets him back further.
Dapper Quotes in The Alchemist
The The Alchemist quotes below are all either spoken by Dapper or refer to Dapper. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 2
Quotes
Yes, Captain, I would have it for all games.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Sir, against one o’clock, prepare yourself.
Till when you must be fasting; only, take
Three drops of vinegar in at your nose;
Two at your mouth; and one at either ear;
Then bathe your fingers’ ends; and wash your eyes,
To sharpen your five senses; and cry ‘hum’
Thrice; and then ‘buzz’, as often; and then, come.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Act 3, Scene 5
Quotes
She now is set
At dinner in her bed, and she has sent you
From her own private trencher, a dead mouse
And a piece of gingerbread, to be merry withal,
And stay your stomach, lest you faint with fasting;
Yet, if you could hold out till she saw you (she says)
It would be better for you.
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Act 5, Scene 5
Quotes
So I will, sir. Gentlemen,
My part a little fell in this last scene,
Yet ’twas decorum. And though I am clean
Got off, from Subtle, Surly, Mammon, Doll,
Hot Ananias, Dapper, Drugger, all
With whom I traded; yet I put myself
On you, that are my country; and this pelf
Which I have got, if you do quit me, rests
To feast you often, and invite new guests.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Alchemist LitChart as a printable PDF.
Dapper Quotes in The Alchemist
The The Alchemist quotes below are all either spoken by Dapper or refer to Dapper. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 2
Quotes
Yes, Captain, I would have it for all games.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Sir, against one o’clock, prepare yourself.
Till when you must be fasting; only, take
Three drops of vinegar in at your nose;
Two at your mouth; and one at either ear;
Then bathe your fingers’ ends; and wash your eyes,
To sharpen your five senses; and cry ‘hum’
Thrice; and then ‘buzz’, as often; and then, come.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 3, Scene 5
Quotes
She now is set
At dinner in her bed, and she has sent you
From her own private trencher, a dead mouse
And a piece of gingerbread, to be merry withal,
And stay your stomach, lest you faint with fasting;
Yet, if you could hold out till she saw you (she says)
It would be better for you.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5, Scene 5
Quotes
So I will, sir. Gentlemen,
My part a little fell in this last scene,
Yet ’twas decorum. And though I am clean
Got off, from Subtle, Surly, Mammon, Doll,
Hot Ananias, Dapper, Drugger, all
With whom I traded; yet I put myself
On you, that are my country; and this pelf
Which I have got, if you do quit me, rests
To feast you often, and invite new guests.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
