Religious Piety vs. False Idols Theme Analysis

Christian religious beliefs are the lens through which the characters in ’Tis Pity judge their own behavior and the behavior of others. However, the moral complexity of navigating the conflict between their desires and the convoluted social and religious norms of their society means that the characters struggle to identify what is truly good in the eyes of God. Many characters fall victim to false idols and corrupted theological justifications for sin, which shows that religion—though it can be a righteous and helpful guide—can also be easily manipulated for immoral purposes.

The Friar and the Cardinal epitomize the conflict between true and false religious morality. While the Friar is genuinely moral and devoted to God, the Cardinal pretends to be deeply religious, though his primary concerns are earthly matters such as wealth. The Friar’s commitment to God ultimately leads him to leave the church, because he thinks he can best serve God by shepherding Giovanni through his precarious spiritual predicament. He advises Giovanni to always think about the pathway to heaven, no matter how painful it is to follow on earth, and the Friar’s own choices show that one does not need an institution or its associated power to lead a pious life. The Cardinal, by contrast, does not believe Grimaldi should have to suffer legal consequences for murdering Bergetto because Grimaldi has noble blood. The Cardinal shows more concern for status and power than for seeing that Grimaldi face the consequences of his actions. Despite having all the trappings and titles of a religious figure, the Cardinal does not put his professed values into practice, showing that just because someone has a religious title does not mean they are a trustworthy spokesman for God’s word.

False religion is also pitted against true religion in the arguments Giovanni and the Friar have over Giovanni’s love for Annabella. The Friar is again the voice of Christian virtue here, while Giovanni twists the Friar’s words to justify his sinful desires, creating arguments that disguise his immoral actions in the language of religion. For example, when the Friar tells Giovanni that physical beauty is a reflection of the beauty of a person’s soul, Giovanni twists these words to mean that what is beautiful is good, and therefore his love for Annabella is good since he finds her beautiful. Giovanni also claims that, since devotion to God is good, his devotion to Annabella must also be good. He refuses to acknowledge that this effectively replaces God with Annabella, improperly lifting her to the status of a god.

The creation of false idols out of the object of one’s romantic affection is only one example of false religion against which the play warns. Early in the play, Puttana warns Annabella that Donado intends to make his nephew Bergetto into a “golden calf” (a Biblical reference to a false idol made from the gold objects of the Israelites) so that she will not be able to resist his advances. By tricking Annabella into believing that Bergetto writes eloquent love letters and has great riches, Donado tries to tempt Annabella into loving him even though Bergetto is a fool and a fraud. Annabella sees through Bergetto’s facade with relative ease, so he never amounts to much of a “golden calf.” However, Ford’s allusion to the golden calf suggests that wealth and riches can easily supplant God as an object of worship. Likewise, Giovanni begins to idolize Annabella herself, turning away from religious piety in favor of romantic (and incestuous) love. But as the Biblical tale would suggest, both wealth and lovers are hollow objects of worship compared to the real God.

Throughout the play, love, power, status, and other earthly forces take on the outward appearance of divinity, but in fact these lead the main characters away from the true religious piety that the Friar represents. The play is consistent in maintaining its view that religious virtue represents the only true path to happiness, though it is not always as confident in religious figures themselves, such as the Cardinal. The play shows how easily earthly goods can be disguised as spiritual goods, making the various characters and their moral predicaments all the more complex and sympathetic. Without denying the ultimate truth of a higher moral power, the play adds complexity to seemingly simple moral questions, and shows why it can be so difficult for humans to obey God.