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Good-Deeds is the personification of Everyman’s good deeds. She is weak when she is introduced, as Everyman’s sinful behavior has depleted her, but she becomes stronger and stronger as Everyman purges his sins. Good-Deeds accompanies Everyman on his pilgrimage and she is the only one of his friends who is able to stay with him when he meets God, though her sister, Knowledge, comes close. Because of this, Good-Deeds is shown to be the most essential of Everyman’s companions—metaphorically, this instructs the audience that doing good deeds is the only behavior that can get a person into heaven.
Good-Deeds Quotes in Everyman
The Everyman quotes below are all either spoken by Good-Deeds or refer to Good-Deeds . 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:
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Everyman Quotes
Yea, sir, I may thank you of all;
If ye had perfectly cheered me,
Your book of account now full ready had be.
Look, the books of your works and deeds eke;
Oh, see how they lie under the feet,
To your soul’s heaviness.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Good-Deeds is too weak to help Everyman or accompany him on his pilgrimage because Everyman has neglected Good-Deeds for such a long time. Here, Good-Deeds informs Everyman that is he had “perfectly cheered” her (presumably by doing good deeds himself), his reckoning would be “ready,” meaning that he would not be facing the threat of eternal damnation as punishment for his sins. Here, as elsewhere, the reckoning is portrayed as a literal book containing a list of all Everyman’s deeds. The implication is clear: the path to Heaven is paved with good deeds. Therefore, as the play will go on Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores
Everyman: Take example, all ye that this do hear or see,
How they that I loved best do forsake me,
Except my Good-Deeds that bideth truly.
Good-Deeds: All earthly things is but vanity:
Beauty, Strength, and Discretion, do man forsake,
Foolish friends and kinsmen, that fair spake,
All fleeth save Good-Deeds, and that am I.
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Everyman states the moral of the play most clearly in this passage: all earthly things are “but vanity,” meaning that they don’t matter when death comes and people must account for how they lived their lives. Rather, the only thing that accompanies Everyman into the afterlife are his good deeds (in the form of the character Good-Deeds). Even the most seemingly praiseworthy attributes in life—Strength, Beauty, and Discretion—vanish in the moment of death. The play’s message is a deeply moral one, concerned ultimately with the goodness of people’s actions as the ultimate measure of their worthiness for salvation. By the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde eni
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Good-Deeds Character Timeline in Everyman
The timeline below shows where the character Good-Deeds appears in Everyman. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Everyman
...ashamed that he says, “Thus may I well myself hate.” Everyman decides to seek out Good-Deeds, though she is “so weak / That she can neither go nor speak.”
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Everyman calls out for Good-Deeds, who “lie[s] cold in the ground,” weakened by Everyman’s sins. Everyman begins to ask her...
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Good-Deeds’s sister Knowledge appears, offering herself as Everyman’s guide. Happy that something good has finally happened,...
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Suddenly Good-Deeds appears and announces that she has been healed and is now able to accompany Everyman...
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...that such contrition “pleaseth God passing well.” As Everyman now has “true contrition,” and as Good-Deeds has his reckoning in hand, Everyman is ready to continue his journey with his two...
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Beauty appears with Discretion, Strength, and Five-wits, ready to assist Everyman. At Good-Deeds’ request, they all agree to join Everyman on his pilgrimage, causing Everyman to thank God....
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Everyman cries out to Jesus, saying that everyone has forsaken him, but Good-Deeds corrects him, promising to stay with him. Everyman thanks her and realizes that Beauty, Strength,...
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As the souls of Everyman and Good-Deeds leave their bodies, Knowledge remains on earth. She remarks that Everyman “suffered that we all...
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...abandon Everyman, and that when we are judged by God, we are alone, save for Good-Deeds. He warns us that we must make “amends” before death, in order to gain God’s...
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