Lovewit Character Analysis

Face’s master. Lovewit escapes the plague sweeping London for the countryside, and when he returns weeks later, he finds his butler, Jeremy—known to his criminal associates as Face—running illegal cons out of his home with Subtle and Doll. Face convinces Lovewit not to punish him in exchange for Dame Pliant, a young and wealthy widow looking for a husband, whom Face has already promised a Spanish count. Face and Lovewit trick Dame Pliant into believing Lovewit is a wealthy Spanish aristocrat, and Lovewit and Dame Pliant are married in the play’s final act. When Face’s victims converge on Lovewit’s house with police looking for justice during the last scene, Lovewit convinces them that his house has been vacant for weeks and was taken over by criminal conmen, who have long since fled. As the play closes, Lovewit addresses the audience and claims he is very happy with his rich, young wife. The character of Lovewit is a small part of the play—his name is never even spoken by the other characters—but he nevertheless represents deception and vice in The Alchemist. Lovewit agrees not to discipline Face for a young, rich woman, and he deceives others to help Face get away with his crimes.