Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Changeling, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Appearance vs. Reality
Passion, Sanity, and Identity
Transaction and Commodification
Destiny vs. Agency
Summary
Analysis
As Alonzo enters a narrow hallway, DeFlores follows behind him, hiding a rapier in his clothes. He then instructs Alonzo to hang up his own weapons, explaining that the hallway is too narrow to fit through if his sword remains on his body. Alonzo does so, telling DeFlores to lead the way.
A rapier is a weapon that could only be used at close range, so the fact that DeFlores chooses it to kill Alonzo means he is depending on first building enough trust with Alonzo to get close to him. DeFlores’s ability to hide his rapier in his clothes further signals that external looks are misleading.
Themes
Literary Devices
