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
Having heard rumors that Alonzo de Piracquo was in fact murdered, Vermandero now tries to figure out who could be guilty of such a crime. His attention immediately lands on two nobles who are missing from the palace: Antonio and Franciscus. Vermandero wants to get warrants to arrest both these men. Once he knows their whereabouts, Vermandero decides, he can figure out if they are guilty or not.
At last, the two subplots begin to come together. Though audiences know Antonio and Franciscus are disguised to get close to Isabella (not because they are guilty of any crime), their poor timing looks suspicious—yet another way in which appearances prove to be unreliable evidence.
Themes
Literary Devices
Tomazo enters, blaming Vermandero for his brother’s death; Tomazo feels that Beatrice’s sudden marriage to Alsemero is proof that Vermandero was conspiring against Alonzo. Vermandero reiterates his love for Alonzo, insisting that Alonzo must have just run off. Vermandero leaves, and Tomazo vows his revenge.
As one of the play’s more perceptive characters, Tomazo is the first to correctly suspect Alonzo’s disappearance is the result of a murder. But though Vermandero is not so perceptive, the show still treats him with sympathy—after all, he has only shown Alonzo care, and now he does his best to extend that kindness even to Alonzo’s (very angry) brother.
Themes
Now DeFlores enters, in search of Beatrice. At the mention of her name, Tomazo erupts, calling her “false” and “wicked.” Yet Tomazo likes DeFlores, largely because Alonzo used to speak highly of him. Unfortunately, DeFlores cannot stand to be in Tomazo’s company, as Tomazo’s face reminds DeFlores too much of the Piracquo brother he killed. Feeling overwhelmed by guilt, DeFlores leaves.
Even the perceptive Tomazo cannot completely tell good from evil, as he puts his faith in DeFlores, the very man who killed his brother. The guilt that seeing Tomazo’s face inspires in DeFlores suggests that internal sentiment—his regret and sense of loss—have, for this murderer, completely overwhelmed external reality.
Themes
Finally, Tomazo sees Alsemero, the man he has been waiting for. Alsemero welcomes Tomazo, but Tomazo will have none of it; instead, he threatens violence. When Tomazo accuses Alsemero of being involved with Alonzo’s disappearance, seeing in him “treachery and malice,” Alsemero takes it as a challenge to a duel. Tomazo exits, promising that the next time he sees Alsemero, he will be ready to fight.
Like Alsemero at the beginning of the play, Tomazo feels no need for secretive, deceptive revenge. Instead, he is most comfortable with the public format of a duel, which puts his anger on display for all to see.
Themes
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Jasperino arrives with more bad news. While he was flirting with Diaphanta in a private part of the house, Jasperino overheard DeFlores and Beatrice together in the next room. Alsemero knows how much Beatrice hates DeFlores, so he is hesitant to trust Jasperino’s narrative. But Jasperino insists that Diaphanta can confirm it. Worst of all, Jasperino says that Beatrice seemed to be expressing romantic interest in DeFlores.
The double standard of sex is particularly clear here: while Jasperino can boast of his sexual exploits, any hint that Beatrice might be flirting with someone else is immediately proof of great wrongdoing. It is likely that the flirtation Jasperino overheard is the conversation just after Act III, Scene iv, after which Beatrice and DeFlores go off to have sex.
Themes
Alsemero is immediately overcome with rage—but after a moment, he calms down, asking Jasperino not to judge him “by [his] passions.” Instead, Alsemero gives Jasperino the key to his cabinet of potions, explaining that he has learned several ways to test a woman’s virginity. Alsemero instructs Jasperino to fetch the glass with the letter “M” on it, though he does not explain what this glass will do.
In this important exchange, Alsemero does his best to overcome his strong feelings rather than giving into them. It is this attempt to be measured and rational that sets him apart from the more villainous Beatrice and DeFlores—while those characters let “passion” guide them, Alsemero looks down on such intense ways of thinking.
Themes
After Jasperino leaves, Alsemero sinks into his own confusion: wasn’t Beatrice weeping only a few hours ago, explaining her fears of sex and begging to “come obscurely” to Alsemero the first time they had sex with each other? While Alsemero ponders these contradicting stories, Beatrice enters, lamenting her own situation. In an aside, she explains that Diaphanta is preparing to have sex with Alsemero; though Beatrice knows this is the only solution, she is jealous of her lady-in-waiting for getting to experience this “sweet voyage.”
Beatrice’s plan to deceive Alsemero into thinking she is still a virgin involves literally “obscuring” his eyesight so that he will not notice it is Diaphanta—and not his new bride—in his bed. Beatrice must now face some consequences for her cruel deeds: though she committed crimes in order to be with Alsemero, now, to preserve her marriage, she must turn her wedding night “voyage” over to someone else.
Themes
Noticing Beatrice, Alsemero cannot help but think how innocent she looks (“modesty’s shrine is set in yonder forehead”). Alsemero speaks to her kindly, calling her “my Joanna” and praising her meekness. But when Jasperino returns with the special glass, Beatrice knows Alsemero suspects her. Beatrice tries to get out of it, but Alsemero insists—so Beatrice drinks from the cup, doing her best to fake the reactions she saw Diaphanta have just a few hours earlier.
In 1600s and 1700s, face shape was often thought to indicate a great deal about personality (a pseudo-scientific set of beliefs later codified as physiognomy). In addition to sending up these views—Beatrice is clearly not “modest,” no matter how pretty her forehead is—this passage also reveals Alsemero’s potions to be futile, as the non-virginal Beatrice is able to fake her reaction based on what she saw Diaphanta do. Repeatedly, then, this scene shows the danger of trusting appearances. Another detail worth noting: often, characters (namely Alsemero and Vermandero) use Beatrice’s middle name “Joanna” to convey tenderness and understanding toward her.
Themes
Alsemero takes an aside to Jasperino, explaining that this drink is meant to test a woman’s virginity. As Beatrice gapes, sneezes, laughs, and then turns sad, Alsemero rejoices, assuring Jasperino that this reaction proves Beatrice to be a maid. Delightedly, Alsemero embraces Beatrice, extoling her for being “chaste as the breath of heaven or morning’s womb.”
Whereas Alibius’s cluelessness is played for comic relief, there is some tragic dramatic irony in Alsemero’s insistence that Beatrice is “chaste.” Alsemero’s use of religious language (“the breath of heaven”) to describe such a villainous figure again bolsters Middleton and Rowley’s critique of the Catholic Church.
Themes
