The Changeling is characterized by a tense and suspenseful mood. One significant source of tension is the nature of the plot itself, which revolves around Beatrice’s plot to murder Alonzo, to whom she is betrothed, with the aid of De Flores, who has different but no less sinister motivations of his own. The suspenseful, uneasy atmosphere increases as more innocent characters are drawn unwittingly into Beatrice’s pursuit of Alsemero at any cost. As the characters become entangled in a web of lies and moral depravity, the audience is kept on edge, anticipating the disastrous outcomes that seem inevitable.
When Alonzo agrees to tour the castle with the villainous De Flores, for example, the audience watches helplessly as he walks unknowingly to his doom:
ALONZO : ’Tis a most spacious and impregnable fort.
DE FLORES : You’ll tell me more, my lord: this descent
Is somewhat narrow, we shall never pass
Well with our weapons, they’ll but trouble us.
ALONZO : Thou say’st true.
DE FLORES : Pray let me help your lordship.
ALONZO : ’Tis done. Thanks, kind De Flores.
DE FLORES : Here are hooks, my lord,
To hang such things on purpose. [ He hangs up the swords .]
ALONZO : Lead, I’ll follow thee.
While Alonzo thinks of De Flores as nothing more than a helpful household servant, the audience understands that his intentions are far more sinister. Small details, such as De Flores’s suggestion that they drop their cumbersome weapons before entering a narrow staircase, heighten this feeling of suspense by hinting at De Flores’s scheme.
