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Act 4, Scene 1
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Troilus and Cressida, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
War
Love and Selfishness
Honor
Commodification of Women
Fate and Fortune
Summary
Analysis
After a too-short night of shared pleasure, Troilus urges Cressida to go back to bed, but she accompanies him down to the gate. The sun is rising and they must bid each other farewell. Pandarus catches them there and he uses the moment to tease his niece about the loss of her virginity and lack of sleep. A loud and insistent knocking at the door of the house interrupts Pandarus and Cressida’s banter.
In some ways, the dawn parting of Troilus and Cressida echoes that of Romeo and Juliet. In the latter play, though, the lovers are anxious not to part, whereas Troilus seems very ready to get on with his day. His attitude hints that Cressida might have been right to worry, and that Troilus’s interest was more in the chase than in the relationship itself. The barbed verbal interplay between Cressida and Pandarus shows the audience a capable, intelligent woman who is capable of taking care of herself. But it also helps to drain the moment of romance, given Pandarus’s bawdy jokes about Cressida’s sexuality.
Active
Themes
Pandarus answers the door as Troilus and Cressida retreat into her bedroom. In answer to Aeneas’s queries, Pandarus initially tries to claim that Troilus isn’t there, but Aeneas insists on talking to the prince. He warns Troilus that King Priam has already agreed to trade Cressida for Antenor, and that Diomedes is on his way to fetch her back to the Greek camp. Cursing his luck, Troilus hastily leaves the house with Aeneas so that they can pretend to encounter the others in the street, and no one (other than Paris and Aeneas) will know that he was already there.
Having finally attained his lady, Troilus almost instantly loses her. This points toward the machinations of fate and fortune. Troilus rises to the top of fortune’s wheel, only to plunge precipitously right back toward the bottom. Since both sides have already agreed to the trade, there’s little Troilus can do. Refusing to hand Cressida over would be tantamount to repeating the original crime of stealing a woman from the Greeks. But readers should remember how insistent Troilus was in Act 2, Scene 2 that the Trojans hold onto Helen because they considered her valuable. His curious refusal to even try to do the same for the lady he allegedly loves makes his professions of fidelity ring hollow.
Active
Themes
After Troilus has left, Cressida emerges from her bedroom only for Pandarus to tell her the bad news. She wishes she could repudiate Calchas. She swears eternal loyalty to Troilus. She says she will never stop weeping. But both she and Pandarus know there is nothing she can really do to avoid her fate.
