Troilus and Cressida Act 4, Scene 4 Summary & Analysis

When Troilus reenters Cressida’s house, she throws herself into his arms as Pandarus muses on painful unrequited or interrupted love can be. Troilus says that the gods, jealous of their love for each other, must be punishing him and Cressida. It’s a cruel circumstance that, having had to wait so long for Cressida to return his affections, he now must bid her farewell with a single kiss. Fighting tears, Pandarus leaves the room.

Like Troilus, whose refusal or inability to challenge Paris and the will of his father tacitly consigns Cressida to the role of a prisoner of war, Pandarus is full of mournful words but short on action. Cressida worried about how vulnerable she was to the plans of others in earlier scenes, and her concerns now appear justified. Troilus wants to cast blame on the gods, a notion that is hardly helpful under the circumstances and allows him to focus on his own victimhood, even though Cressida is unquestionably in the worse position.

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Cressida asks Troilus if they’ll ever see each other again. He says they will, as long as she remains true to him. Cressida is offended at his apparent lack of trust in her. When she says so aloud, he protests that he’s less concerned about her fidelity than about how boring he will seem to her in comparison to the flashy and accomplished Greeks. In fact, even as he outlines a plan to bribe camp guards and visit her under the cover of darkness, Troilus frets twice more that she will abandon him. Each time, Cressida promises not to. Just before they must part, the pair exchange lovers’ tokens: Troilus gives Cressida one of his sleeves, and she gives him her glove.

Cressida looks to Troilus for assurances. But he makes her fidelity—something she’s in no position to promise, given that she can’t even make a choice about whether she stays or leaves Troy—the condition of his continuing love. It’s clear he has feelings for her, but they’re tinged with jealousy and possessiveness rather than concern for her wellbeing and safety. If he truly meant what he said in Act 3, Scene 2, that he would love her faithfully forever, then he wouldn’t be adding conditions now.

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Quotes

When Diomedes arrives, Troilus promises to spare him on the battlefield if he promises to protect Cressida. Diomedes says he doesn’t need Troilus’s threats to guide him. He will protect Cressida simply because she is beautiful and he wants to. In fact, he immediately places himself entirely at Cressida’s disposal. Angrily, Troilus swears that he’ll kill Diomedes if he so much as touches Cressida. But, Diomedes cooly points out, Troilus is in no position to give him orders. Warning Diomedes one again that his arrogant words will cost him on the battlefield, Troilus takes Cressida’s hand to escort her as far as the city gates.

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No sooner has Diomedes arrived on the scene than he positions himself as a potential lover for Cressida. In one way, this seems to endorse Troilus’s jealousy and concern. Cressida is beautiful and desirable, and so it’s not hard to imagine another man wanting her. But note how Troilus attempts to negotiate with Diomedes man-to-man, using Cressida as a token between them. Readers should also note how Diomedes places himself at Cressida’s disposal without any strings attached, unlike Troilus.

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The sound of a trumpet draws the attention of Aeneas, Paris, and Deiphobus. Eager to watch Hector fight Ajax, they hurry off to prepare to go to the battlefield.

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The trumpets summoning the warriors to the exhibition fight offer a pointed reminder that, the present true notwithstanding, the two sides are locked in a brutal war. But the fact that they’re heading to an exhibition rather than a pitched battle also suggests that the war is little more than an empty show.

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Troilus and Cressida: Act 4, Scene 4 Summary & Analysis