The Alchemist (Jonson)

by Ben Jonson

The Alchemist (Jonson) Character List

Subtle
The "Alchemist" of the play's title. We never learn whether "Subtle" is a forename or a surname (or the only
name). Meaning "crafty" or "clever" in Elizabethan English, it is an appropriate choice. Subtle is grumpy,
constantly at odds with Face (he is often played as considerably older), and is very learned, being the one with
alchemical expertise. He disguises himself as "the Doctor" to carry out his con.

Face
Face seems, to some extent, faceless; we get very little idea of a personality or an impetus behind his character.
He is constantly switching roles. Some commentators think that his real name is "Jeremy," but this idea-particularly because it is not supported by Jonson's dramatis personae--could just be one more in a series of
disguises Face undertakes. He plays "Ulen Spiegel" or "Lungs" for the Mammon-con, and more usually he is
the wiseboy "Captain Face" for everyone else. He is essential in finding the gulls in the pubs of London and
bringing them to the Blackfriars house.

Dol
Also "Dol Common," Dol is short for Dorothy, and her second name, "Common," is in itself a pun, meaning
"everyone's"--because Dol is a prostitute. The play implies she is in casual sexual relationships with both Face
and Subtle. Her role is not as important as Face's or Subtle's, yet her one transformation, into a "royal lady,"
is essential in maneuvering Mammon into the right place at the right time. She escapes with Subtle "over the
back wall" at the end--without a share of the goods.

Dapper
A legal clerk and a social climber who comes to the conmen in order to get a "gambling fly" (a spirit who will
allow him to cheat and win at gambling). Dapper has met Face in a pub and has been tempted to the house.
Extremely greedy and extremely gullible, Subtle tells him he is a relative of the Faery-Queen. Upon his return,
he is locked in the privy for most of the play.

Abel ("Nab") Drugger

An honest, good soul, he is a young tobacconist who has just bought a new shop on the corner of a street. He
wants the Doctor (having met Face in a pub) to advise him on (effectively) the feng shui of the building. He
is tricked into handing over a lot of expensive tobacco and into bringing Kastrill and Dame Pliant (Drugger's
shyly admitted crush) into the Blackfriars house. At the end of the play, he loses everything and is dispatched
with a punch from Lovewit.

Lovewit
The master of the house and the employer of "Jeremy the Butler," his housekeeper (alias Face). Away for the
majority of the play, Lovewit doesn't return until Act 5--unexpectedly, though Face lies and claims to have
sent for him. At this point he punishes Face, but without uncovering the plot itself, or caring to. He marries
Dame Pliant and leaves the stage halfway through the epilogue in order to smoke tobacco.

Sir Epicure Mammon

Epicure Mammon's name means a person who is devoted to sensory enjoyment and material wealth, and he
is perhaps the play's biggest con. He is also the greediest gull of the lot. Constantly comparing himself and the
alchemist's work with classical or antique riches, he is obsessed with food, sex, and the idea of getting his
riches turned into gold by the Philosopher's Stone. His lust is the reason given by the conmen for the explosion
that destroys the (non-existent) furnace and vanquishes his hopes of getting rich.

Sir Pertinax Surly

The sidekick of Epicure Mammon, he spends the first part of his time in the play bitterly mocking and
criticizing Mammon but also calling into question the actions of the conmen. Surly then decides to try to catch

them out, and--in his successful disguise as a Spaniard--he falls in love with Dame Pliant. In the end he is
attacked by Kastrill and loses the girl.

Tribulation Wholesome, a Pastor of Amsterdam

The leader of the local group of Anabaptists (see "About Anabaptists" in this ClassicNote), Tribulation is
rather more measured and logical than Ananias, but, as the representative of his group, he is hungry for money,
membership, and power.

Ananias, a Deacon of Amsterdam

Ananias is an Anabaptist (see "About Anabaptists") and is greedy for power, land, and membership for his
order. He is also incredibly angry and quick to condemn anything that may not be, as he sees it, Christian, and
on numerous occasions he blurts out furiously that, for example, "Christ-tide" is the right, Christian name for
Christmas. Ananias is also the name of a New Testament character who is stricken dead because of his greed.

Kastrill
An "Angry Boy," he wants to learn the skill of quarrelling: formal, rhetorical argument. He has come to Subtle
to learn it. Clearly young and impressionable, he is very protective over his sister, Dame Pliant, and he goes
to huge lengths to seem "one of the guys" in several of the group scenes. His "quarrelling" is rather
unimpressive. Comically, he seems to know only a handful of (immature) insults, including "you lie" and "you
are a pimp."

Dame Pliant
Often called "Widow" in the play, she is the recently-widowed sister of Kastrill. Dame Pliant's name means
bendy, supple, or flexible; true to her name, she seems one of the stupidest characters in literature. When she
does speak, very rarely, she has the same speech mannerisms (e.g., "suster") as her brother. Subtle steals
several kisses from her (4.2) while she seems not to notice, and the two conmen fight over which of them will
wed her (and inherit the considerable fortune she has inherited from her husband). In the end, it is Lovewit
who gets the girl with no wits.

Neighbors
Several neighbors appear in the street upon Lovewit's return in 5.1, and they describe to Lovewit what they
have seen happen while he has been away at his hop-yards. They have a tiny role to play within the play itself,
though on a couple of occasions, Dol is seen shooing women away from the door. Their descriptions of
"oyster-women" and "Sailor's wives" (5.1.3-4) give us the sense that the conmen have performed several more
cons than the play showcases.

The Alchemist (Jonson) Summary and Analysis of Act 5, Scenes

1, 2, and 3
Lovewit stands outside the house with the Neighbors, who complain to him of all the people
who have been going in and out of the house. When Lovewit asks where Jeremy the Butler
has been, they say they have not seen him for five or six weeks. Lovewit, worried, sends for
a locksmith, and then knocks one more time.
Face, now clean-shaven as Jeremy, opens the door and tells Lovewit to back away from
the door because the plague has been in the house. Lovewit asks Face if he has had the
plague, and when he says he has not, Lovewit asks who hasonly Face had been left in
the house. The cat, replies Face, somewhat bemused, but Lovewit is suspicious. When he
repeats what the neighbors have just said, Face denies it outright, without explanation.
This may be a stalemate, but Surly and Mammon arrive, complaining bitterly about the
treatment they have had from the conmen, barging past Lovewit to hammer on the door.

Subtle

Lovewit questions them, and they talk of

and his Lungs. Face tries to laugh it
off as madness, but Surly is suspicious, as well: Thiss a new Face? he asks. Surly and
Mammon exit, promising to return with a search warrant.
What means this? asks Lovewit. Face continues to deny all knowledge, but the Neighbors
claim to recognize Surly and Mammon. Kastrill now enters and furiously knocks on the door,
and he shouts for his sister, who is still inside the house. Before long, he is joined by Ananias
and Tribulation. The worlds turned Bedlam, says Lovewit, and at that, the final straw
breaks the camels back. Dapper, having been forgotten in the privy, shouts, Master Captain,
master Doctor! Inside, Subtle runs to try to shut him up.
Face tries to improvise an answer, telling Lovewit that it is the voice of a spirit, but this is no
good. Lovewit marches Face inside and instructs the neighbors to depart. I am an indulgent
master, Lovewit says, and he instructs Face to reveal all. Face asks him to pardon thabuse
of your house, and he promises to help Lovewit to a widow that will make you seven
years younger. Amazingly, Lovewit seems pleased, and the two exit together.
Analysis
After such a tightly wound build-up, the plot of The Alchemist unravels in minutes, and with
one final arrival into the scene which Faces improvisation cannot explain away. Face tries
many tactics: straightforward lying, locking the door, claiming that the plague has been to
the house, andin the endarguing that Dappers voice is that of a spirit. But Lovewit seems
wiser than the gulls of the play, and he is capable of putting two and two together in a way
that many other characters fail to do. His reasoning throughout this scene is what trips Face
up. Face, too, does not attempt to hoodwink him at the very end; he seems honest in giving
up the widow as a compromise.
What Face does not mention, however, is what will happen to the money left over from the
cons. One option, I suggest, is that it is stored in a trapdoor in the stage. This could be the
pelf to which Face refers in his epilogue.
With the return of the gulls, this is a more intense version of Act 4, Scene 7, with the new
presence of Lovewit. Lovewit prevents the possibility of drawing out or delaying the con, for
Face cannot surmount its difficulties. It is brilliant that Jonson reintroduces Dapper, who has
been entirely forgotten by the conmen and the audience. One of the exciting features of the

play is its accuracy in terms of time and Jonsons painstaking care in picking up all the loose
ends in the denouement. Lovewit, mentioned in the first scene, returns for the plays final
scenes, and Dapper, left in the privy to await the Fairy Queen, is not lost.
This is, incidentally, the only part of the play not set inside Lovewits house, and therefore it
is something of a staging challenge. It presents a real difficulty to directors. Sam Mendess
RSC production of 1993 used the same set, with Face entering through the same door he
had just exited, employing another aspect of meta-theater.

The Alchemist (Jonson): Act

5, Scene 3
Act 5, Scene 3
Summary

of

Act

5,

scene

Surly and Mammon try to get in, claiming fraud in the house, but Face as Jeremy denies them
entrance and Lovewit backs him up. Then Kestrel comes looking for his sister. The Anabaptists
arrive, with Ananais calling Lovewit Satan. Jeremy claims everyone is insane, but the neighbors
recognize the people as the same ones who have been coming to the house. Suddenly Dapper, whom
everyone has forgotten for a long time, cries out from the privy. He had been waiting for his aunt,
the Queen of Fairy, to receive him with a gag of gingerbread in his mouth. It dissolved and unable to
bear the stench of the toilet, he cries aloud. Jeremy-Face finally admits he is caught, as Lovewit
demands an explanation. He throws himself on his masters mercy and admits his schemes but offers
to give him the rich widow. Lovewit asks to see her.

Commentary

on

Act

5,

scene

This is slapstick with all the characters showing up and demanding satisfaction in their own
language. Ananais calls Lovewit Satan and the widow a harlot (lines 54 and 52). Kestrel uses his
skills at insult and threatens. Face knows he is beaten and tries to make one last deal with his master.
Hell arrange for him to get the widow! Once again he is pimping but the master goes for it. This is
done behind the back of the Doctor and Doll Common, proving that Face is the one who can remain
on his feet after all. Subtles voice heard within an inner room convinces Lovewit along with Dappers
appearance that something is wrong. All the customers at once are crying fraud and wanting the
constable. When Face betrays his former colleagues to save himself, he triumphs as a survivor and
the biggest con-artist. There is truly no honor among thieves.

The Alchemist (Jonson): Act

5, Scene 2
Act 5, Scene 2
Summary of Act 5, scene 2
Jeremy answers the door, without his Captains beard. He is the plain butler again. Face (Jeremy)
claims he had to keep the house locked up because of the plague. Lovewit tells him the rumors
from the neighbors, but Jeremy continues with his story until the neighbors back down. They
agree Jeremy is an honest fellow (line 38). But just then, Surly and Mammon show up.
Commentary on Act 5, scene 2
We assume Jeremy has been able to run his side businesses in secret for a long time because the
neighbors believe he is honest. Lovewit is ready to believe he is honest. Lovewit is ready to believe
Jeremy as well when he says the cat had the plague, but wonders about the strange visitors he has
heard of. Jeremy swears the doors have been locked the whole time, but he is rattled finally at the
end of the scene when he sees Mammon and Surly approach. This is the first time Face seems at a
loss, though not despairing when he says Nothings more wretched than a guilty conscience, a
line from a Roman comedy of Plautus, which he utters ironically (line 47). This indicates that his
spirit is intact.

The Alchemist: Act 5, Scene

1
Summary

of

Act

5,

scene

Lovewit, the owner of the house, returns to London from the country after six weeks. He asks the
neighbors what has been going on. They tell him that many people have been seen going in and out.
There are noises at night. They have not seen the butler, Jeremy. Lovewit decides to break down the
door and asks the smith to get his tools. He tries to knock one more time.
Commentary

on

Act

5,

scene

All the scheming has been behind closed doors. Now here is a street scene with the neighborhood
impressions
of
what
has
happened
while
Lovewit
was
gone.
They have heard strange cries in the night, and one humorously supposes the cries had to do with
Faces side business with Doll Common. Lovewit, however, seems more amused than alarmed as he
explains, I love a teeming wit, as I love my nourishment (line 16). As long as Jeremy has not sold
his goods, Lovewit seems content to guess what mischief he could be up tois he a Puritan preacher,
or is he running a bawdy show? A circus? Lovewit seems tolerant, and his name is the key to his
character.