The Alchemist

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1610

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Summary

Background

Act Summaries & Analyses

Dedication-Prologue

Act I, Scenes 1-4

Act II, Scenes 1-6

Act III, Scenes 1-5

Act IV, Scenes 1-7

Act V, Scenes 1-5

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Act III, Scenes 1-5Act Summaries & Analyses

Act III, Scene 1 Summary

Tribulation Wholesome and Ananias arrive outside Lovewit’s house. Ananias tells Wholesome that he does not like or trust Subtle, and Wholesome agrees that Subtle is profane. However, Wholesome thinks that profane people can be a source of value. He tells him that even though the Anabaptists’ cause is “holy,” they sometimes need to work with “unholy” people to achieve their goals. Wholesome suspects that Subtle, like glassmakers and blacksmiths, is offensive because of his work with fire, which is associated with Satan. Wholesome also suspects that Subtle might convert to Anabaptism following their use of the stone. Ananias apologizes for having offended Subtle, and the two knock on the door.

Act III, Scene 2 Summary

Ananias and Wholesome meet with Subtle, and Wholesome apologizes for Ananias’s prior behavior. Wholesome offers to pay whatever is needed for the orphans’ belongings—actually Mammon’s metal goods. Subtle mentions the philosopher’s stone, explaining to Wholesome the many ways that the stone could advance the cause of the Anabaptists. Ananias periodically speaks up to contradict Subtle; he thinks Subtle is immoral and does not believe in the stone. However, Wholesome tries to remain on Subtle’s good side, as he wants to make sure that Subtle will ultimately serve the Anabaptist cause as a convert. Subtle criticizes the methods that the Anabaptists use to gain followers, such as taking on names like “Tribulation.” Wholesome agrees, noting that they will likely not need such tactics if they have the power of the stone.

Ananias expresses his distaste for Subtle’s work, but Wholesome again apologizes for Ananias’s behavior. Subtle shows them the orphans’ goods; he claims they are ready for conversion into silver and gold, but the process will take eight to 10 days to complete. In the meantime, Subtle offers to melt down anything made of pewter and cast it into Dutch coins. Even though this is producing counterfeit money, Wholesome and even Ananias are delighted. The now greedy Ananias claims that coining foreign money is not illegal.

Act III, Scene 3 Summary

Face enters and tells Subtle that Surly did not show up for their meeting. Subtle is disappointed, as tricking Surly would be a fun challenge. Face reveals, though, that he found another customer, a Spanish noble who wants a bath from Subtle. Face also thinks that the noble will want to sleep with Dol.

Subtle tells Face that the Anabaptists are looking over the goods for purchase. Face wants to also sell the goods to Drugger, who will probably buy them outright. Face explains to Dol that the Spanish noble does not speak English; she is supposed to seduce him to get more money out of him. In the meantime, when Dapper arrives, Face tells Dol to dress as the Queen of Fairy, while Subtle changes into his robes. Face notices that Drugger and the widow’s brother are also approaching, but the widow is not with them.

Act III, Scene 4 Summary

Dapper, Drugger, and the widow’s brother, arrive. Face confirms that Dapper is here to meet with the Queen of Fairy. Drugger did not bring the damask suit, but he did bring Kastril, the widow’s brother (his name sounds like “kestrel,” a small, predatory bird). Face convinces Kastril that Subtle has a device to figure out the outcomes of fights and disagreements, claiming that Subtle’s magic made Face a captain. Kastril refuses to go to taverns, but Face argues that a true gallant should gamble, noting that Dapper can now help Kastril win games. Plus, Drugger overcame an illness by drinking ale—a story Face skillfully pieces together with Drugger’s periodic input. Face promises Kastril success in business, the military, and love, so Kastril decides to bring his widowed sister to see Subtle, as well.

Kastril leaves. Face sends Drugger out to get the damask suit. Face confirms that Dapper has performed the necessary rituals to meet the Queen of Fairy and gets Dapper to hand over even more money.

Act III, Scene 5 Summary

Subtle double-checks that Dapper has performed all the rituals. Face and Subtle blindfold Dapper, supposedly with a piece of the Queen’s scarf, and tell him to discard all his personal possessions. He throws money and objects to the ground, as Face insists he keep discarding more things. As Dol comes in playing music, Face and Subtle claim that the Queen’s fairies must now search Dapper for anything he might have kept on him. Face and Subtle pat down Dapper. When they find a bracelet from Dapper’s former lover, they use it as the reason why the Queen will not meet with him now. Instead, they offer him a dead mouse and some gingerbread to eat while he waits.

Suddenly, Mammon arrives unexpectedly. While Face asks Mammon to wait for Subtle to be ready, Subtle instructs Dapper to wait two hours and not to speak to anyone, so that he can meet with the Queen. The team then puts Dapper in the bathroom, so they can let Mammon in.

Act III, Scenes 1-5 Analysis

While Tribulation Wholesome is not motivated by personal greed, he is still overly ambitious, as he wants to advance the cause of the Anabaptists. He argues that all people can be good, and that his religion brings that goodness out of people. His insistence that Subtle can be converted after he has produced the stone is consistent with this view, despite Subtle’s criticism of Anabaptist practices, shows that he lacks The Ability to Judge Quality, misjudging Subtle and fantasizing that he will convert. Moreover, as Subtle points out, Tribulation Wholesome’s conversion maneuvers are not that far removed from the chicanery of the three conmen: By adopting a name that reminds his audience about the Day of Judgment, Tribulation is falsely advertising the Anabaptists as a hedge against damnation. Not only does Wholesome not correctly identify Subtle as a faker, but he has a false view of himself as well.

Ananias, on the other hand, shows himself to be motivated by greed, as he suddenly revokes his moral criticisms of alchemy when Subtle proposes to counterfeit Dutch coins for the Anabaptists. Ananias, like Surly, is cautious about magic, but not about money. The play suggests that while the main three characters, Face, Subtle, and Dol, are unquestionably immoral, their customers deserve to be duped. The play highlights The Guilt of the Deceived by exposing the customers’ vices: Dapper wants to win at gambling, Drugger wants an unfair advantage in business, Mammon wants to satisfy his lust and gluttony with the philosopher’s stone, and Kastril wants an advantage in his career. None of them want to work for their goals, when Subtle’s magic solution is available for a price.

While Face, Subtle, and Dol have so far been characterized as motivated solely by money, Act III adds nuance to their behavior by emphasizing their love of successful deception. The group’s get-rich-quick schemes are ingenious: Face and Subtle intend to sell Mammon’s goods to either the Anabaptists or better still Drugger, who “would buy ‘em outright” (297), which reflects the group’s desire to sell off the goods rapidly. The group knows they are working with a shortened time horizon, so their plans revolve around making deals quickly and securing as much money up front as possible. However, the play’s other plot threads revolve around the trio’s interest in performance, developing the theme of The Play as Analogy for the Theater. Subtle is disappointed when Surly misses his meeting with Face: “Oh, but to ha’ gulled him, / Had been a mastery” (296). Subtle was so looking forward to the opportunity to trick this unpleasant servant, excited for a challenge that would show that the group is truly skilled. Similarly, when robbing the idiotic Dapper, the group goes above and beyond in their ruse. Dol plays fairy music, while Subtle and Face act out scavenging fairy servants by making the sounds “ti ti” and “ti da” as they rifle through Dapper’s pockets. The performance becomes its own reward; since Dapper is blindfolded in this scene, the trio’s acting skills are really on display for each other. Here, the characters and the actors playing them merge briefly, as the thrill of putting on a show outweighs their material desires.