Deception In Alls Well That Ends Well English Literature Essay
Misrepresentation is an component that Shakespeare rather frequently uses throughout his dramas, whether it is adult females presenting as work forces or deceases really being slayings. But what is his ground for utilizing misrepresentation, non merely between characters, but on the readers besides? It may be to demo the reader that sometimes you have to lead on others in order to accomplish personal felicity. In William Shakespeare ‘s All ‘s Well That Ends Well, misrepresentation is an occurring subject among the characters. In this drama, misrepresentation is caused by hocus-pocus and miscommunication and used by some characters for personal addition.
The reader gets the first gustatory sensation of misrepresentation early on in the drama after larning that the male monarch is ill. Helena thinks of a program to work the male monarch in order to get married the Count Bertram. Helena knows that Bertram is of higher ranking than she is and “ sing the disparity of rank and fortuneaˆ¦and contrives a ploy, the success of which could hold bound Bertram neither in jurisprudence nor in award. “ ( Lawrence 34 ) Continuing an statement she has with Parolles, Helena states, “ The King disease-my undertaking my deceive me, but my purposes are fix ‘d, and will non go forth me. “ ( I.i 228-9 ) . She has her head set on transporting out her program cognizing that all the King ‘s other physicians have given up hope for bring arounding him. Helena comes out and admits her love for Bertram, along with her program on mending the male monarch in Act I scene III. “ I’ld venture/ The well-lost life of mine on his grace ‘s cure. ” ( I.iii. 240-1 ) Helena knows that her program to mend the male monarch is modest and vows to give up her life if she can non change by reversal the effects of his unwellness, “ the mutilated Fisher King of Arthurian fable is echoed ” ( Shakespeare Quarterly 434 )
Helena is driven by her love for Bertram, and although it may look as though she is so determined to bring around the male monarch, traveling every bit far as seting her life on the line for him, she is really being manipulative because she knows that she can bring around him and that he will honor her. Carol Thomas Neely says this scene, “ manifests her blend of virtuous modestness and sexual energy, of assurance and self deprecation. ” ( Neely 68 ) William Witherle Lawrence besides states something similar say, “ Helena ‘s compulsion of love makes her blind to the consequences of her actions. ” ( Lawrence 420 ) Helena has her head made up on what she wants, and uses misrepresentation to acquire in front in state of affairss that could assist her. This besides could be thought of nil is as what it truly seems when it comes to adult females, backed by Slavoj A?iA?ek, “ for illustration, she says “ No! ” to our progresss, but we can ne’er be certain that this “ No! ” does non truly intend a dual “ Yes! “ -an entreaty to an even more aggressive attack ; in this instance, her existent desire is the really opposite of her demand. ” ( Schwarz 202 )
The King so grants Helena her want of any suer she wants for matrimony. She so makes a witty statement reminding the male monarch that her life was on the line for the male monarch by saying, “ And good deserved: non assisting, decease ‘s my fee ; / But, if A I help, what do you assure me? “ ( II.i 200-1 ) The male monarch is tricked by Helena into giving her precisely what she wants, unusual because no existent miracles happened in bring arounding the male monarch. She is merely giving the king a medical specialty that her male parent, a celebrated and successful physician, left behind. Helena is really manipulative in this low-risk, high-reward state of affairs, inquiring the male monarch, “ Then shalt thou give me with thy kingly hand/ What hubby in thy power I will command, ” ( II.i 205-6 ) Of class she chooses Bertram, unbeknownst to him, strange because he has small regard for her lower ranking than him. Joseph G. Price reference this when he says, “ she loves a adult male who is far her superior in rank, who repays her love with indifference, and rejects her and with scorn. “ ( Price 85 )
When acquiring into the character of Bertram, one could state that his misrepresentation had a intent. He is the lone boy of his male parent, “ Of six predating ascendants, that treasure, ” ( V.iii.195 ) , so he does n’t take the occupation of happening a married woman excessively lightly. He realizes that Helena is of a lower rank, “ two all right strands make all right kids. “ ( Berkeley and Keesee 248 ) The male monarch who owes Helena forces Bertram into get marrieding her. To maintain from combing the two “ strands ” of blood Bertram agrees to finalise the matrimony merely after “ When 1000 canst get the ring upon my finger which A ne’er shall come off, and demo me a child begotten of thy organic structure that I am father to, so name me. “ ( III.ii 56-8 ) In other words, he gives her impossible undertakings to guarantee he will ne’er, but doing it look as though he has purposes of get marrieding her to others.
There is a sub-plot of the drama, which provides a kind of amusing alleviation to all that has transpired in the old Acts of the Apostless, “ I think it becomes clear that Parolles could non be represented otherwise without weakening the secret plan. “ ( Price 63 ) Many of the characters are fed up with Parolles ‘ dishonesty and self-praise, when in all actuality none of what he really says is true. While thought of a program to uncover Parolles ‘ fraudulence, the soldiers foremost seek to inform Bertram of his friend ‘s true motives. Bertram shortly begins to hold his uncertainties when he inquire, “ Do you believe I am so far deceived in him? “ ( III.vi 6 ) The soldiers plan a surprise onslaught on Parolles, mousing up on him talking in a made up linguistic communication. Parolles ‘ true character- ” an reverberation of the bragger soldier of Renascence comedyaˆ¦ ” ( Price 64 ) -comes about when he cries “ O, allow me unrecorded! And all the secrets of our cantonment I ‘ll demo, Their force, their intents ; nay, I ‘ll talk that Which you will inquire at. ( IV.i 78-81 ) . Upon his gaining control Parolles is tortured and speedy to offer up any secrets that he knows. This goes on for awhile until the soldiers have had adequate and uncover to Parolles that he has non truly been captured. Parolles can make nil but sit at that place, embarrassed and looking like a sap. His embarrassment is punishment plenty and he is sent away from the soldiers. He accepts this penalty in pace, presumptively larning his lesson when he states, “ Let his fright this, for it will come to pass/that every bragger shall be found an ass./Rust, blade? cool, blooms! and, Parolles, /Live safest in shame! being fool ‘d, by foolery thrive. “ ( IV.iii 316-19 )
The cardinal portion of the drama comes with what is known as the bed-trick, “ an explicitly sexual event in which a disprized married woman wins back her hubby by doing love to him incognito, taking the topographic point of another adult female, in some versions the married woman herself in camouflage, whom he has wooed. “ ( McCandless 449 ) , called the “ surpassing event ” ( Shakespeare Quarterly 450 ) . In this phase of the drama Bertram promises the hapless amah Diana everything to acquire her to kip with him. “ I love thee By love ‘s ain sweet constraint/ , and will for of all time /Do thee all rights of service. ” ( IV.ii 18-20 ) By acquiring her to yield to his seductions he believes that she is lead oning her. The reader is led to believe that Diana gives in to his seductions when she states, “ ” You have won/ A married woman of me, though there my hope be done, ” ( IV.ii. 73-4 ) .
It is subsequently revealed that Diana is in fact the 1 who deceives Bertram. “ I live and die a amah: /Only in this camouflage I think’t no sin/To cozen him that would unjustly win. ” ( IV, two 83-5 ) She knows that Bertram is lying, but by allowing him believe he has won, she finally ends up the victor. She gives him a simple set of waies to strike hard on her window and non talk to her. Diana is shown to be a stronger character than one might hold thought.
The bed-trick consists of Helena basically kiping with Bertram by acquiring him to believe he is puting with Diana, and the two exchanging topographic points in the dark. She besides will acquire Diana to acquire Bertram ‘s ring- ” his signet ” ( Shakespeare Quarterly 434 ) -from him, which will be easy because he is so fixated on her. Helena is successful with her program and thanks Diana for her aid, “ That can such sweet usage brand of what they hate, / When saucy trusting of the cozen ‘d thoughts/Defiles the pitchy dark. “ ( IV.i 24-6 ) With the aid of Diana she is able to finish her otherwise impossible undertakings and finalise her matrimony. Besides Bertram has finally been deceived by two adult females of a lower ranking than he is.
The really eventful last act of the drama is where the penultimate act of misrepresentation occurs. Capital of montana shows up alive and good, with the undertakings completed. The male monarch besides discovered the ring that he had given to Helena. A baffled Bertram explains to the male monarch, “ You are deceived, my Godhead ; she ne’er saw it: /In Florence was it from a casement thrown me, /Wrapp ‘d in a paper, which contain ‘d the name/Of her that threw it. ” ( V.iii 107-110 ) Bertram is believing of prevarication on top of prevarication to cover up the fact that he took Diana ‘s virginity, abandoning her afterwards, non being able to acquire off from the truth. Diana is small by small uncovering what really took topographic point stating, “ Because he ‘s guilty, and/he is non guilty: / He knows I am no amah, and he ‘ll curse to’t ; /I ‘ll curse I am a amah, and he knows non. ” ( V. iii 303-5 ) There is nil that Bertram can make and he is left looking like a sap in the same manner that Parolles was. It is at that minute that Helena enters, with the cogent evidence of her completed undertakings and says, “ ” This is done: / Will you be mine, now you are double won? ” ( V.iii 330-331 ) Bertram, seeing that all his “ demands ” have been met, has no other pick and accepts Helena as his bride.
From get downing to stop it is shown that none of the characters are who they were at first believed to be. Helena is shown to be the determined adult females, filled with love, utilizing misrepresentation to finally derive the manus of her hubby. Diana is shown to be a cagey adult female, much more capable than her low ranking would take the reader to believe. Bertram is a adult male who kept his word, but the reader is left wondering was it from embarrassment or self-respect? Then there was Parolles who in the terminal was left looking like a sap. All of the characters, with the exclusion of Parolles, in some manner had to utilize misrepresentation in order to do personal springs frontward.
