The Changeling

“Be better advised, sir

Our eyes are sentinels unto our judgements,

And should be given certain judgement what they see;

But they are rash sometimes, and tell us wonders

Of common things, which when our judgements find,

They can then check the eyes, and call them blind.” 

Beatrice warns Alsemero not to fall in love with her too fast, since the eyes can be deceived. The statement is ironic, both because Beatrice hastily entered an engagement to Alonzo, and because Beatrice will deceive Alsemero through various tricks later in the play. Unreliable eyesight underlines the larger motif of changing appearances and identities, emphasizing that it’s impossible to recognize someone’s true nature by sight or first impression alone.

“VERMANDERO

I would not change him, for a son-in-law,

For any he in Spain, the proudest he;

And we have great ones, that you know.

ALSEMERO

He’s much

Bound to you, sir.

VERMANDERO

He shall be bound to me

As fast as this tie can hold him; I’ll want

My will else.

BEATRICE

(Aside) I shall want mine if you do it.

ALSEMERO

(Aside) How shall I dare to venture in his

castle,

When he discharges murderers at the gate?

But I must on, for back I cannot go.

BEATRICE

(Aside) Not this serpent gone yet?

Drops a glove

VERMANDERO

Look, girl, thy glove’s fall’n.

Stay, stay.—De Flores, help a little.

Exeunt Vermandero, Alsemero, Jasperino, and Servants

DE FLORES

Here lady. Offers the glove

BEATRICE

Mischief on your officious forwardness!

Who bade you stoop? They touch my hand no more:

There, for t’other’s sake I part with this—

Takes off and throws down the other glove

Take ‘em and draw thine own skin off with ‘em.

Exeunt Beatrice, Diaphanta, and Servants

DE FLORES

Here’s a favour come, with a mischief! Now

I know

She had rather wear my pelt tanned in a pair

Of dancing pumps than I should thrust my fingers

Into her sockets here. I know she hates me,

Yet cannot choose but love her.

No matter: if but to vex her I’ll haunt her still;

Though I get nothing else, I’ll have my will.” 

This passage shows a battle of wills between Vermandero, Beatrice, and De Flores that sets the tragedy in motion. There’s Vermandero, who is determined for Beatrice to marry Alonzo; Beatrice, who is determined not to marry Alonzo; and De Flores, who is determined to have Beatrice despite her hatred for him. All three speak of their “will” and hold strongly to their desire, leading to the central conflict as these desires come into friction. The passionate contrast between Beatrice’s disgust and De Flores’s sexual obsession when Beatrice drops her glove emphasizes this friction. Left alone on stage together, the uncomfortable moment is also intimate. Beatrice’s vitriolic demand that De Flores draws his “own skin off” with her glove becomes sexualized as De Flores monologues about Beatrice wearing his skin as a “pair / Of dancing pumps” and “thrust[ing]” his “fingers / Into her sockets,” meaning both Beatrice’s glove and Beatrice herself. The intimate, disturbing, and sexually charged imagery of Beatrice skinning De Flores shows the twisted nature of De Flores’s obsession and highlights the close relationship between murder, sex, and love for the two as the play unfolds. This first scene ends with De Flores’s line “Though I get nothing else, I’ll have my will,” foreshadowing that his dark desires will win out against Vermandero and Beatrice.

“LOLLIO

I come again, Tony. How

Many knaves make an honest man?

ANTONIO

I know not that, cousin.

LOLLIO

No, the question is too hard for you. I’ll tell

you, cousin: there’s three knaves may make an honest

man—sergeant, a jailor, and a beadle. The sergeant

catches him, the jailor holds him, and the beadle

lashes him. And if he be not honest then, the

hangman must cure him.” 

In Alibius’s asylum Lollio instructs the “fools” while Alibius instructs the “madmen”—making Antonio Lollio’s charge. Here, Lollio tests Antonio’s intelligence with a series of riddles, jokes, and general buffoonery. The asylum subplot offers comedic relief throughout the tragedy. The playwrights draw on humorous jokes like this one and displays of “madness” and “foolishness” from the asylum patients to ease tension from the tragedy’s darker moments.

“Again!

This ominous, ill-faced fellow more disturbs me

Than all my other passions.” 

While De Flores’s obsession with Beatrice is fueled by sexual desire, Beatrice’s hatred for De Flores equally borders on obsession. Beatrice notes the strength of her repulsion toward the “ill-faced” De Flores compared to her other emotions. From De Flores’s unattractive appearance to his “ominous” presence, De Flores represents evil and danger for Beatrice. Their mutual yet contrasting obsessive feelings for each other make for a disturbing and compelling development as they become criminally and sexually entangled together.

“BEATRICE

How happy were this meeting, this embrace,

If it were free from envy! This poor kiss,

It has an enemy, a hateful one,

That wishes poison to’t. How well were I now

If there were none such name known as Piracquo,

Nor no such tie as the command of parents!

I should be but too much blessed.

ALSEMERO

One good service

Would strike off both your fears, and I’ll go near it

too,

Since you are so distressed. Remove the cause,

The command ceases; so there’s two fears blown out

With one and the same blast [...]

The honorablest piece about man, valour.

I’ll send a challenge to Piracquo instantly.”

This exchange between Beatrice and Alsemero demonstrates the dominance of male control. Beatrice’s romantic feelings for Alsemero are constricted by her engagement to Alonzo and her father’s command for her marriage—as a woman, Beatrice is not free to act honorably on her desires and marry Alsemero. As a solution, Alsemero offers to challenge Alonzo to a duel. Although duels are illegal and dangerous—making Beatrice dismiss the plan—this violent action is considered socially honorable and brave among men. Alsemero’s willingness to kill Alonzo for Beatrice is seen as noble, not sinful. In contrast, when Beatrice gets involved in murder, Alsemero condemns her for her crime. In The Changeling men have the power to act against others and effect change in their circumstance. Women, however, are shamed and destroyed for exercising agency.

“And now I think on one: I was to blame

I ha’ marred so good a market with my scorn.

’T had been done questionless: the ugliest creature

Creation framed for some use! Yet to see

I could not mark so much where it should be! [...]

Why, men of art make much of

poison,

Keep one to expel another. Where was my art?” 

Beatrice launches a plan to convince De Flores to kill Alonzo. Beatrice assumes De Flores’s repulsive appearance and lower social class make him only worthy of doing dirty work, such as murder. This highlights Beatrice’s lack of accountability for the crime she wishes to commit. As a beautiful upper-class woman, Beatrice sees herself as above De Flores both socially and morally. She believes this entitles her to use De Flores for the crime, while keeping herself removed from the sinful consequences. This passage also shows Beatrice stepping into the male-dominated space of “art” and “poison”—referring to men’s scientific knowledge and freedom to act out their will. Beatrice decides to use her intellect to manipulate De Flores, and in doing so grants herself greater control over her circumstances.

“BEATRICE

We shall try you.—O my De Flores!

DE FLORES

(Aside) How’s that?

She calls me hers already, ‘my’ De Flores!

(To Beatrice) You were about to sigh out somewhat,

madam? [...]

BEATRICE

Would creation—

DE FLORES

Ay, well said, that’s it.

BEATRICE

Had formed me man.

DE FLORES

Nay, that’s not it.

BEATRICE

‘tis the soul of freedom!

I should not then be forced to marry one

I hate beyond all depths; I should have power

Then to oppose my loathings, nay, remove ‘em

For ever from my sight.

DE FLORES

blest occasion!—

Without change to your sex you have your wishes,

Claim so much man in me.

BEATRICE

In thee, De Flores?

There’s small cause for that.

DE FLORES

Put it not from me,

It’s a service that I kneel for to you. He kneels [...]

If you knew

How sweet it were to me to be employed

In any act of yours, you would say then

I failed, and used not reverence enough

When I received the charge on’t.

BEATRICE

(Aside) This is much,

methinks;

Belike his wants are greedy, and to such

Gold tastes like angels’ food.”

This exchange highlights Beatrice and De Flores’s conflicting expectations as they plot Alonzo’s murder. Beatrice pretends to like De Flores, intending to flatter him and persuade him to murder Alonzo. She means to make De Flores feel valued, not seduced. De Flores, on the other hand, believes Beatrice’s flattery means she’s attracted to him. He takes the opportunity to offer himself to Beatrice and prove his devotion to her. He’s eager to bind himself to Beatrice as her masculine other half, enacting the crimes Beatrice’s femininity prevents her from committing. Beatrice is surprised by how quickly De Flores agrees to murder and assumes he’s greedy for money. This misunderstanding sets up conflict and heightens suspense as things begin to go wrong.

“I shall rid myself

Of two inveterate loathings at one time,

Piracquo, and his dog-face.”

Irony is used throughout The Changeling to highlight how little the characters understand their situations. Beatrice expresses delight that her plan for De Flores to murder Alonzo will allow her to get rid of both men, whom she hates. Beatrice does not realize De Flores’s attraction to her and believes he plans to flee the castle after the murder to avoid arrest. However, the audience knows De Flores is harboring a secret desire for Beatrice and expects her virginity as reward. Beatrice’s expectation for a happy ending is held in tension with the audience’s knowledge of what’s to come, creating a moment of dark comedy and suspense.

“DE FLORES

You’ll tell me more, my lord. This descent

Is somewhat narrow, we shall never pass

Well with our weapons, they’ll but trouble us.

Takes off his sword

ALONZO

Thou sayest true.

DE FLORES

Pray let me help our lordship.

Takes Alonzo’s swords

ALONZO

’Tis done. Thanks, kind De Flores.” 

This exchange is another example of irony. Although Alonzo believes De Flores is a helpful servant looking out for Alonzo’s comfort, the audience knows De Flores is actually planning Alonzo’s murder. The irony is both humorous and disturbing, creating a sense of tension and discomfort for the audience. Should the audience laugh at Alonzo’s blatant ignorance or be horrified at seeing how his murder unfolds with such ease? Such situations the audience moments of catharsis, or a release of tense emotions. This exchange also highlights how the structure of Vermandero’s castle mirrors the dramatic plot: The narrow descent to the castle’s vault is likewise a narrow descent toward murder, sin, and tragedy.

“Why, sirrah? Whence have you commission

To fetter the doors against me? If you

Keep me in a cage, pray whistle to me,

Let me be doing something.” 

Isabella complains to Lollio about her imprisonment in Alibius’s asylum. Like Beatrice, Isabella is confined by patriarchal society. However, for Isabella this confinement becomes a mockery as Antonio and Franciscus disguise themselves as asylum patients to get to her. At the play’s conclusion, Alibius vows to give Isabella more freedom. Isabella’s confinement and comedic fate critiques men’s attempt to control women in patriarchal society.

“Hail, bright Titania!

Why stand’st thou idle on these flow’ry banks?

Oberon is dancing with his Dryades;

I’ll gather daisies, primrose, violets,

And bind them in a verse of poesy.”

Franciscus, the counterfeit madman, speaks these poetic and nonsensical lines. However, these lines are performative, since Franciscus is only feigning madness. Both Franciscus and Isabella, when she pretends to be mad to fool Antonio, make heavy reference to mythology. This mythological babbling creates a sense of lunacy, drawing on associations between the supernatural and madness.

Yet are they but our schools of lunatics

That act their fantasies in any shapes

Suiting their present thoughts: if sad, they cry;

If mirth be their conceit they laugh again;

Sometimes they imitate the beasts and birds,

Singing or howling, braying, barking—all

As their wild fancies prompt ’em.” 

Isabella’s description of the asylum patients conveys chaos and farce. In the play lunacy is a form of entertainment. The performance of unrestrained emotions, behaviors, and “wild fancies” is presented as both fearsome and comical—like a haunted house or carnival. This chaotic comedy highlights the pandemonium unfolding in the main plot while offering comedic relief from the drama of Alonzo’s murder immediately before, and De Flores’s demands for Beatrice’s virginity immediately after.

“DE FLORES

Look but into your conscience, read me

there;

’Tis a true book, you’ll find me there your equal.

Push, fly not to your birth, but settle you

In what the act has made you; y’are no more now.

You must forget your parentage to me:

Y’are the deed’s creature; by that name you lost

Your first condition; and I challenge you

As peace and innocency has turned you out

And made you one with me [...]

If I enjoy thee not, thou ne’er enjoy’st:

I’ll blast the hopes and joys of marriage—

I’ll confess all; my life I rate at nothing.

BEATRICE

De Flores!

DE FLORES

I shall rest from all lovers’ plagues then;

I live in pain now: that shooting eye

Will burn my heart to cinders.

BEATRICE

Sir, hear me!

DE FLORES

She that in life and love refuses me,

In death and shame my partner she shall be.

BEATRICE

Stay, hear me once for all. (Kneels)—I make

thee master

Of all the wealth I have in gold and jewels;

Let me go poor unto my bed with honour,

And I am rich in all things.

DE FLORES

Let this silence thee:

The wealth of all Valencia shall not buy

My pleasure from me [...]

BEATRICE

Vengeance begins;

Murder I see is followed by more sins.”

This tense exchange in the final scene of Act III serves as the tragedy’s climax. While Beatrice expects a happy ending—she’ll pay De Flores, he’ll leave, and she’ll marry Alsemero—De Flores’s demand for her virginity instead marks a dark turning point toward moral corruption and tragedy. The dynamics in the scene are complex and disturbing, demonstrating the harsh imbalances of gender and class politics in the 1600s. On one hand, Beatrice degrades De Flores. She believes her higher social class makes her morally superior to De Flores, despite hiring him to commit murder. On the other hand, De Flores conflates Beatrice’s moral corruption with sexual corruption, degrading her virginal honor and coercing her into sleeping with him. Beatrice accepts that murder has darker consequences than she expected, while De Flores ensnares Beatrice in an intimacy of crimes and secrets.

“BEATRICE

(Aside) The glass, upon my life! I see the

Letter.

JASPERINO

Sir, this is M.

ALSEMERO

’Tis it.

BEATRICE

(Aside) I am suspected.

ALSEMERO

How fitly our bride comes to partake with

us!

BEATRICE

What is’t, my lord?

ALSEMERO

No hurt.

BEATRICE

Sir, pardon me,

I seldom taste of any composition.

ALSEMERO

But this, upon my warrant, you shall

venture on. Gives her the glass

BEATRICE

I fear ’twill make me ill.

ALSEMERO

Heaven forbid that.

Talks apart to Jasperino.

BEATRICE

(Aside) I’m put now to my cunning.

Th’effects I know—

If I can now but feign ‘em handsomely. Drinks

ALSEMERO

It has that secret virtue it ne’er missed, sir,

Upon a virgin.

JASPERINO

Treble-qualitied?

ALSEMERO

By all that’s virtuous, it takes there,

proceeds! [...]

My Joanna,

Chaste as the breath of heaven, or morning’s womb

That brings the day forth, thus my love encloses thee!” 

Suspecting Beatrice of infidelity, Alsemero secretly gives her a virginity test. This exchange shows Beatrice deceiving Alsemero by performing a virginal reaction to the test, highlighting Beatrice’s duplicity and moral fall as she tries to conceal her growing mound of secrets. It also shows Alsemero’s desire to control women: He has potions that reveal women’s bodily secrets, and he forces Beatrice to take the potion without telling her what it is. Patriarchal society views Beatrice’s maidenhood as a sign of her honor rather than a personal and private matter.

“O heaven! Is this the waxing moon?

Does love turn fool, run mad, and all at once?

Sirrah, here’s a madman, akin to the fool too,

A lunatic lover.” 

Isabella expresses exasperation after receiving a letter from Franciscus, in which he reveals his true nature and love for Isabella. Her words highlight the theme of love and madness in the play. While Antonio and Franciscus masquerade as lunatics to woo Isabella, Beatrice and De Flores descend into lunacy and murder as they try to secure their romantic desires—love does, indeed, seem to turn people mad in The Changeling.

“ALIBIUS

Tush, they cannot miss. The more absurdity,

The more commends it, so no rough behaviours

Affright the ladies. They are nice things, thou

know’st.

LOLLIO

You need not fear, sir; so long as we are there

With our commanding pizzles, they’ll be as tame as the ladies

themselves.”

This exchange between Alibius and Lollio emphasizes the entertainment value of lunacy. The more absurd the lunatics behave, the greater the show—the asylum patients are viewed as clowns. The exchange is also ironic. Alibius and Lollio fear the patients might act too dangerously and frighten the “tame” ladies attending Beatrice’s wedding. Meanwhile, Beatrice is committing frightening crimes at the castle.

“I’m forced to love thee now

’Cause thou provid’st so carefully for my honour.” 

As Beatrice and De Flores become more entwined in adultery and murder, Beatrice begins to believe she’s in love with De Flores. De Flores offers to kill Diaphanta since she is no longer trustworthy, sparking Beatrice’s romantic declaration. However, the word “forced” highlights the complexity of Beatrice’s love; their relationship is twisted due to the secret crimes that bind them together.

“DE FLORES

Poor virginity!

Thou hast paid dearly for’t.

VERMANDERO

Bless us! What’s that?

DE FLORES

A thing you all knew once—Diaphanta’s burnt.

BEATRICE

My woman! O my woman!

DE FLORES

Now the flames

Are greedy of her: burnt, burnt, burnt to death, sir.

BEATRICE

my presaging soul!

ALSEMERO

Not a tear more!

I charge you by the last embrace I gave you

In bed, before this raised us.

BEATRICE

Now you tie me:

Were it my sister, now she gets no more.” 

This exchange after Diaphanta is found dead highlights Beatrice’s transformation in the play. The script suggests De Flores brings Diaphanta’s burned body into the room during the scene, recalling when De Flores brings Alonzo’s severed finger to Beatrice earlier in the play. While the finger greatly disturbed Beatrice, she is now more accustomed to murder. She responds to the murdered body with finesse, putting on a show of great distress and then ceasing her tears when Alsemero commands her—staying in control of her performance at every turn.

“I cannot taste the benefits of life

With the same relish I was wont to do

Man I grow weary of, and hold his fellowship

A treacherous bloody friendship; and because

I am ignorant in whom my wrath should settle,

I must think all men villains, and the next

I meet, whoe’er he be, the murderer

Of my most worthy brother.” 

In this monologue Tomazo expresses his maddening need for revenge. Middleton and Rowley nod to the tradition of revenge tragedies through Tomazo, showing a character obsessed with revenge and questioning the merits of taking justice into his own hands. Tomazo’s lust for revenge is powerful. He’s driven toward a maddening and indiscriminate rage in which he’s willing to attack anyone, regardless of their guilt. He vows to blame the next man he sees—who is, ironically, De Flores. While Tomazo does strike De Flores, hoping to provoke a fight, the conflict quickly diffuses and De Flores walks away.

“BEATRICE

Then hear a story of not much less horror

Than this your false suspicion is beguiled with.

To your bed’s scandal, I stand up innocence,

Which even the guilt of one black other deed

Will stand for proof of. Your love has made me

A cruel murd’ress.

ALSEMERO

Ha!

BEATRICE

A bloody one;

I have kissed poison for it, stroked a serpent:

That thing of hate—worthy in my esteem

Of no better employment, and him most worthy

To be so employed—I caused to murder

That innocent Piracquo, having no

Better means than that worst, to assure

Yourself to me [...]

Forget not, sir,

It for your sake was done. Shall greater dangers

Make the less welcome? [...]

Remember I am true unto your bed.

ALSEMERO

The bed itself’s a charnel, the sheets shrouds

For murdered carcasses. It must ask pause

What I must do in this. Meantime you shall

Be my prisoner only. Enter my closet.” 

When Alsemero overhears a damning exchange between Beatrice and De Flores, he accuses Beatrice of adultery. Beatrice confesses to murder instead, which suggests adultery is a greater sin than murder. Alsemero condemns her nonetheless. Although Alsemero earlier offered to kill Alonzo in a duel for the sake of his love for Beatrice, he has different expectations for Beatrice, highlighting the different social expectations for men and women. Alsemero disregards the risks Beatrice took to make their relationship possible and instead describes a wedding bed defiled by murder. Beatrice’s role in murder is conflated with sexual corruption and seen as an unforgivable crime.

“ALSEMERO

I ask you, sir.

My wife’s behindhand with you, she tells me,

For a brave bloody blow you gave for her sake

Upon Piracquo.

DE FLORES

Upon? ’Twas quite through him, sure.

Has she confessed it?

ALSEMERO

As sure as death to both of you,

And much more than that.

DE FLORES

It could not be much more:

’Twas but one thing, and that—she’s a whore.

ALSEMERO

It could not choose but follow. O cunning

devils!

How should blind men know you from fair-faced

saints?” 

This exchange between Alsemero and De Flores solidifies Beatrice and De Flores’s guilt. Knowing they’re caught, De Flores treats the accusation with wry honesty. De Flores’s murder confession comes as a factual correction to Alsemero’s accusation. This brings dark humor to the moment and shows that De Flores is fearless and unashamed despite his impending fate. This exchange also highlights themes of changing identity: Beatrice and De Flores deceive everyone, appearing virtuous while committing acts of sin. This suggests that humans are blind to people’s true natures.

“BEATRICE

Come not near me, sir; I shall defile you.

I am that of your blood was taken from you

For your better health. Look no more upon’t,

But cast it to the ground regardlessly;

Let the common sewer take it from distinction.

Beneath the stars, upon yon meteor

pointing to De Flores

Ever hung my fate, ’mongst things corruptible;

I ne’er could pluck it from him. My loathing

Was prophet to the rest, but ne’er believed;

Mine honour fell with him, and now my life.—

Alsemero, I am a stranger to your bed:

Your bed was coz’ned on the nuptial night,

For which your false bride died.

ALSEMERO

Diaphanta!

DE FLORES

Yes; and the while I coupled with your

mate

At barley-break. Now we are left in hell.

VERMANDERO

We are all there; it circumscribes us

here.

DE FLORES

I loved this woman in spite of her heart;

Her love I earned out of Piracquo’s murder.

TOMAZO

Ha! My brother’s murderer!

DE FLORES

Yes, and her honour’s prize

Was my reward, I thank life for nothing

But that pleasure; it was so sweet to me

That I have drunk up all, left none behind

For any man to pledge me [...]

Make haste, Joanna, by that token to thee

Canst not forget, so lately put in mind;

I would not go to leave thee far behind. Dies

BEATRICE

Forgive me, Alsemero, all forgive!

’Tis time to die, when ’tis a shame to live.” 

As the play tumbles toward its tragic conclusion, Beatrice and De Flores explain the depths of their crimes and all becomes known. As De Flores notes, the end of the play leaves all the characters “left in hell,” emphasizing the theme of religion and sin. The pressure of death forces the truth out of Beatrice and De Flores, and their reactions are notably different. Beatrice laments the fall of her honor and accepts death as a consequence for her crimes. De Flores, however, expresses only delight for having won Beatrice out of his crimes.

“ALSEMERO

What an opacous body had that moon

That last changed on us! Here is beauty changed

To ugly whoredom; here, servant-obedience

To a master-sin, imperious murder;

I, a supposed husband, changed embraces

With wantonness, but that was paid before;

(To Tomazo) Your change is come too, from an

ignorant wrath

To knowing friendship. Are there any more on’s?

ANTONIO

Yes, sir, I was changed too, from a little ass

I was to a great fool as I am; and had like to ha’

Been changed to the gallows but that you know my

innocence always excuses me.

FRANCISCUS

I was changed from a little wit to be stark mad,

Almost for the same purpose.

ISABELLA

(To Alibius) Your change is still behind,

But deserve best your transformation:

You are a jealous coxcomb, keep schools of folly

And teach your scholars how to break your own

head.

Alibius

I see all apparent, wife, and will change now

Into a better husband, and never keep

Scholars that shall be wiser than myself.” 

Characters from both the main plot and subplot discuss the various transformations that took place throughout the play, highlighting the theme of “changelings.” Alsemero blames the moon for these transformations, emphasizing how lunacy unfolded both within the asylum and within the castle. Furthermore, the list of changes descends from the most twisted and tragic—Beatrice and De Flores—to the comedic happy endings for Antonio, Franciscus, Isabella, and Alibius. This brings the intensity of the play’s final deaths down into a calmer, cathartic conclusion.