A wondrous necessary man : the villainous subordinate in Renaissance drama
Date
1976
Authors
Brodsky, G. W. Stephen
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Abstract
A Wondrous Necessary Man shows that the villainous subordinate is a conventional character type in Renaissance drama. He exists in a symbiotic relationship with his master, and seeks to gratify his appetite by exploiting his master's passions. His master is deluded, believing him to be a subservient instrument offering fulfilment of his hopes. The villainous subordinate is an expression of his master's appetite, with its pre-eminence, the roles of master and subordinate are reversed. Ultimately, appetite consumes the pair, their destruction is the final event in a cathartic process which brings a rebirth of order.
The introductory chapter defines the villainous subordinate by showing his major characteristics. His principle is inversion, which has psychological and social manifestations. He shares a relationship with his master which commonly has overtones of a sexual bond, his utilitarian beauty is an illusion of good, which is represented as a literal or metaphorical disguise. By abetting his master's destructive vices, the villainous subordinate functions as Nemesis. He also is a personification of time, and provides ambiguous warnings which his victim fails to heed. He seldom lies, except about the availability of grace, in that respect, he is symbolic of despair . The villainous subordinate's characteristics relate him to prototypes in earlier drama. As a fully developed character, he is a result of a coalescence of earlier conventions, and he also reflects contemporary sentiments.
As overreacher, tempter, and destroyer, the villainous subordinate has demonic characteristics which identify him with Lucifer, as a victim of his own passions, he also exemplifies fallen man. The villainous subordinate, as Adam's antetype (Mephistophilis excepted), represents the end result of the Expulsion, and he labours to reduce his victim to his own fallen state. The sequence of subsequent chapters approximately parallels the Fall, Expulsion, and a cycle of decay and regeneration.
Chapter Two is an analysis of Guise (The Massacre at Paris) and the Cardinal (The Cardinal), as examples of the villainous subordinate as an ambitious overreacher. The moral suasion Guise exerts on Catherine results in civil strife, but his control is circumscribed by opposing political interests, and by moral forces which eventually destroy him The Cardinal, on the other hand, spreads an aura of dislocation encompassing the whole social order. He fosters passion in others, and he turns reality into appearance by imposing his solipsistic psychology on the court.
Mephistophilis (Dr. Faustus) and De Flores (The Changeling) are the subjects of Chapter Three, which shows the villainous subordinate in his role as a tempter. Mephistophilis embodies the metaphysical and psychological principles involved in Faustus' fall. De Flores is a more individualized parallel, embodying his mistress' passions. De Flores is a victim of appetite as well, for both he and Beatrice-Joanna are brought to destruction by his lust.
Chapter Four is a consideration of Iago (Othello) and Mosca (Volpone), who are symbolic of the spirit of mockery. They attempt to affirm their superiority, using mockery to exploit their victims' fear of weakness. Iago destroys Othello's belief in himself by exciting his fear of mockery, and Mosca exploits Volpone's dread of mortality, manifested as boredom, by providing opportunities for laughter at the legacy-seekers Iago's and Mosca's defeat, like their triumphs, reflect cosmic laughter at mortal pretention.
Bosola (The Duchess of Malfi) and Vasques ('Tis Pity She's a Whore) are discussed in Chapter Five Bosola's ambiguity and Vasques' outward adherence to ideal codes of conduct present complexities which reflect social chaos and moral decay. The nature of Bosola's and Vasques' success does not accord with accepted conceptions of justice, so the divine scheme appears inscrutable. Bosola's obedience to vicious masters results in the deaths of innocents, and his choice of a moral course perpetuates his role as an assassin. He kills, and is killed, by mistake in an apparently random world. Vasques uses knowledge and restraint to manipulate Soranzo. His purpose is to destroy vice, so that his guilt is questionable, according to his society's rules. Ratiocination proves inadequate as a means of discerning moral truth, ideal codes of behaviour bea no relation to morality, and mercy exists as mere expediency.
Chapter Six deals with Malevole (The Malcontent) and Vindice (The Revenger's Tragedy. As revengers with legitimate grievances, they exemplify evil's self-destructiveness. Malevole and Vindice enhance disorder by abetting vice in their corrupt masters. Assuming disguises that reflect their perversion by injustice, they are moral critics who are morbidly fascinated with the vices they seek to destroy. Malevole's "killings" are symbolic only, but he does not escape the guilt of motive. Malevole's transformation and reinstatement, and Vindice's execution, bring about a qualified moral regeneration in their societies.
The conclusion shows that the villainous subordinate's career as a conventional character type reflects a continuing strain of philosophical doubt. His dramatic importance, and the extent of control he is portrayed as achieving, may be indications of the degree of pessimism in English society, his dramatic centrality in the last play of the period parallels the social chaos which culminated with the Protectorate.