A New Way to Pay Old Debts
Endymion
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Author Archives: Angelic Rivera
Posts: 3 (archived below)
Comments: 2
Beatrice-Joanna vs. Bel-Imperia
Due to the rapidity of with which Bel-Imperia falls in love again, it is easy to doubt the degree of her love for Horatio and even for Andrea. Not long after Andrea’s death, Bel-Imperia was already interested in Horatio. Her servant Pedringano tells Lorenzo about her feelings towards Horatio “She loves Horatio.” (2.1.79) Once again, Bel-Imperia falls in love with someone of whom her father does not approve. It is questionable whether she loves these men, or loves the freedom these men can provide her since they are not in the same social class as her. The play does not clearly depict Bel-Imperia’s feelings clearly. It seems as though Bel-Imperia merely decides with whom she will fall in love with, but her psychological details are not provided. Bel-Imperia fought for Horatio’s revenge and ultimately ended her own life. Bel-Imperia even resented Hieronimo for believing he was not seeking revenge, even if revenge meant going against her own brother Lorenzo. She wanted to take revenge onto her own hands “And give it over and devise no more, / Myself should send their hateful souls to hell / That wrought his downfall with extremest death.” (4.1.27-29). She helped Hieronimo with his plays to seek revenge against Lorenzo and Balthazar. Bel-Imperia was loyal to Horatio, even after his death.
Similar to this is Beatrice- Joanna. It is questionable if she truly loved Alsemero or just wanted things to go her way. Although Bel-Imperia killed for revenge, Beatrice-Joanna killed to marry to Alsemero. It can also be questionable why Beatrice-Joanna did not love Alonzo. The play never goes in detail as to why she did not want to marry Alonzo, but instead quickly falls in love with Alsemero. Beatrice-Joanna does in fact later admit to Alsemero what she has done, and that she did it for him.
Posted in The Changeling, The Spanish Tragedy
1 Comment
Stubbornness in Love
In The Changeling, we see that Beatrice is arranged to marry Alonzo. After asking for a three day extension for their wedding, Tomazo forewarns Alonzo about Beatrice. Alonzo quickly dismisses what was said about Beatrice, and does not listen to Tomazo. This is also seen in Endymion. Upon hearing Enydmion’s love for Cynthia, Eumenides advises him against it and states that his friend is “bewitched.” Both men go against others’ opinions for the sake of love. Through their stubbornness, this leads to a negative outcome. Ultimately, Alonzo is killed, and Endymion falls into a deep sleep that lasts many years. This shows their vulnerability and persistence towards love. They are unwilling to accept the reality, and continue to seek towards love.
The main drive of both these plays is love. They are willing to go through the obstacles in order to achieve their desires. Their driving force are their desires. They are too stubborn to realize the reality or to take the advice of those who are not blind with love. They are seeing these women with love instead of the naked eye. They allow themselves to be vulnerable towards their desires for these women, but are being stubborn to see and hear the reality.
Posted in Endymion, Love relationships, The Changeling
2 Comments
Dr. Faustus: Naturally Evil
In the beginning of Dr. Faustus, Dr. Faustus is contemplating on professions that can further his intelligence. He goes through various professions briefly, but does not chose any of them. Suddenly, he becomes interested in magic. The rapidness of his desire to see Valdes and Cornelius can portray his true feelings towards religion all together.
Prior to hearing what the good and bad angel had to say, Dr. Faustus arranges to see Valdes and Cornelious, but doesn’t re-evaluate his decision to learn about magic. He knows that learning about magic goes against his religion, yet until he is reminded by the good angel, he doesn’t second guess learning magic. Even after listening to both angels, he still decides to meet with Valdes and Cornelious.
Dr. Faustus knows the consequences he may be given, but intelligence and superiority is more important to him. He was not persuaded to learn about magic, but intentionally does it. In order to further his intelligence, he ultimately loses his soul and salvation.
“It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.”
-Buddha
