From the beginning it is clear that Mosca’s relationship to Volpone is rooted in the delicate acts they construe. They function as a finely tuned machine of trickery that operates seamlessly, even in the face of unforeseen obstacles. Throughout his servitude to Volpone, Mosca is undoubtedly loyal, and receives the greatest satisfaction at his successes in the name of their bizarre game. While Volpone seems to derive satisfaction from the sheer thrill, Mosca nourishes himself on the scraps of this profound enjoyment, much like a parasite would his host. He is an unswerving and irreplaceable aspect of Volpone’s grand ruse. Until he isn’t. Much like others in the play, he is forced to sacrifice his bizarre code of honor in the face of self-interest, which, oddly enough forces Volpone to do the same. Although portrayed rather abruptly, it would seem that this inevitable reversal is something Jonson is keenly fascinated with, an altogether unsurprising conclusion.
These shifts occur at key junctures. As soon as Volpone commits the fatal flaw of violating their relationship status, by elevating him beyond his well-accepted boundaries, he forces the break in Mosca’s otherwise solid code. In this darker take on the pitfalls of honor, the near inability of it to exist, one finds that the root of this falls to nature, and the movement of people. In such a city, marred as it is by strains of depravity, but also, resting on these shifting, oozing grounds as foundation. Mosca begins to realize that his affection for the con is growing beyond his bounds of loyalty.
Willing his estate to Mosca, forgetting his ultimate reliance on the cunning man, is symbolic for each misstep. And in committing this motion Volpone has allowed himself to fall victim to his own devices. The only way to right this imbalance is to essentially ‘reset’ by self-incrimination and acceptance of guilt. Thus they are all wrapped up in varying levels of greed and conditions for individual honor, and until the final unraveling, this suspends each character against the chaos of the cityscape of Venice.
Ultimately what does this mess present as a central theme? At the risk of oversimplification, some light cliche, and grandiose generalizations, the work as a whole takes a very hopeless turn for those mired in greed and depravity. It would seem that once tainted, various indiscretions are impossible to wash off.
