Now that we are up to Act III in Measure for Measure, the idea of disguise and deception is right at the forefront. Not only do Isabella and the Duke plan to trick Angelo into reconciling with Mariana by swapping out the little nun for the jilted lover, but the Duke himself is fooling everybody by disguising himself as a friar. Add in the skewed values of Angelo and the intense passion of Isabella and the question of what crosses the lines in society comes to mind. Friars, to the best of my knowledge, are very pious and devote their lives to the Lord. Nuns, as well, are clean and pure and love God. Isabella would rather see her brother Claudio die than lose her virginity to Angelo (which she sees as dying herself), showing what may seem today as an uber-devotion to the Church. Sacrificing family for purity is Isabella's highest value at this point. The Duke/friar, on the other hand, thinks nothing of tricking the Duke-regent as a way of saving Claudio. The Duke/friar wants what is best for his city but feels no need to sacrifice Claudio to get it. Not only does tricking people and lying go against the Church, but the Duke himself praised Angelo for his precision. It seems that the Duke values precision, but only to a degree, and will do anything to keep his city from being a truly frightening place.
This leads back to Angelo, who was so precise and strict in the beginning but is now willing to not only go back on his word but break his own law. And all for a woman. Women had no power in Shakespeare's world? I beg to differ. Isabella's decision determines who lives or dies in this play. Angelo certainly values the law but he'll change his mind if a pretty, sweet-talking lady turns up at his door. With Angelo's hypocrisy and the Duke's complacency, it's hard to tell who the better ruler is here. This is where the core of the play ends up: a lack of conviction. Isabella is a model of conviction and values, placing the Church higher than anything else. The Duke helps her for it and Angelo loves her for it. If anything, she would be the better ruler for the city, since the Duke is afraid of being too strict and Angelo is too swayed by the opposite sex. But of course, if this play had characters who weren't hypocritical and flawed, Claudio would have to die and the play would get into tragedy territory by the third act.
Disguise and deception are key in Shakespearean comedy not only because the common mix-up can be a funny plot device, but also because the reveal the values of the characters. Isabella will deceive Angelo so she can keep her virginity. The Duke disguises himself so he may learn what the people think of him (leading to some very humorous moments) and to help others. Angelo deceives his people by exchanging Claudio for Isabella's virginity. Shakespeare is showing that anyone will do anything to get what they want, sacrificing accepted societal values and exposing their own hidden ones. Some characters remain good (Isabella), some turn out to be bad (Angelo), and some become a bit of both (the Duke).
-Sarah Bras
2 comments:
A lot of people have made a distinction between the way Isabella’s actions would have seemed at the time the play was first performed and the way it would seem today. I don’t think there is that much of a difference: I don’t think that I would be coerced into sleeping with a member of the state in order to save a family member. It’s not as if once you take away the Christian obsession with virtue and purity there are no more objections to raise. What about Isabella’s sense of self? What about her right to do what she will with her own body? How is sleeping with Angelo to save her brother any different from rape? I mean, how much choice does she really have? Also, she isn’t sacrificing Claudio, she just isn’t saving him. He did commit a crime, one which she had nothing to do with. The situation is that the punishment for the crime is too severe.
Isabella’s decision does not determine who lives or dies in the play. She has no assurance that Angelo will keep his word. If he can try to force someone to have sex with him, he can go back on a promise: the promise is given in private (the women’s sphere) and so has no power, while his punishment of Claudio is in the public, which means that his going back on that would mean a lessening of his power. You do make me question how virtuous Isabella is, though, with how you point out how quickly she is willing to double cross Angelo.
Nice post and response here--as I said in response to a previous post, must we have a religious context in order to understand why a woman might not want to give herself over to someone like Angelo?
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