The Facets of Angelo's Character

At the end of Act II, I’m left with an impression of Angelo as an extraordinarily complex character, yet also in many ways, a very predictable one. Our first dealings with Angelo come from the Duke’s descriptions of his character, and as we discussed on Friday, his virtuous nature. Angelo is renowned for his morals, and a strict interpretation of Vienna’s often unenforced laws regarding sexual conduct.

As his first decree as acting ruler, Angelo condemns Claudio for having sex with his betrothed and thus impregnating her, though most would consider this violation not nearly on the same level as acts committed by the men and women who run and frequent the brothels and sex trading industry. It would seem that Angelo is trying to make an example of Claudio, a man whose only real offense isn’t a very weighty one. Nevertheless, Claudio is sentenced to death for sleeping with the woman he loves, and Angelo’s reputation as an extremely righteous individual is strengthened. Though we are unsure of how Angelo came to be placed on this moral pedestal, we certainly know he’s there.

The turning point for Angelo’s personality occurs in the second act, in which Isabella, pleading for her brother’s life, makes quite an impression on the acting Duke. We’re given a very interesting scene in which Lucio pushes Isabella to be “warmer” in her interaction with Angelo. She begins her argument by agreeing with the Angelo’s actions and the strictness of the law (“O just but severe law!”), as Isabella as a character is also known for being pious. Though she’s begging for her brother’s life, she can’t help but feel disgust over his actions. Lucio, however, recognizes the fact that her coldness might not get anywhere with Angelo, and so he urges her to move closer and touch him while she pleads her case. She even goes as far as to bribe Angelo with prayer. Angelo, at first disinterested in Isabella, is intrigued, and it’s here that we can recognize his transformation. He listens to Isabella and tells her that he needs time to make a decision, and that she should return before noon tomorrow. After Isabella and Lucio leave, Angelo’s soliloquy confirms this change of opinion (“but it is I / That, lying by the violet of the sun, / Do, as the carrion does, not as the flower, / Corrupt with virtuous season”). Angelo goes on to admit his attraction to Isabella; that it is brought on not by any advance that she’s made, but by her own virtuous nature. In the face of true integrity, Angelo wants nothing more than to assert his dominance and destroy it. Though he considers himself above the common law-breakers, his humanity and sexual desire paint a much different picture.