The character of Volpone

Volpone is the central character of the play “Volpone.” It is hard to call him a protagonist because he lacks hero-like qualities; rather, it is better to think of him as a villain. In fact, there is no hero in the play “Volpone,” and we can consider two people as central characters: one is Volpone and the other is Mosca. It is absolutely impossible to think of these two as heroes because they have all the bad qualities in them. As for Volpone, it is very hard to find any good qualities in him. There is no doubt that he is intelligent and has a lot of wit, but he always uses his intelligence for evil purposes, and for this reason, it is reasonable for us to regard him as a villain rather than a hero. 

If we want to know the identity of Volpone, he is a noble and wealthy man with a lot of property. He used to live in Venice during the Renaissance and was undoubtedly an influential person. There is no doubt that he has more wealth than those he wishes to cheat out of their money. Moreover, he has no children, and there is much speculation about who will get his property after his death. Many people are greedy for his riches, and he always tries to amass his wealth by exploiting this greed, pretending that he will die soon. As a result, it is uncertain in whose hands his wealth will end up. So, whoever can satisfy him will be named in his will. 

Volpone is extremely greedy, and his greed knows no bounds. However, it is also true that he is not the only greedy person in this play; rather, he is trying to deceive those whose wealth he is attempting to seize. They are equally guilty of the same charge. Therefore, it is not fair to blame Volpone alone. He is greedy and a bad person, but those he is deceiving are not good people either. They are serving him with the thought that they will inherit his wealth upon his death. Thinking that he is an old man and will die after a few days, no one is giving him anything. So, although Volpone is greedy, it would be unfair for readers to blame him alone in this regard. 

One of his characteristics is that he does not trust anyone and tries to deceive everyone. Not trusting anyone may not be a bad thing, but trying to deceive everyone is definitely unfair and blameworthy. He understands who is greedy and always tries to exploit their greed. He always acts and performs extremely skillfully as an actor, so much so that others cannot catch him. Only Mosca knows his real secret. Besides Mosca, no one else knows his true story. Despite not being an actor in the play, we can easily say that in his personal life, he is much more skilled and professional than the actors in the drama. 

His real fault was that he trusted Mosca. He thought that Mosca was loyal to him, but he forgot that he was a bad guy and that Mosca was as bad as him. So, when he tried to fool everyone, Mosca also tried to cheat him, and not understanding this was his main fault, which led him into danger. He pretended that he was dead and that Mosca was the heir to his fortune. As a result, Mosca took full advantage and pretended not to recognize Volpone. Mosca showed that he had become the heir to all the wealth. This was Volpone’s only mistake: trusting Mosca. As a result, he was ruined. 

There is no doubt that Volpone is an abnormal person. He is rich and old. It is not right to expect that he will live for many more years. At this age, he might have thought about death or should have done some good deeds before dying or in his old age. However, he was greedy and abnormal, and he had no interest in doing any good deeds. He always thought more about dishonest acts and how to deceive and cheat people. 

Volpone was a cruel person and sometimes showed extreme cruelty. He tried to deprive a father of making his son the heir to his property. At the same time, he became infatuated with Celia’s beauty and tried to rape her. There is nothing worse than this because Celia was a virtuous woman, and his downfall mainly began with his failed attempt to rape her. Therefore, his cruelty ultimately brings about his danger, and this is how he is eventually destroyed. 

What we can see in Volpone’s character is that there is no good side to him. He loves beauty and goes mad upon seeing Celia’s beauty. At the same time, he has a poetic side. He sometimes recites poetry and, in this way, tries to woo Celia. However, he does not have any good qualities, and he is not interested in using his skills for good deeds. Volpone is a character with only negative traits, and throughout the play, we hardly see any good side to him. Although we can consider him a flat character, Ben Jonson was very skilled and presented this character very beautifully. So, even though there is no variation in Volpone’s character, there is no doubt that this character gives great pleasure to readers and stage audiences. 

Volpone is a morality play

Volpone is one of the finest works of Ben Jonson, and it is a comedy play. At the same time, it is a satire, and many readers consider it an example of a morality play. However, it would be inappropriate to call it a complete morality play because it does not directly address religious and economic issues. Nevertheless, the idea that bad deeds are punished and good deeds are rewarded is somewhat present towards the end of the play. 

It is more appropriate to call this play a comedy or a satire. Though it is a comedy, it is a black comedy where not only humorous elements are present but also some dark and negative aspects of society are highlighted. We can see that Volpone is a greedy man, and he tempts everyone by saying that his death is very near and that he will give everything to the person who can satisfy him. In reality, although Volpone is old, he is not ill, and there is no possibility that he will die soon. He employed his servant Mosca in this endeavor, and through Mosca, he made everyone even greedier.

Several people fall prey to his greed, and as a result, they give various things to Volpone while also considering leaving their wealth to him. However, this leads to various complications, and by the end, it becomes evident that walking down the wrong path inevitably leads to negative consequences.

This comedy or satire also contains a moral tone, where the subject of morality is concealed. Ben Jonson believed that his contemporary society had deteriorated significantly and did not prioritize human morality and values. Instead, people were moving towards paths of injustice and corruption.

In this path of injustice and corruption, the thing that worked the most was greed. They were greedy for wealth. They were also attracted to beautiful women, and in Volpone, we can see that just as Volpone desires to possess others’ gold, he similarly desires to obtain the beautiful girl Celia unjustly. Celia is married to someone else, but that does not matter to Volpone. Instead, he always used to think about how to approach this beautiful girl and ruin her. Therefore, the main theme of this play is greed, and we all know the saying that greed leads to sin, and sin leads to death.

Ben Jonson has beautifully depicted that greed brings about the destruction of people. He has shown that Volpone is very cunning, but greed leads him astray. In the same way, although Mosca is very clever and even manages to outwit Volpone, in the end, his greed is limitless, and he loses. Thus, destruction comes through greed, and nothing good happens. Besides, at the end of the play, we can see that those who are wicked characters are exposed, and everyone receives punishment.

In English society at that time, many people believed that there was no use in being good and that being good meant bringing about one’s destruction. We can see this in the play, where Celia is a virtuous woman and Bonario is a good man. However, both of them fall into danger, despite neither of them doing anything wrong. Of course, in the end, the truth is revealed, and Celia and Bonario escape from danger. Thus, Ben Jonson tries to convey that being good certainly has its value. Although good people may face some difficulties, they ultimately prevail. The main theme of the morality play is that bad people will be punished and good people will triumph.

Although this play cannot be completely classified as a morality play, we can consider that there are several elements of a morality play, and when viewed in this light, it can be said that it serves as a successful example of the genre.

Venetian Society in Volpone

In the play “Volpone,” Ben Jonson attempts to depict the social system of his time. The events of this play unfold in Venice, a prosperous city in Italy. We also observe that Shakespeare’s play “The Merchant of Venice” is set in Venice, and several works of English literature draw inspiration from the city. However, despite the setting in Venice and the portrayal of its social system, “Volpone” actually aims to portray the society of England, particularly London, during that era.

The main plot of this play goes somewhat like this: Volpone is a nobleman in Venice. He is wealthy and possesses many assets, but he has no children. As a result, many people are greedy about who will inherit his wealth after his death, and several individuals desire to become the heir to his wealth. Volpone takes advantage of this opportunity by employing his loyal servant, Mosca. Mosca goes to everyone and tells them that they will be the sole heirs of Volpone, thus tempting these individuals. So, we can see that to appease Volpone, some people send their wives to him, while others disinherit their sons and nominate Volpone as the heir to their wealth. This way, an anarchy is created.

Although Ben Jonson talks about Venice, it actually represents Renaissance England society. The Renaissance brought many good things to England, but at the same time, it also created a lack of morality among people. In that era, individual freedom developed, and some bad people took this opportunity to achieve their goals and became morally corrupt in society.

The main reason for this is that, on the one hand, the Renaissance and, on the other hand, economic conditions improved during the Elizabethan age. As a result, prosperity increased, and London became a wealthier city. The middle class emerged, and the wealth of the upper-class elite continued to grow. As a result of all this, people’s desire and greed for wealth increased significantly. Consequently, those who are morally corrupt in society try to take advantage of this, while good people begin to suffer, and many of them also turn corrupt. Ben Jonson might have been somewhat worried about all these issues, which is why he aimed to show in his play that greed never brings positive results. Upon examining the play, we observe that every character is morally corrupt and greedy. Volpone constantly thinks about how to cunningly acquire other people’s wealth illegally. Mosca shares the same desires. Corvino and Corbaccio believe they will be the sole heirs to Volpone’s wealth and eagerly await his demise, hoping he will designate them as heirs in his will before he dies. As a result, each character does not hesitate to commit any evil deed. Volpone hears that Corvino’s wife, Celia, is very beautiful and desires to have her, even though she is someone else’s wife. Volpone cunningly attempts to rape her.

The main lesson we learn from this play is that good people like Celia and Bonario are primarily tortured because of the lack of unity among them. On the other hand, bad people unite for their interests and, in doing so, can easily oppress good people. When Celia falls into danger, there is no one to help her. Conversely, Bonario’s father betrays him and gives testimony against him. Similarly, even after Celia survives the rape, her husband does not come forward to help her in court. Celia’s husband and Bonario’s father unite with bad people like Volpone and Mosca. As a result, they forget the simple fact that it is not outsiders but their family members who are being harmed, all because they fall into greed.

When bad people unite in society, it leads to the destruction of good people, and as a result, it does not mean that the bad people win. Instead, bad people often end up causing harm to themselves. Ben Jonson has beautifully portrayed this idea and suggested that exactly this kind of destruction is impending in English society, especially in London. If people do not become aware from now on, it will bring a lot of danger for the future. So, Ben Jonson tried to convey to people that if we do not choose the path of goodness, we will lead to the destruction of society. If society is affected, its impact will affect everyone, whether good or bad. 

Avarice is the main theme of Volpone

The main theme of “Volpone,” one of the best plays by Ben Jonson, is avarice. The central character of this play is Volpone, who was a nobleman in seventeenth-century Venice. Though he is quite rich, his greed knows no bounds. Volpone’s story revolves around his amassing more wealth and the kind of complexity that arises from this greed. The main lesson that we get from this play is that greed leads to destruction.

If we examine the characters of this play, we will see that each of the main five characters is extremely greedy. First is the central character, Volpone, who is difficult to label as a hero. His greed knows no bounds, and his religion is not Christianity but rather greed. From beginning to end, he obsesses over wealth and gold incessantly. Gold is significant because, during that time, it held more importance than other forms of wealth. That is why Volpone repeatedly fixates on gold.

In those days, currency was primarily minted using gold, and gold coins were also widely circulated. Gold coins were the most valuable currency, so when referring to gold, it often included gold coins as well. Therefore, when Volpone thinks of acquiring more gold, it implies his desire to accumulate wealth in the form of gold coins.

The next important character after Volpone is Mosca, and Mosca shares the same thoughts as Volpone throughout the day. Mosca does not engage in much labor; rather, his primary task is to survive by depending on Volpone. In a way, Mosca acts as Volpone’s servant, working for him all day long, albeit in a flattering manner. Mosca is not only a companion but also an active accomplice in Volpone’s nefarious deeds. Consequently, Mosca becomes extremely greedy at one point and betrays Volpone.

There are not many female characters in this play. Among the few, Corvino’s wife, Celia, is one. Driven by greed for Volpone’s wealth and ensnared by Mosca’s cunning, Corvino sends his wife to Volpone so that Volpone can enjoy her. Nothing could be more unethical than this, indicating how greedy Corvino was. If we consider Corvino’s greed as bad, then we can think about Corbaccio as well. Corbaccio agreed to disinherit his son Bonario and designate Volpone as the sole heir to his wealth. Certainly, Corbaccio and Corvino should be blamed more than Volpone or Mosca because they abandoned their son and wife, respectively, out of greed. Family is certainly important and should be the most important, but we learn from Volpone that people, out of greed, do not hesitate to sacrifice their own family or even the dignity of their wives.

As a result, each character in this play suffers. Volpone becomes almost mad by the end when he discovers that his favorite servant, Mosca, has been cheating on him. Mosca nearly succeeds in deceiving Volpone, but he ultimately loses in court. Corbaccio and Corvino do not inherit Volpone’s wealth; instead, their relationships with their families deteriorate. The two virtuous characters, Celia and Bonario, are proven innocent in court.

Ben Jonson tried to beautifully convey that avarice is a very bad thing. However, at the same time, we have to keep in mind that if people do not have morality in society, then it brings danger to society. Greed may lead to temporary gains, but it is not sustainable in the long run.