Greed and Deception in Jonson’s Volpone
Greed
Greed permeates the entire play, embodied by Volpone, Mosca, and the “clients.” Volpone’s opening soliloquy reveals his utter consumption by greed. In a sense, greed defines the major conflict of Volpone. Volpone’s scam stems from his greed and is fueled by the greed of his “clients.” After Mosca compares Celia’s beauty to gold, Volpone’s greed ignites an insatiable desire for her. Because greed is his sole motivation, Volpone even employs it as a tactic to seduce Celia. Ultimately, greed causes Volpone and Mosca’s downfall. Their inability to share the fortune leads Volpone to unmask himself, dragging Mosca down with him.
Animalization
Jonson’s representation of characters as their namesake animals transforms Volpone into a fable. While the characters are not entirely one-dimensional, their names are fitting, memorable, and descriptive. If we consider their names as predictors of their actions, then the majority of the play’s events unfold unsurprisingly. Combined with the Argument, the animalization theme reveals each character’s motivations.
Parasitism
Although Mosca is the foremost parasite, Corvino, Corbaccio, and Voltore also exhibit parasitic tendencies. Volpone’s scam relies on Mosca’s ability to exploit the clients’ greed, but without their desire to leech off Volpone, the scheme would crumble. Volpone, Mosca, and the clients are competing parasites. Parasitism emerges as an explicit theme in Mosca’s soliloquy, where he posits it as a universal principle: everyone is a parasite, but some are more adept at it. This principle holds true in Volpone. Few characters act honestly; most are willing to exploit any means to secure Volpone’s fortune. They are all parasites—flies and carrion birds fighting over Volpone’s perceived dying carcass. Only Mosca, the most cunning parasite, fully recognizes his parasitic nature, enabling him to manipulate others effectively.
Metatheatricality
While only a few scenes qualify as plays-within-a-play, Jonson’s critique of Elizabethan theater emerges from each. Mosca’s account of the transmigration of Pythagoras’s soul is obscene, debasing a renowned philosopher and mathematician for Volpone’s amusement. From Jonson’s perspective, as expressed in the Epistle and the Prologue, this lowbrow humor is a travesty. Volpone, who seems to enjoy theater, desperately needs moral guidance. Jonson argues that Volpone’s love for theater presents an opportunity to “inform [him] in the best reason of living.” However, the low quality of Nano’s recitation reflects Jonson’s belief that Jacobean theater lacks this instructive function. Volpone aims to demonstrate refined, serious, classically influenced comedy that instructs rather than merely amuses. Ironically, this doesn’t make his plays-within-the-play any less entertaining.
Vengeance
While sparingly present in the main plot, vengeance features prominently in the subplot of Volpone. The story of Sir Politic and Peregrine, besides serving as a warning to the English state, highlights the absurdity of traditional vengeance. Peregrine, believing himself wronged, drives Sir Politic from Venice simply for the satisfaction of saying, “Now, we are even.” This parable teaches us that vengeance is a childish pursuit.
Deception
Deception in Volpone ultimately leads to punishment. Jonson’s sense of poetic justice dictates that any character who deceives another faces consequences. Bonario and Celia, who remain honest throughout, are exempt from punishment. Meanwhile, Mosca, Volpone, and the other clients all receive their comeuppance.
Knowledge/Ignorance
Throughout the play, no character on stage possesses the same level of knowledge as the audience. Jonson’s use of dramatic irony ensures that only the audience is fully aware of each character’s situation. Even Mosca, the master manipulator, remains unaware of certain events, such as Corvino and Celia’s early arrival, which leads to Bonario’s discovery of Volpone’s scam. By playing with the audience’s knowing position, Jonson invites us to observe the characters’ moral failings from a privileged perspective. He equates ignorance with moral chicanery and knowledge with moral instruction.
This knowledge-ignorance dialectic drives the conflict in both the main plot and the subplot. Sir Politic, embodying ignorance, and Peregrine, representing knowledge, clash predictably. For instance, regarding the mountebanks, Peregrine expresses reservations, while Sir Politic declares them “the only knowing men of Europe!” Ironically, Peregrine is supposedly receiving instruction from Sir Politic on being a gentleman traveler. Their interaction exemplifies the maxim: “Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise.”
The Significance of the Prologue
In the Prologue, Jonson emphasizes his intention to write a “moral” play. He criticizes “poetasters” (his term for inferior playwrights) who have corrupted theater with immoral works, highlighting the moral purpose of his own play. He aligns his work with the traditions of classical Greek drama, suggesting a work of intellectual and moral weight. The Prologue also establishes a boisterous tone that continues throughout the play. Jonson blends a serious message with a lighthearted, entertaining tone, reinforcing his promise to “mix profit with your pleasure.” In essence, Volpone aims to educate and entertain simultaneously.
Volpone and Mosca’s Attitude Towards Wealth
Upon waking, Volpone greets both the day and his gold fortune. In his opening soliloquy, he proclaims gold as his soul and the soul of the world. He finds greater joy in his gold than the earth finds in the spring sun. He claims the sun pales in comparison to gold, its son, which shines like the light of creation. He kisses his treasure and declares the Age of Gold the greatest in history. Gold, he asserts, brings more happiness than friends or family and possesses the beauty of Venus and the love of countless Cupids. While gold cannot speak or act for itself, Volpone, calling it a saint, observes that it compels men to speak and act on its behalf. With gold, hell transforms into heaven, for gold equates to virtue, fame, honor, and everything. Whoever possesses it, Volpone believes, becomes noble, valiant, honest, and wise. Mosca echoes this sentiment, stating that it is better to be rich than wise.
The Opening Scene as Satire
Volpone’s opening speech, where he addresses his gold, can be interpreted as a satire on the Catholic Mass. It borders on blasphemy, employing religious terms like “sacred,” “relic,” “heaven,” “saint,” and “Hail.” By stating that gold makes “even hell…worth heaven,” Volpone elevates the worth of gold above spiritual redemption—gold, not God, reigns supreme for him. This substitution of money for God in a prayer-like context would have shocked an Elizabethan audience. The speech subverts expectations by associating sacred language with the profane concept of money, creating situational irony.
The Moral Overtone of the Opening Scene
Volpone’s opening soliloquy establishes the play’s moral tone. His act of greeting his gold upon waking reveals his all-consuming greed. He commits blasphemy by calling his gold a saint and makes a pun, referring to gold as the “son of Sol,” using the dual meaning of “Sol” as both sun and gold coin. Volpone’s worship of his gold, comparing it to Venus, demonstrates his violation of the first commandment. He even calls gold the “dumb god that giv’st all men tongues,” further highlighting his idolatry. Volpone’s religious allusions extend beyond polytheism. His description of his gold’s brightness references the first day of creation. By claiming that gold “mak’st men do all things,” he ascribes the divine quality of omnipotence to it. Following his soliloquy, Volpone’s pride in his money-making scheme adds another layer to his moral transgressions.
Mosca’s Manipulation of Corvino
Mosca manipulates Corvino into believing that Volpone is on the verge of death and that he needs to sleep with a woman to recover. Exploiting Corvino’s greed for Volpone’s inheritance, Mosca convinces him to offer up his own wife, Celia. Mosca assures Corvino that he is the likely heir and even suggests that he might hasten Volpone’s demise during his next seizure. Convinced that Celia must sleep with Volpone to secure his inheritance, Corvino attempts to reconcile with her, feigning affection and promising to prove his lack of jealousy.
Animal Imagery in Volpone
The animal imagery in Volpone, reflected in the characters’ names, creates a fable-like quality. The cunning “Fox” (Volpone) is surrounded by a mischievous “Fly” (Mosca), who helps him trick carrion birds—a vulture (Voltore), a crow (Corvino), and a raven (Corbaccio)—into losing their feathers (wealth). This imagery emphasizes the theme of parasitism, where one life form feeds off another. The fable-like structure underscores the play’s didactic purpose, conveying a moral message about greed and deception.
The Comic Nature of Volpone
Despite its comedic elements, Volpone grapples with serious themes and features a harsh ending. The punishments meted out are meant to reflect the nature of the crimes committed. Volpone’s imprisonment symbolizes his enslavement to his desires. The judge’s emphasis on the didactic purpose of the punishments and his comparison of vices to “beasts” reinforce the play’s moral message. However, the ending poses challenges to its comedic classification. The protagonist, Volpone, suffers a tragic fate, and the lack of truly sympathetic characters with whom the audience can fully empathize creates a sense of unease. This harshness stems from Jonson’s dual purpose of entertainment and education. While Volpone and Mosca command the stage for most of the play, the final scene reminds us that their entertaining qualities do not absolve them from the consequences of their actions.
The Ethical Message of Volpone
Volpone satirizes “avarice,” encompassing greed for money, power, and all objects of desire. The play’s central message, articulated by Volpone himself, is that “What a rare punishment / Is avarice to itself.” Greed, while driving the pursuit of wealth and status, ultimately leads to folly, contempt, and spiritual and financial ruin. Celia echoes this sentiment, questioning the absence of shame, while the judge’s final plea for the audience to learn from the characters’ mistakes emphasizes the play’s didactic intention. Volpone, initially an instrument of this lesson, becomes an object of it as well, succumbing to his own greedy desires. The play serves as a cautionary tale about the destructive nature of unchecked greed.