Money is one of the key themes in Ben Jonson's The Alchemist, with all the characters seeming to be influenced in one way or another. another by the promise of wealth. The scammers, Face and Subtle, consider money very important because they trick all the other men into giving it to them. Deceived men pay Faces and Subtle for the promise of more wealth via the philosopher's stone. The most important characters in exploring the theme of the importance of money in the play are Sir Epicure Mammon, Subtle and Face. Subtle and Face's greed acts as the driving force of the play, as they continue to sink deeper and deeper into a world of diversions and lies to steal money from willing victims. Sir Epicure Mammon is an elderly man deluded by delusions of grandeur and ideas of spectacular wealth that he talks about constantly. We also see that money is vitally important to other characters, like Dapper, who is willing to make a fool of himself for the "Fairy Queen" in order to possess a mind that will allow him to cheat at the game. shows how he places getting money above his morality and dignity, as he embarrasses himself and is so willing to deceive others, while ironically being deceived himself- even. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The importance of money to Face and Subtle is evident throughout the play, with the difficulty they both have in being an accurate representation of this importance. money for them. They could easily fool any of the men they fool throughout the play, but they try to fool them all, often at the same time, to make more and more money. There are constant situations that force Face and Subtle to think and improvise to continue the scam, such as when Dapper must be ushered, blindfolded and on his knees, into the toilet to avoid detection by Mammon. When they are thinking about where they should hide Dapper, Dol very rudely says, "In the toilet," followed by Subtle quickly dressing him to look more glamorous: "Come, sir, I have to show you the private quarters of Fortune. This shows that Subtle is capable of continuing the charade to get more money from Dapper, while the reason he hides it, that Mammon comes in and gives him more money, shows the extent of his and his greed. from the front. The prioritization of money over morality and disregard for others can be seen in Subtle and Face's exchange of two lines after the discussion of "privates", as Face asks Subtle: "Are Are they scented and is his bath ready? » to which Subtle responds with humor: “All: only the fumigation is a little strong. » This comedic line shows more than just Subtle and Face's wit and quick-wittedness, but also the manipulative qualities they possess and the complete disregard for dignity they show to all men while stealing from them. The character of Sir Epicurus Mammon shows the extent to which money can be important to the characters, as it is Mammon's key characteristic. There are various examples throughout the play where he shows that the importance of money to him takes priority over other needs and influences his judgments. When Mammon is introduced to Dol, who he is told is a graceful woman of nobility, he compares her to noble figures known to be unattractive, "I think you look like one of the Austrian princes". He continues by saying: “The house of Valois had such a nose and such a forehead,.