All's Well that Ends Well

All's Well that Ends Well presents us with an unusual arranged marriage which leaves the couple immediately estranged, the unwilling groom determined to discard his identity if not his very life, and the disappointed bride determined to win her groom even if it requires her to deviously meet an impossible challenge. In the process, the "at-odds couple" takes us uncomfortably near the edge of adultery, a precipice that Shakespeare's high-born characters usually do not visit. (See my "Topics" post on Sexual Morality.)

Helena, whose late father had been employed as physician to a noble French family, has been raised in the household even after her father's death, a welcome guest treated almost as a family member. She has fallen in love with the young Bertram who will inherit the family title of Count, but keeps this to herself knowing that a commoner has no business aspiring to such a match.

But then, Helena uses one of her father's secret medical cures to save the life of the king and he rewards her by offering her marriage to any noble bachelor in the realm. She cannot resist choosing Bertram, who is horrified at the idea of marrying not only a commoner, but a girl who has been raised with him like a kid sister (II.3.123-127). Seeing Bertram's deep loathing for the forced arrangement, Helena asks the king to call the deal off, but he thinks his kingly honor is at stake (II.3.161-162) and refuses. This pivotal scene presents a good opportunity for students to discuss the shared fault of the three characters involved. Are they all responsible for the trouble that ensues? To what extent?

Bertram is so despondent that he would rather face death at war (in which the king has forbidden him to participate) than to consummate this sham marriage (II.3.288) and hints he will never to go home alive (II.5.100-102). He is severing ties with the king and his noble family inheritance (indeed he is disinherited in III.2.69-71) and he flees to the war practically devoid of identity, feeling like a dead man. It is important to understand this to see why he is not fully an exception to Shakespeare's unspoken rule that the high-born do not ordinarily sink to sexual immorality.

Helena herself admits that the trick she sets up to snare and save Bertram is dabbling near the borders of sin (III.7.49-54), yet she is determined to fulfill Bertram's impossible bargain, for her sake and for his, at any cost. That bargain is that he will consummate their "marriage" only if she can get the family ring from his finger, and show that she has a child conceived by him (III.2.59-62).

Her plot involves several deceptions centering on exploiting Bertram's intention to have a wartime affair with young Diana who has caught his eye, substituting herself for Diana in the darkness (III.7.17-40). The other major piece of the plot is to put out the news that she herself has died, which she "confirms" with a letter ostensibly from a holy rector (IV.3.57). The deception continues into V.3.159-166 with Diana's letter to the king. All of this naturally lends itself to class discussion of whether such deceptions are justified under the circumstances in order to bring about a positive outcome.

Bertram's faults, of course, stand out more obviously. His rejection of his unchosen bride is partly understandable, but his immediate lying to Helena (II.5.67-76) and his pursuit of Diana's virginity (IV.2.7-45) are not so excusable. Add to that his dishonest insults against Diana later (V.3.202-249) and we are seeing serious character flaws.

All of this adds up to an issue that keeps this play from being a simple romantic comedy. Shakespeare may have titled All's Well… ironically. Is all well at the end? Will this marriage proceed successfully with such a powerful foundation of mistrust, which seems too easily resolved at the end? Even the king, in the play's closing speech, implies the doubts we might all have deep down. "All yet seems well, and if it end so meet, the bitter past, more welcome is the sweet." Don't overlook the "seems" and "if" in that fine couplet. Students can profit from a good discussion of the trust-building that is essential in preparation for marriage.

Another theme worth noting in the play is the respect for God (and "heaven") expressed by several characters. Some examples appear in I.3.201-204, II.1.166-170, II.3.32, and III.4.27-31. Likewise, chastity is often praised especially by the women of the play, as in I.1.111-171, III.5.10-29 and 94, and IV.2.46-61. By contrast, the empty braggart Parolles offers some of the classic arguments against virginity in I.1.111-171, and Bertram's tempting of Diana later echoes some of the same corrupted reasoning.

Finally, I'll point out several elements of this story line that parallel other Shakespeare plays to some extent:

*The intrigue of the ring (III.7.26-32 and V.3.215-226) may remind us of Merchant of Venice.
* Diana's enigmatic riddling (V.3.305-345) is like Rosalind's in As You Like It.
* The offer of a "second marriage" after the "death" of the first bride (V.3.76-79) echoes Much Ado About Nothing.
* The happy reunion of a wife with a husband who has deeply wronged her (V.3.346-363) is much like the play with the only surprise ending in Shakespeare that is so dramatic, I refuse to be a "spoiler" by identifying it!