Bartholomew Fair: Analysis of Major Characters
"Bartholomew Fair" is a comedic play by Ben Jonson that showcases a vibrant tapestry of characters set against the backdrop of a traditional fair in London. The narrative revolves around Bartholomew Cokes, a naïve and indulgent young man, whose obsession with frivolities at the fair leads to his misadventures and the loss of his fiancée, Grace Wellborn. Other key figures include John Littlewit, a proud yet simple official who revels in the fair's antics, and his wife, Win-the-Fight, who naively navigates the fair's temptations. Dame Purecraft, with her chaotic love life and prophetic tendencies, adds layers of complexity, while Zeal-of-the-Land Busy represents the hypocritical Puritan voice against the fair's revelry.
As the plot unfolds, characters like Tom Quarlous and Ned Winwife maneuver through the comedic chaos, each embodying different aspects of folly and ambition. The fair becomes a microcosm of society, highlighting themes of desire, deception, and morality through its diverse cast, including a madman named Troubleall and street performers like Nightingale and Ezekiel Edgeworth, who illustrate the fair's underbelly. This rich character analysis provides insight into the social dynamics of the time, making "Bartholomew Fair" a significant exploration of human behavior amidst the festive chaos.
Bartholomew Fair: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Ben Jonson
First published: 1631
Genre: Play
Locale: Smithfield, London, England
Plot: Satire
Time: Early seventeenth century
Bartholomew Cokes, a foolish, prodigal young gentleman of Harrow. He is made of the stuff without which fairs and carnivals cannot succeed; fortunately for them, his kind is supposed to be born at the rate of one a minute. A trinket-buyer, he is carried away by the trifles in the booths, and he is an easy victim for pickpockets and confidence men. Blessed with a lovely, well-to-do fiancée, he neglects and loses her.
John Littlewit, a petty official with a pretty wife and a mother-in-law with Puritan leanings. He takes great pride in the fair, especially in the puppet show, for which he has written the script. He and his wife have some difficulty persuading the mother-in-law to go to the fair, but they finally succeed.
Win-the-Fight Littlewit, John's wife, Dame Purecraft's daughter. As simpleminded as her husband, she falls in with his plans to go to the fair and convinces her mother and Zeal-of-the-Land Busy that she should go to satisfy her longing for pork. She is deceived by Captain Whit into putting on a green gown (a badge of harlotry) and letting him offer her favors to a gentleman at the fair. She escapes the fate her foolishness almost brings on her.
Dame Purecraft, John Littlewit's mother-in-law. Hesitating between two suitors, Rabbi Busy and Ned Winwife, she is troubled by a prophecy that she is to marry a madman. When she meets the insane Troubleall at the fair, she pursues him, thinking it is her fate to marry him. She finally consents to marry Tom Quarlous, in disguise, believing him to be Troubleall.
Zeal-of-the-Land Busy, a Puritan divine. Filled with thunderous rhetoric against the foul fair, papistry, and other abominations, he is a gluttonous hypocrite. He manages to get himself into the stocks for disturbing the peace and at the fair is bested in an argument with a puppet.
Ned Winwife, first the suitor of Dame Purecraft, then the successful suitor of Grace Wellborn. He is a sensible foil to many of the foolish characters.
Tom Quarlous, Winwife's friend. He is the chief mover of the action, employing Edgeworth to steal Cokes's license, disguising himself as Troubleall to marry Dame Purecraft, and showing up Justice Overdo to prevent a cloud of punishments on all the inhabitants of the fair.
Humphrey Waspe, called Numps, Cokes's servant and tutor. A small man of demonic fury and with a foul and stinging tongue that he uses freely, he constantly rebukes his young master for irresponsibility. He himself is discomfited by losing the strongbox with the wedding agreement and by being put in the stocks.
Adam Overdo, a meddling justice of the peace, the guardian of Grace Wellborn. Thinking himself a sort of English Haroun al-Raschid, he disguises himself to seek out evil and good at the fair, in the hope of righting wrongs and punishing “enormities.” His reforming zeal, misdirected by poor judgment, leads him to beatings and to the stocks. Completely discountenanced when he finds his wife in the green gown of a prostitute, squired by a pimp, he gives up his crusade of stern justice and treats the motley horde to a supper.
Dame Overdo, Adam's foolish wife. She becomes intoxicated, threatens to commit a riotous group to prison in the king's name and her husband's, and is persuaded, like Win Littlewit, to put on a green gown and wear it to the puppet play, where she gets sick.
Grace Wellborn, Cokes's fiancée, an attractive and intelligent woman. She is so much annoyed by Cokes's behavior that she offers to marry either Winwife or Quarlous. Each is to choose a fictitious name and show it to the mad beggar Troubleall, his pick to determine her husband. He chooses Winwife's pseudonym.
Lanthorn Leatherhead, a versatile operator in the fair. He runs a booth selling hobbyhorses and doubles as a puppet master. Speaking through one of his puppets, he successfully confutes Busy's blasts at the theater.
Joan Trash, a gingerbread woman. She runs a booth near Leatherhead's. When Busy turns over her booth with all the gingerbread (the gingerbread figures were idols, in his opinion), she has him arrested and put in the stocks.
Troubleall, a madman. He has an obsession that nothing is legal or suitable without a warrant from Justice Overdo. His violence at the stocks allows Busy, Numps, and the disguised Overdo to escape. Dame Purecraft wishes to marry him so that she can have a real madman for a husband in accord with the prophecy, but she mistakes Quarlous for him and marries Quarlous.
Ezekiel Edgeworth, a proficient cutpurse. A handsome young man, he draws the attention of justice Overdo, who seeks to give him advice on the danger of bad companions and to rescue him before he goes wrong. To save himself from disclosure, he steals the strongbox from Numps and turns it over to Quarlous.
Nightingale, a ballad singer. He and Edgeworth work together: Nightingale attracts a crowd and distracts their attention while Edgeworth picks their pockets. They cus-tomarily squander their gains at Ursula's at the end of the day.
Ursula, a pig-woman. She sells pork and ale and has some less savory sidelines. An enormous, greasy, bawdy, and quarrelsome woman, she is something of a she-Falstaff, lacking his essential wit.
Alice, a harlot. Angry at the competition professionals receive from amateurs, she quarrels savagely with Dame Overdo, whom she suspects of being a rival.
Dan Jordan Knockem, a horse trader.
Val Cutting, a roaring bully.
Captain Whit,amalebawd.
Puppy, a wrestler.
Northern, a clothier. All five are members of the noisy crew that hangs around Ursula's booth.
Mooncalf, Ursula's tapster.
Solomon, Littlewit's man.
Haggis and Bristle, members of the watch.
Pocher, a beadle.
Filcher and Sharkwell, doorkeepers at Leatherhead's puppet show.