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Summary
Helen arrives in Florence, where she overhears a conversation between an old Widow, her daughter Diana, and their neighbor Mariana. It seems that Bertram, who rides by with the Duke of Florence’s army as they talk, has been making overtures to Diana, hoping to get her in his bed. Dressed as a pilgrim, Helen joins the discussion, in which the older woman advises Diana to maintain her chastity. The three Florentine women have heard that Bertram has a wife he detests, but they are unaware that Helen is the woman. After the conversation, Helen is invited to stay with the Widow.
In the Duke’s camp, the First Lord and Second Lord Dumaine advise Bertram not to put his faith in Parolles, because the man is a boastful coward with no military experience and no loyalty. To expose Parolles, they devise a plan. They will goad him into attempting to retrieve his regiment’s drum, which was lost on the field of battle (a military disgrace). Then, disguised as enemy soldiers, they will “capture” him, blindfold him, and interrogate him, thus demonstrating to Bertram how quickly his loyal friend will turn traitor if his life is threatened. Encountering Parolles, they suggest that the loss of the drum was unimportant, and that he should forget it. Being cocky and boastful, Bertram’s companion immediately swears that he will recapture it, or at least make a valiant effort. When he is gone, the two lords laugh and tell Bertram that Parolles will do no such thing. Bertram is skeptical, but he changes the subject and invites the Second Lord to accompany him and meet Diana, whom he still plans to bed.
Meanwhile, Helen has revealed her identity to the Widow and uses a purse of gold to buy her help in a scheme that, Helen hopes, will fulfill her husband’s conditions for their marriage. Diana will obtain the ring that Helen needs from Bertram, as a token of his love; then, she will invite him to her bedchamber. In the darkness, Helen and Diana will switch places, and the oblivious Bertram will have sex with his true wife rather than the virgin. The Widow agrees and tells Helen to go and secure Diana’s cooperation in the plot.
Analysis
Diana’s virginity, which she virtuously protects, echoes the earlier bantering discussion Helen and Parolles shared on the subject, in act 1, scene 1. In that conversation, Parolles had argued that a woman ought to lose her maidenhead as soon as possible. Now, appropriately enough, he is assisting Bertram in convincing a chaste young woman to give it up without the assurance of wedlock. Diana’s name recalls that of the Roman goddess of the hunt, Diana, who also happened to be the goddess of chastity as well as fertility. Curiously, as if to foreshadow Diana’s involvement in Helen’s predicament, the name “Dian” has already appeared twice in the play—first by the Countess’s Steward (1.3.115), and shortly thereafter by Helen herself (1.3.222). As her name implies, Diana will successfully safeguard her own virginity while making it possible for the sexual consummation of Helen’s marriage to result in the conception of a child.
As for Bertram himself, our estimation of him sinks still lower. For the count, it is clear, war comes before women, who are merely there to fornicate with, not marry. At this point in the play, then, his behavior is bad enough to make the so-called “bed trick” seem justified. This trick, in which a wife substitutes herself for a lover in order to trick an adulterous husband, is common in folklore, and Shakespeare uses a similar device with Mariana, Isabella, and Angelo in Measure for Measure. There are dubious elements involved here, of course, including the bribery of the Widow and the lies that Diana will be forced to tell. But ultimately, as Helen points out, the trick brings about the consummation of a marriage—a good and moral end, for all that her husband believes that he is committing adultery. The audience can’t help feeling impressed with Helen’s resourcefulness and glad to see the odious Bertram fooled. Still, the episode may leave a bad taste in the mouth and thereby contribute to the view of All’s Well That Ends Well as a “dark” play. In other comedies, lovers consummate their union joyfully; here, it will be done through treachery.
