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Things seem not only to happen without reason, but bad things seem to just keep happening for their own sake. The constant sinking of the various armies is an example of a sequence of events that seems to happen haphazardly. The lives of the nobles seem to be directed by an equally blind and destructive fate, where none can get ahead. John thinks his hold on the throne will be strengthened if he kills Arthur, but when the opposite happens and he finds Arthur is still alive, he tries to reverse his decision. By that time, though, Arthur is dead, having perished in an accident. Earlier in the play, Philip tries to make a deal with England through marriage, but Pandolf threatens excommunication for his efforts. And later, the English nobles turn against John, only to find the other side just as hostile, so they return to John. These are just a few examples of how the events of the play underscore a degree of randomness in the unfolding of history. Kings and their nobles try definitively to influence the outcome of events, but each event comes to just be a small episode in a set of bad circumstances.
In the Bastard’s case, John rules that the law says he inherits his father’s property even if he is not legitimate and even if his father didn’t will it. Therefore, the law is superior to the wills of fathers. Yet John holds the throne because Richard the Lionhearted willed it and in spite of the fact that the law would say Arthur should be king. Therefore, if the law is primary to the wills of fathers, then he is not the legitimate ruler. Even so, he holds the throne because he has domestic supporters. Meanwhile, the Bastard gives up his inheritance, preferring instead the social cache of being known as the bastard son of Richard the Lionhearted. The surprising suggestion on both counts seems to be that illegitimacy can give rights and powers.
Constance and Eleanor seem to exist only as the proxies of the struggle between their sons Arthur and John. Both die shortly after Arthur is captured, and without their mothers to urge them on, the sons seem to get weaker and more foolish. Blanche appears briefly to marry Louis and bemoan her forced decision between husband and family, but her words have no effect on the playing out of politics. By contrast, Eleanor and Constance exert a rhetorical force that is palpable, even if it doesn’t necessarily sway the events of history. Taken together, these women have a very specific and limited role within the larger issues of the play: namely, royal legitimacy and war. Meanwhile, Lady Faulconbridge, whose illegitimate son inherits her husband’s possessions, serves as a reminder of the role women play within the question of inheritance. Adultery was the greatest threat to questions of inheritance in a patriarchal system, and the ambiguity of her early testimony regarding the births of her two sons produces an anxiety that pervades the rest of the play.
