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Brothels
Although none of the action in Measure for Measure takes place in a brothel, the characters in the play talk frequently about brothels. Mistress Overdone and Pompey even operate one. But despite not appearing directly, the brothels are the play’s chief symbol for the rampant criminality of Vienna. As we learn in the early scenes, the brothel business is thriving not just in the city, but also in the suburbs. There is no shortage of clientele. It therefore causes some dismay when Angelo issues an executive order to close all existing brothels—an action that supports his renewed enforcement of the law against fornication. But though Angelo closes the brothels, it’s clear that fornication won’t stop because of their closure. Pompey makes this point when he tries to comfort an agitated Mistress Overdone: “Come, fear not you. Good counselors lack no clients. Though you change your place, you need not change your trade” (1.2.102–104). In other words, “good counselors” will always find a way to satisfy their desires, no matter the law. Pompey’s claim may be interpreted as a further sign of Vienna’s iniquity. From another perspective, however, it also reflects that sexual desire is a natural part of the human condition.
The Prison, the Convent, and the “Moated Grange”
Each of these three spaces symbolize restriction and arrested freedom. The prison is the most obvious symbol of restriction, as it is a place whose entire function is to detain individuals who have been accused or convicted of committing a crime. Several characters in the play end up in prison, and most notable among them is Claudio, who is detained until his execution may be carried out. Another symbolic space of restriction is the convent. In early modern England, the convent was a place that some women freely chose, but which was also often a repository for women who refused to marry or who were otherwise deemed “wayward.” Isabella freely chooses to pledge vows to become a nun, though it’s notable that she does so out of an explicit desire for restriction. Indeed, she “wish[es] a more strict restraint / Upon the sisterhood” than the convent conventionally dictates (1.4.5–5). Less desiring of restriction is Mariana, who has lived a sequestered life ever since Angelo so dishonorably broke off their engagement. As the Duke notes, she resides now in a “moated grange” (3.1.291). That is, she’s kept in some out-of-the-way place where she’s been all but forgotten.
The Monk’s Cowl
After the Duke deputizes his authority to Angelo, he doesn’t leave Vienna, but instead dons a monk’s cowl and so adopts the persona of “Friar Lodowick.” The monk’s cowl is thus both a disguise and a broader symbol for veiled appearances. There are many instances of veiling and unveiling in the play. The Duke is, again, the most obvious example, having donned a cowl that Lucio will eventually tear from him and reveal the real man beneath. Likewise, Mariana appears veiled before Angelo on two occasions: the first time she’s veiled by night, and the second time she’s shrouded by a literal veil that she promises not to lift until her husband, Angelo, asks her to. Even Claudio appears veiled in the play’s final scene, awaiting the proper moment when he will be revealed to Isabella. As these examples of veiling and unveiling indicate, the trope of deceptive appearances plays a significant role in Measure for Measure. Lucio draws explicit attention to this trope in the final scene, when he warns Escalus not to trust Friar Lodowick. In Latin he declares, “Cucullus non facit monachum” (5.1.300), which means, “A cowl does not make the monk.” In other words, appearances can be deceiving.
