The Alchemist

The Alchemist, comedy in five acts by Ben Jonson, performed in 1610 and published in 1612. The play concerns the turmoil of deception that ensues when Lovewit leaves his London house in the care of his scheming servant, Face. With the aid of a fraudulent alchemist named Subtle and his companion, Dol Common, Face sets about dispensing spurious charms and services to a steady stream of dupes. These include the intemperate knight Sir Epicure Mammon, the pretentious Puritans Ananias and Tribulation Wholesome, the ambitious tobacconist Abel Drugger, the gamester law clerk Dapper, and the parvenu Kastril with his widowed sister, Pliant. The shrewd gambler Surly nearly exposes the sham by posing as a Spanish don seeking the hand of Pliant, but the gullible parties reject his accusations. When Lovewit reappears without warning, Subtle and Dol flee the scene, leaving Face to make peace by arranging the marriage of his master to the beautiful and wealthy Dame Pliant.