The Changeling Essay Questions

Who is the protagonist of the play?

The Changeling is a unique play for many reasons, one of which is that there is no discernible protagonist featured in the performance: Beatrice-Joanna and DeFlores conspire to kill Alonzo, Alsemero is too obsessed with women's virginity, the governor is ignorant of his daughter's scheming, and most other characters are relatively minor ones in comparison. As such, the play presents a portrait of characters who are, generally speaking, more antagonistic than anything else, and asks the audience to question where these antagonistic motivations derive.

How does the relationship between Beatrice-Joanna and DeFlores change over the course of the play?

One of the play's biggest surprises is the relationship between Beatrice-Joanna and her father's servant, DeFlores. At the beginning of the play, Beatrice-Joanna makes every effort to insult DeFlores for his ugly appearance and meek personality. She treats him like an animal and expresses her unparalleled disgust for him any chance she can get. However, once DeFlores murders Alonzo, Beatrice-Joanna begins to see DeFlores as strong and capable in his service to her. It is his devotion that attracts her to him, and the two begin a sexual relationship that – while she is reluctant at first – Beatrice-Joanna sees as part of their shared fate.

What is the moral of the madhouse subplot?

The subplot of The Changeling takes place in a madhouse, governed by Alibius and his assistant, Lollio. Alibius is convinced that men are attempting to seduce his young wife, Isabella, so he locks her away in her quarters only to later discover that alleged "mad" men were really nobles from the palace who came to flirt with Isabella. While the subplot of the play is a comic one that runs in stark contrast to the otherwise tragic register, it provides commentary on the male impulse to control women's bodies: at the end of the play, Alibius vows to be a better, more trusting husband because he recognizes the difference between his virtuous wife Isabella and someone like Beatrice-Joanna.

Who are some of the major casualties of the play?

There are plenty of undeserved deaths in The Changeling, most notably that of Alonzo and Diaphanta. Both of these characters can be considered casualties in the broader scheming of DeFlores and Beatrice-Joanna, even though Beatrice-Joanna never intended for Diaphanta to die. Alonzo is murdered simply for being engaged to Beatrice-Joanna, and Diaphanta is murdered because DeFlores thinks Beatrice-Joanna is threatened by her. Once Diaphanta is murdered, the play approaches a point of no return: the violence and bloodshed invited by Beatrice-Joanna and DeFlores has reached a new, uncontrollable height, and their own demise is imminent.

What is the significance of the play's title?

A "changeling" refers to children from English folklore who are given to human parents after their real children are abducted and raised by fairies. The changeling children are meant to deceive and distract the parents into thinking it is their real child. Over time, this term evolved to connote substitutions more generally, and in the play there are a number of "changeling" moments at work – Diaphanta sleeping with Alsemero instead of Beatrice-Joanna, the disguises of the madmen, and even the substitution of Alsemero for Alonzo and finally DeFlores for Alsemero.