Volpone himself is perhaps the most corrupt character in the play, but his almost mischievous outlook on life is juxtaposed to the other character’s more depraved corruption. His vitality is obvious and disturbingly attractive to the audience. Although the villain of the play, Volpone is much more likable that the three legacy hunters; Corvino, Corbaccio and Voltore are no worse than Volpone but he is much more open and frank about his motives. Jonson conveys this vigour by giving his speeches the most vivid imagery and best poetry of the play. A superb example of his frankness is shown immediately in the opening scene with Mosca, in which he mischievously reveals his plans with the metaphor:
“Letting the cherry knock against their lips,
And draw it by their mouths and back again.”
We also see his predilection for hyperbole while feigning illness,
“I feel me going-uh!uh!uh!uh!
I am sailing to my port-uh!uh!uh!uh!
And I am glad I am so near my haven.”
Volpone enjoys the opportunity to perform and we later see how he leaps at the chance to disguise himself as a mountebank. This predilection for disguise has good and bad connotations; on one hand we never see the real Volpone and this impacts on our ability to trust him but it also shows his boundless energy, wit intelligence and imagination, all very attractive qualities for a “villain.”
We learn from Mosca that Volpone is a man who “know[s] the use of riches” His description of “Canadian wines” and “sumptuous hangings” imply that he is a hedonist who is prepared to enjoy his wealth. We see how he enjoys the thrill of the chase, he glories
“More in the cunning purchase of my wealth
Than in the glad possession,”
But never takes advantage of “soft prodigals.” As L.C Knights has commented Volpone gets pleasure not only from the acquisition of his gold but also from “stimulating others to desire it.”
We almost feel that the scam involving the three suitors is justified when we see how blatantly duplicitous they are. The first of the three, Voltore is perhaps the least deplorable. He shows no open desire for Volpone’s death and seems to be genuinely concerned for his health:
“…would to heaven
I could as well give health to you as that plate.”
However his constant questioning of Mosca reveal his sole interest in Volpone: his money.
The second suitor, Corbaccio, provides Jonson with the opportunity for a darkly comic exchange with Mosca. The idea of this decrepit “wretch” outliving Volpone is absurd and his age is completely at odds with his almost child-like glee upon hearing of Volpone’s worsening symptoms: “That’s well.” Corbaccio’s lack of hearing combined with Mosca’s quick wit make this scene visually very comic. Slightly more sinister than Voltore, Corbaccio is willing to poison Volpone and disinherit his own son for money.
The third suitor, Corvino, turns out to be the most depraved character in the play; he is prepared to prostitute his own wife to secure his position as Volpone’s heir. While he seems to have no problem with Mosca murdering Volpone, he does not want to be implicated in his death. He is prepared to risk his reputation for money
“Honour? Tut, a breath;
There’s no such thing in nature.”
Through his use of asides, Jonson creates an intimacy between the audience and Volpone, such as the comic exchange with Corbaccio:
“Ay, his last sleep, if he would take it.”
We also see this technique used again during the visit of Lady Would-Be:
“Some power, some fate, some fortune rescue me!”
In this case, the aside succeeds in helping the audience to sympathise with Volpone’s predicament; he has feigned ill and is now trapped by Lady Would-Be’s “torrent” of conversation.
However we have to feel some sense of moral indignation at Volpone’s corruption. His worship of his gold, for example, verges on blasphemy, and we see throughout the play his belief that everything has a monetary value and can be purchased, (we have to bear in mind that this would have been more shocking to a Jacobean audience than it is to us.) This is blatantly obvious in Mosca’s description of Celia; he knows exactly what to say to tempt Volpone:
“Bright as your gold!and lovely as your gold!”
This belief is also obvious in Corvino’s attempt to prostitute his wife, it almost as if Volpone is “buying” her love. The fact that he is prepared to rape Celia shows a more wicked side to his character, but, even at a time when we should despise Volpone, Jonson adds some comedy to the dialogue to make sure we do the exact opposite:
“I do degenerate and abuse my nation.”
Jonson intended the Volpone’s obvious vitality and energy to contrast starkly with the characters of Bonario and Celia. The only two who can be given the conventional label of “good” or ”virtuous” are presented as weak and placid. They are deliberately two-dimensional and Jonson intentionally keeps us at a distance from them so that we can never wholly identify with them. Celia’s melodramatic vows of constancy and extensive use of religious language, “O God and his good angels!” and Bonario’s archaic heroic language “Free the forced lady, or thou diest impostor,” seem to be too conformist and bland in the context of the play, and only serves to enforce our ambivalence towards them.
I feel that Jonson intended Volpone’s irresistible charm and boundless energy to serve as a warning to us. There is an aura of the tragic hero about him; An Italian magnifico, that is, a character of high social standing, who seems driven in a manner reminiscent of tragic heroes. Just as Macbeth wanted more, so too does Volpone: he wants more wealth, he wants Celia and he wants to enjoy the thrill of swindling the legacy hunters. Volpone was always intended for a didactic purpose, that avarice only leads to a regression in moral values. We should feel uneasy about Volpone’s actions but instead we are amused and intrigued by them, highlighting Jonson’s point that maybe our quest for complete satisfaction has corrupted us. Essentially he is the most corrupt character in the play, but, in comparison with the other immoral, vice-ridden characters Volpone is a charismatic figure; his lust for life and joie de vivre charm the audience and we can forgive him his obvious faults and failings.
