| Description |
While each of Shakespeare's comedies establishes a governing moral order during its first act that serves as a foundation upon which the play's conflict develops and as the basis for the eventual resolution of that conflict, a large group of the comedies is troubled by a basic conflict between this governing order and the presence of a subversive fatalist and/or nihilistic voice. Fatalism and nihilism arise in these plays - either directly as philosophies the characters express, or implicitly in the development of the actions - and erode the foundation of the governing moral order. Fatalistic beliefs serve as a springboard to outright nihilism, which works to destroy any sense of morality and emphasizes the triviality of human existence. In The Merchant of Venice, The Winter's Tale, All's Well That Ends Well, and Love's Labor's Lost, the subversive effects of the nihilistic voice are not carried to their full potential and succeed only in inhibiting the development of the dominant moral order and in casting varying degrees of doubt on the play's conclusions. However, in The Tempest, As You Like It, and Measure for Measure, the conflict is so intense that it becomes foregrounded, significantly altering the play's development and completely undermining its conclusions. Overall, fatalism and nihilism do not eradicate all sense of morality in Shakespeare's comedies. They do, however, undermine the foundations of the moral order, forcing one to question its validity. Their implications are never fully examined, but nihilism and fatalism tug persistently at the mind, suggesting that human nature is simply incompatible with absolute standards and ideal states. |
