Morality and Religion in A King and No King and Philaster

In Beaumont and Fletcher’s “A King and No King,” it seems that Arbaces blames everyone but himself for his predicament. He transfers an abhorrence of himself onto other characters: when Bessus agrees to help him, Arbaces responds “Hast thou no greater sense of such a sin? Thou art too wicked for my company…” (327). Later, Arbaces blames his father for encouraging his relationship with his sister. Why does Arbaces try to blame everyone but himself? What does this say about his moral character, and the picture that Beaumont and Fletcher create in relation to morality? How are agency, sin, and responsibility intertwined? Are we to believe that Arbaces lacks agency, and thus his sin is reduced? Or, do we place the responsibility of sin within Arbaces himself?

In “Philaster,” the characters are constantly calling on and referring to ‘the gods.’ For example Arethusa says “In seeking how I came thus: ‘tis the gods, the gods that make me so…” (166). Later, Philaster thinks he heard Arethusa pray for “the gods to guard me” (183). ‘The gods’ are invoked throughout the play, rather than the Christian God. Why do the characters refer to a more pagan notion of multiple gods rather than the one Christian God? Does their type of paganism challenge traditional notions of religion? Were Beaumont and Fletcher commenting on the immorality of the characters by their reference to Greek-like gods? And/or, were Beaumont and Fletcher rejecting traditional notions of morality through the characters’ references?