Parallel Characters in Philaster and A King and No King

Bessus and Arbaces

Nate brought up the idea of the “divine right of kings” and I was thinking more about this idea of essential nature as it is represented in A King and No King. Is there a parallel between Bessus and Arbaces, considering they both deal with conflicts of essential selfhood? Both men seem to boast and brag about their exploits and both men have some sort of exaggerated or glorified place in society that we find is not correct. In Act 3 scene 2, we find that Bessus has been challenged to a great number of duels upon returning from Armenia. Bacurius has a quarrel with him based on the fact that Bessus, who is essentially a coward, is now hailed as a returning hero. Bessus admits and relishes in his cowardice, stating that “a base spirit has this vantage of a brave one; it keeps always at a stay, nothing brings it down, not beating” (p. 325). The conflict arises from Bessus’ “true nature” as a coward and his newly formulated reputation for heroism. Is this like Arbaces, who occupies the role of triumphant king but (as we later find out) is not a king and therefore courageousness is not in his essential nature? Are Arbaces and Bessus the tragic and comic versions of the same sort of character, and what do we make of how each character ends up in the play?

Megra and Arethusa

I’m interested in the character of Megra as she functions in Philaster. She embodies the role of a whorish lady of the court, and in the very first scene Dion says that she would “lie with a whole army…she loves to try the several constitutions of men’s bodies” (p. 162). In Act 2 scene 2, she and Pharamond arrange a rendezvous and Megra is eager to meet with him—and as Galatea says of their plans, “Your prince, brave Pharamond, was so hot on’t!” (p. 170). When Megra is caught with Pharamond, she is called “a troubled sea of lust…ripe mine of all diseases” (p. 173).

Megra is a deceitful character, lying about Arethusa’s affair with Bellario, and yet she is unapologetic for her actions. Of her sexual desire, she says that she is “not the first / That nature taught to seek a fellow forth; / Can shame remain perpetually in me, / And not in others?” (p. 192). Pharamond, who is also guilty of lust, is allowed return to Spain, and yet Megra “is seized” (p. 193) and is forced out of her life at court. I’m not sure I understand how she functions in the play. Is she a comic / satirical figure—a lusty court lady who lives to sleep with many men? Does the act of purging her from court offer a satisfying conclusion to the play? Are her machinations that different from Arethusa’s in Act 2 scenes 3 and 4, when Arethusa ensures that the King find out about Megra’s meeting with Pharamond?