I've been thinking about the ways in which fidelity is maintained and broken in both this week's plays and the others we have read. In Philaster, Arethusa struggles to make herself believed, as does Bellario - both essentially insisting on their fidelity. In A King and No King we have Tigranes falling in love with Panthea but then rededicating himself to Spaconia. Is there a consistent view of fidelity and its value that is being portrayed here? Is there a difference in value between sexual fidelity (never physically being with another) and "romantic" fidelity ("it didn't mean anything - I don't love her"). Obviously, fidelity is a prominent plot device in the comedies as well - is it the genre that determines the acceptability of sexual/romantic betrayal - the source of humor in comedies and the source of, well, tragedy in tragedies? If so, what are we to make of it in tragicomedy?
The other issue, closely tied with this, that I was wondering about in Philaster is the idea of credibility. As I mentioned above, Arethusa and Bellario make such impassioned pleas about their innocence, and it struck me as I was reading what an intense case of "he said, she said" this would be if Philaster ever came right out and explained how he knew what he thought he knew (or did I miss that flipping that small print upside down and back over and over?). What are we to make of the way in which integrity is questioned in this play and the ways it isn't (there are no suggestions of veiled inspections by woman jurors)?
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