Arden of Faversham

Regina Battle

Professor Hollis

ENG 350

February 28,2019

Title: Subtitle

The concept of being selfish in “Arden of Faversham” is the reason behind the destruction of Arden and Alice. When Arden inherits land through the king, he allows this power to get to his head, so much so that he begins mistreating the merchants on his estate, ignoring his wife and becoming a bad husband. Being in a loveless and miserable marriage, additionally, is the reason behind Alice’s deceitful and murderous behavior causing those around her to get dragged into her web of lies, which leads to the demise of both characters. Arden is so blinded by climbing up the social ladder that he doesn’t even realize her ploys.

At the beginning of the play, Arden receives a letter indicating that he is now the landlord of a huge portion of land, but his happiness is short-lived when it’s revealed that Alice has been receiving letters of her own from another man, “Love-letters pass‘twixt Mosby and my wife and they have privy meetings in town” (5). Now that the idea of infidelity is in Arden’s mind and reassuring himself that he is a better rank of hierarchy than Mosby, he begins ranting to Franklin about who he is: “I am by birth a gentleman of blood” (6). And he refers to Mosby as a “peasant.” It doesn’t entirely bother Arden that his wife is cheating. It’s who the guy is that’s in love with her that infuriates Arden. He belittles Mosby, insults him and even attacks Mosby to his face, stating that a man like Mosby would never be worthy of marrying someone of Alice’s social rank: “…She’s no companion for so base a groom” (13). Arden also downgrades Mosby’s rung on the social ladder, calling him a “goodman botcher,’tis to you I speak” (13). It should be