THE KING’S MAN 239
(2.4.159–167). Having been
indecently propositioned by Angelo,
Isabella retorts: “I will proclaim
thee, Angelo; look for’t. / Sign me a
present pardon for my brother, / Or
with an outstretched throat I’ll tell
the world aloud / What man thou
art” (2.4.151–154). However, she is
in a vulnerable position—Angelo
is a powerful man and she has no
witnesses on whom to draw.
Power corrupts
Angelo’s response is chilling.
He replies: “Who will believe
thee, Isabel? / My unsoiled name,
th’austereness of my life, / My
vouch against you, and my place
i’th’state, / Will so your accusation
overweigh” (2.4.154–157). Angelo
calculates that his power makes
Isabella powerless. She knows
that she is in the right, but to
whom should she complain?
Isabella is trapped. In the story
from which Shakespeare borrowed
for his play, the Isabella character
does, in fact, sleep with the deputy,
but Shakespeare’s incarnation says
“Then Isabel live chaste, and
brother die” (2.4.184). Shakespeare
provides her a way out of this
situation through the comic device
of the “bedtrick,” by which Angelo
sleeps with his ex-fiancée,
believing it to be Isabella.
Having escaped Angelo’s
bed, Isabella now finds herself
the subject of the Duke’s desires
when he recovers power. The
Duke offers her his hand in
marriage on two separate
occasions at the close of the play:
“Dear Isabel, / I have a motion much
imports your good, / Whereto, if
you’ll a willing ear incline, / What’s
mine is yours, and what is yours is
mine” (5.1.533–536). There is no
response from Isabella. ■Problem play
Shakespeare does not have
Isabella respond to the Duke.
Is it to be assumed that
Isabella is speechless and
overcome with joy at the
prospect of marrying this
high ranking official, who
has returned to Vienna and
exercised his authority by
helping to reveal Angelo’s
abuse of power? Or does
Isabella’s silence convey her
distrust of men? Her brother
hoped that she would lose
her virginity to save his life;
Angelo made her the focus of
his lust; and the Duke allowed
her to grieve over her brother’s
death when he knew him still
to be alive. Opinion remains
divided over whether Isabella
should or should not take the
Duke’s hand at the close; her
silence will always invite
various interpretations.
Measure for Measure is
often referred to today as
being one of Shakespeare’s
“problem plays.” Although
the play ends with the
prospect of three marriages,
the atmosphere of the final
scene, and the play in general,
is far from buoyant and
uplifting. This a dark comedy,
shaped by Shakespeare to
shock rather than enchant.After reuniting Isabella
(Naomi Frederick) with her
brother, Vincentio (Simon
McBurney, who also directed this
2005 production) asks for her hand:
“Say you will be mine” (5.1.491).