In previous chapters, I have examined how the dwarf as a representation embodies the notion of phallic empowerment on one hand, and death and castration on the other. The androgyne and the eunuch are two figures that are interconnected: both signify the importance of folly and castration in their ways. Moreover, while the parasite may think that he is thriving on his stage, he may slip into being one of Volpone's bastards. Therefore, we should understand Jonson's comedies from two perspectives simultaneously: while it is true that the bastards represent a critical attitude of Jonson towards the city, the dramatist recognises their comic power. Moreover, if we see these figures together, we notice how they can be easily slipped into one another, meaning that a person's subjectivity in the city is built upon a series of misrecognitions, which is what the comedy is based upon. Even though there is ‘nothing’ beneath a person's identity, the creation and the transformation on the surface is ‘everything’ that he or she can have. As a continuation of the discussion, this chapter examines how the comedy of bastardy can be seen in The Alchemist and Bartholomew Fair. While Jonson makes fun of the city subjects, and suggests that to be possessed is to be melancholic, to be a fool, for him, is a liberation. The city helps to create and construct different identities.

This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on The Alchemist, arguing that while the critique of the city is still present, there seems to be a stronger indulgence in its logic. I am going to suggest that the representations and implications of Volpone's bastards can be found in The Alchemist, showing how alchemy becomes the metaphor of their comic logic: while on the one hand it is just a stone and a dead object, on the other hand, it is the gold with its magnificence. I shall argue for the importance of Lovewit's absence in most parts of the play, and his indulgence when he eventually comes back. Compared with Volpone, Lovewit seems to be more than willing to follow the plots of his servant, which may be the will of the audience members, a heterogeneous crowd that cannot be clearly defined.