Shakespeare Issue Paper

All Isn’t Always Well That Ends Well

In All’s Well That Ends Well, Shakespeare derives the play’s title from Helena’s statement of its central theme; “All’s well that ends well; still the fine’s the crown. Whate’er the course, the end is the renown” (4.4.35-36). This statement presents an insightful issue of ethics. Although his characters condone the belief that the ‘end justifies the means,’ Shakespeare clearly mocks this human folly through the true nature of the ‘end’ with which each character is provided.
Helena, as the heroine, especially exemplifies this paradox. She employs the bed trick to secretly have a child by her husband, Bertram. Because she is married to Bertram, Helena’s actions are not technically immoral. Her deceit, however, presents them as ethically questionable. She feels justified because in her mind, ‘all ends well;’ she is at last with the man she loves. Bertram, however, expresses “I’ll love her dearly” only on condition that Helena saves his reputation by clearing his name (5.3.316). The means by which Helena and Bertram each arrive at the end of the play indicate that their marriage is sealed by deceit. The theme’s statement of their future as a “happy ending” can thus be nothing short of blatant mockery, because the end is not as “well” as the characters believe.
Diana, who aids in the bed trick, also feels that a satisfactory end result justifies the means by which it was obtained. After agreeing to meet Bertram, where she and Helena will switch places, Diana expresses to the audience, “in this disguise, I think’t no sin, to cozen him that would unjustly win” (4.2.35). Her role in Helena’s plan is morally questionable, as she finds herself pretending to compromise her virtue and honor in order to save them. Through this particular example, Shakespeare creates a moral puzzle as Diana has no apparent alternative than using deceit to protect herself. Bertram’s status and unyielding persistence to obtain what he wants leaves Diana little choice in her course of action. Things for her, however, do end well as she maintains her honor and virtue, despite the deceit involved.
In one of the lighter scenes of the play, the clown converses with the Countess and claims to have an answer that will readily satisfy any question. The generalization he makes mocks the idea that the end justifies the means for everyone. He declares, “I have an answer will serve all men;” (2.213-14). In this context, the clown is merely conversing in jest as it is his character to do so; however, comedy is often rooted in truth. Placing his boast in context of the theme then, we find the statement that “all’s well that ends well” regardless of how the end result is obtained, a mockery of its role as a universal truth that “serves all men.” Shakespeare clearly demonstrates this through the contrast in the consequences that follow the allied actions of Helena and Diana. As mentioned previously, Helena and Diana find themselves on the same, deceitful course to obtain their respective ends. Though they each believe all is well for them at the play’s conclusion, the reality of Helena’s ‘happiness’ versus Diana’s shows that the end does not necessarily justify the means for everyone.
It is also important to look at the situation from the perspective that Shakespeare’s minor characters are often given the role of expressing deeper meanings within their carefully constructed lines, such as Jaques in As You Like It and Costard in Love’s Labour’s Lost. In this play, many of the minor characters, such as the countess, king, and servants, express that a satisfactory end justifies any course taken to obtain it. In a witty verbal exchange between Lafew and the clown, Lafew asserts, “a scar nobly got, or a noble scar, is a good liv’ry of honor” (4.5.100). This simple statement supports the theme as a belief of all the characters. In this particular example, significance resides in the honor associated with the scar rather than in how it was obtained. Similarly, the king expresses this belief in that he does not care whether Bertram and the other lords fight for the French or the Italians. Rather, he is only concerned that they discover experience in fighting. Yet another example lies in the Countess’s support for Helena’s decision to pursue Bertram, despite growing awareness of his despicable character. The characters’ flawed logic found in each of these examples demonstrates the play’s theme as a mockery and further perpetrates its irony.
Parolles provides a surprising yet critical parallel to Helena and Bertram in portraying the theme that the end justifies the means. When Bertram’s companions conspire to trick Parolles and display his true colors as a coward and a traitor, they also use deceit to ensnare the deceitful. The audience despises both Bertram and Parolles for their prideful, insincere, and undeserving natures. As a result, they feel the ethically questionable means by which each is brought to his respective end are fully justified. Though he does not love Helena, Bertram ends the play relatively well as he is able to maintain his reputation and honor. Never mind such an end was derived from a conscious decision to commit what he thought was adultery with Diana. Parolles, on the other hand, arrives at the play’s conclusion completely bereft of reputation. As these characters seem to have gotten what they deserve, the audience finds little reason to question whether the courses taken to arrive at such results are morally justifiable.
The king voices the characters’ opinion that “all yet seems well, and if it end so meet, the bitter past, more welcome is the sweet” (5.3.333-334); yet, Shakespeare’s readers can little deny that the play’s resolution is not so “well” as the characters believe. The play’s title as this theme surfaces all throughout its course in the lines of both the major and minor characters. Each views the end as all that matters, regardless of their actions leading up to such consequences. Differing consequences of the same course of action mock the idea that this theme is universal for all men; Diana, Helena, and Parolles were all involved in means of deceit, yet each ended with a completely different result. Many of the characters, such as Helena, express that all has ended well; yet the plays’ conclusion leaves a taste that is bitter sweet. The irony with which Shakespeare concludes his play mocks the characters’ belief that the end justifies the means.