At the end of Act III, the Beggar tells us, "Had the play remained, as I at first intended, it would have carried a most excellent moral. 'Twould have shown that the lower sort of people have their vices in a degree as well as the rich, and that they are punished for them." In order to "comply with the taste of the town" however, he agrees to forgo this moral and give the play a different ending than he had planned.
To prepare to wrap up our analysis of The Beggar's Opera, there are several related questions you can answer (in any part or combination you choose) about this ending (and you can as always offer a kind and collegial alternative to a classmate's response):
1. Would the Beggar's proposed ending have indeed portrayed the moral he outlines in the lines I quoted above?
2. What alternative moral does the ending as written convey?
3. How does the moral of the play explain the continuing popularity of this play?
4. What is Gay trying to say?
5. Is there a moral to this play?
Offer some text in support of your claims.
Deadline: Friday (10/30), start of class.
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3 comments:
I think the ending as written, in conveniently sweeping everything the play's built up to under the rug at the last second, actually ends up being more tragic than the original. If Macheath were hanged he'd have met his proper fate, and all of his wives (I think they were his wives at one point? or at least had his kids) would have at least had the satisfaction of knowing he'd been justly served.
But Gay expects much less of his audience. "The catastrophe is manifestly wrong, for an opera must end happily" (2764), says the Player. The idea is that the audience, represented by the Player, has either 1) missed the satire directed at them or 2) understood it and nonetheless prefer the 'happier' ending as a means to ignore that version's glaring implications and carry on complacently.
"All this we must do", says the Player, "to comply with the taste of the town" (2764), after which the Beggar explains what the story was truly about: "'Twould have shown that the lower sort of people have their vices in a degree as well as the rich..." (2764). That "most excellent moral" (2764), however, is lost in the ending as written, by the desires of the audience that the play is actually poking fun at.
I agree with TKim, that with the alternative ending, Gay is just sweeping the issues that he has been building up throughout the play under the rug. If he had kept the original ending, then he would have portrayed the moral he said he intended. By hanging Macheath he would be showing that there are consequences for you actions/vices. "What-four wives more! This is too much. Here-tell the sheriff's officer I am ready" (p. 2764). Even Macheath knew he had to be punished.
The alternative ending conveys the message that even if you do something that is wrong and unmoral, that you'll be reprieved. And you will have a second chance to make everything right again. "And (if I may without offense) for this time, I take Polly for mine. And for life, you slut, for we were really married" (p. 2764).
I agree with both of the above comments that indeed this sort of rapid disregard in the ending of the opera would have to be pointing towards a dispelling of the reality that people might have been enraptured by throughout the play.
The Beggar notes "Your objection, Sir, is very just; and is easily removed. For you must allow, that in this kind of drama, tis no matter how absurdly things are brought about...had the play remained...it would have carried a most excellent moral" (2764)
This seems to echo heavily with Fantomina with respects to indulging viewers and readers with a fantastical journey into both lower and upper class relations, ultimately slamming reality with the execution of Macheath and ending any sort of moral and alternative suggestions Gay uses. Like in Fantomina, the status quo and the ultimate reality trumps that of any sort of real morally groundbreaking play and allows viewers in the end to disconnect with "The Beggar's Opera" and realize that ultimately it is a drama -- so it is meant to be absurd.
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