Sadism in Ben Jonson’s “Volpone”
Md. Nazmul Huda1, Mohammad Tajuddin2
1Md. Nazmul Huda, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English Language and Literature, International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh.
2Mohammad Tajuddin, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English Language and Literature, International Islamic University Chittagong. Bangladesh.
Manuscript Received on February 02, 2015. | Revised Manuscript Received on February 08, 2015. | Manuscript published on February 15, 2015. | PP: 5-10 | Volume-1 Issue-5, February 2015.
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Man is the worst enemy to none but himself. He mostly likes other human beings to suffer, pine and languish. This has universally been recognized as the root cause of human sufferings in the history of civilization. This paper attempts to recommend a malice-free good society based on mutual understanding and esteem by stimulating the conscience of all concerned about how detrimental and fatal it may be to derive amusement in others’ pain. In Ben Jonson’s Volpone , the protagonist, Volpone, a Venetian clarissimo finds pleasure in tyrannizing his greedy, legacy-hunting neighbours, Voltore, Corbaccio, Corvino and others, which is a universal theme in literature as well as human society. While pursuing material gains like social positions, power, money and elements of luxury, a human being generally does not hesitate to usurp his fellow human beings’ interests and rights although he lives in the society with a pretentious smiling face and feigning courtesy with those living around him. This corresponds to Volpone’s disguise. Volpone is a typical figure perpetrating all sorts of mischieves in which Mosca, his parasite, works as a key accomplice. Eventually Volpone, Mosca and the greedy neighbours are brought home to rigorous punishment. It proves that sins never go unpunished. This article attempts to rouse awareness regarding sin and its ultimate consequences in the minds of the readers and may largely contribute to our social well-being.
Keywords: Human avarice, sadism, enjoyment of torment, and well-being of human society.