Troilus and Cressida

While in the previous section, Ulysses explained the rot in the Greek ranks, the second act illustrates this decay through the behavior of Ajax, Thersites, and Achilles, reflecting Disillusionment With Romantic and Heroic Ideals. In the Iliad, Ajax is a noble, mighty warrior, but in Shakespeare’s play, he appears a foul-mouthed and somewhat foolish character. The indecorous behavior of Ajax and Thersites is also a source of humor, but it functions as a reminder of the reality of a soldiers’ camp. Rather than a site of courage, the camp is filled with everyday squabbles and foul language. 

Thersites plays the part of a wise fool within the play. He may appear odd, but he reflects the ills of the play’s society and also provides a sharp commentary on those ills. Further, in the play’s context, a common character like Thersites is supposed to act indecorously, so it is the behavior of Ajax that is presented as more appalling. Thersites’s comment that Ajax is jealous of Achilles as Cerberus of Proserpine (Persephone) is an example of the text’s frequent allusions to Greco-Roman mythology and other sources. Shakespeare’s audience, very familiar with this mythology, would immediately get the contrast between the monstrous Cerberus and the ethereal Persephone.

Troilus and Achilles are set up as parallels, since both are warriors who are uninterested in fighting. While Troilus does not wish to fight because he pines for Cressida, Achilles is too content with Patroclus to fight. Ostensibly, the reason for Achilles’s lack of interest is a Trojan princess, but the repeated and derogatory references to Patroclus as Achilles’s paramour suggest that Patroclus is Achilles’s true lover. Much as Troilus and Cressida’s brief idyllic love cannot survive in cruel times, Achilles and Patroclus too are destined to part, illustrating the theme of The Pervasive Futility and Corruption of War. Love cannot survive in such bitter times; only lust, its weak proximation, thrives. 

Continuing the use of parallels, the structure of Act II mirrors that of Act I. Both acts contain three scenes, with the last scene of each furthering the plot in the Greek camp. This mirror structure gathers the play’s nihilistic themes in a coherent symmetry while suggesting that the characters are “mirrors” to each other, variations of the same type. Thus, Cressida mirrors Helen, as both women are identified with infidelity and promiscuity, while Pandarus plays the lecherous clown to Thersites’s truth-telling fool.

The scene in which Priam calls his sons to weigh in on whether Helen should be sent back illustrates many of the ambiguities and uncertainties that make Troilus and Cressida a problem play (See: Background). Troilus dismisses the return of Helen, as he is a romantic idealist at this point in the plot. Paris does not want Helen returned either. The views of these two characters are consistent with their portrayal so far. It is Hector who vacillates within the span of the scene, abandoning his pragmatic position that Helen be returned, to side with his brothers. Hector cannot give any clear reason for his volte-face—turnaround—and even admits that though he is relenting before Paris, ethically and legally Paris has committed an offence in abducting Helen. Paris’s decision to stick by Helen appears noble at this point; however, later he won’t extend the same courtesy to Cressida. This undermines Paris’s portrayal as a romantic hero, and shows him to have double standards. He is ready for a war to continue for the sake of Helen, but decides to send away Cressida for a single warrior.

The discussion about Helen’s return does not include Helen herself. In the play, both Helen and Cressida function as commodities, meant to be kept, taken, or exchanged. This echoes the motif of mercantilism in the play (See: Symbols & Motifs) while also reflecting societal attitudes towards women in Shakespeare’s time, as women were often regarded as the property of their lovers, husbands, and fathers. It is unclear if Helen simply eloped with Paris or if she was abducted against her will, which adds to the play’s ambiguity. 

The play’s problematic attitude towards women and femininity is also reflected in its language, with a lack of courage being seen as “womanish.” In the opening scene, Troilus compares himself to a woman for his refusal to participate in battle, while in Act II, the most insulting thing Ajax can call Thersites is “Mistress Thersites” (2.1.3), or a woman.