Main Characters

Helena — the daughter of a great doctor, now the ward of the Countess of Rosillion; she loves the Countess's son, Bertram, though he does not return her affections

Bertram — the Count of Rossillion; handsome and well-liked, he is an excellent soldier, but a jerk in his relationship with Helena, whom he marries unwillingly and then abandons

Countess of Rossillion — Bertram's mother and Helena's guardian

King of France — deathly ill when the play begins, he is miraculously cured by Helena, who uses one of her father's medicines; as a reward for saving his life, he makes Bertram marry Helena

Parolles — a liar and a braggart

Lafew — an old French nobleman

Dumaine, First Lord — a genial French nobleman

Dumaine, Second Lord — the First Lord Dumaine's brother

Diana — a young Florentine Bertram tries to seduce; she helps Helena trick Bertram

Widow — Diana's mother

Mariana — a woman of Florence

Duke of Florence — the ruler of Florence

Clown — an old servant of the Countess who serves as a messenger

Steward — another servant of the Countess

Introduction

The earliest copy of All's Well That Ends Well appears in the Folio of 1623, seven years after Shakespeare died. Some critics date it from 1598 or earlier and associate it with a “lost play” called Love's Labour's Won, which is listed in a 1598 catalogue of Shakespeare's plays. Some critics think that All's Well That Ends Well is a reworked version that Shakespeare published at a later date. The most common dating puts it between 1601 and 1606.

The source of the story is Boccaccio's Decameron, a classic of early Renaissance literature, written between 1348 and 1358. The Decameron (essentially a short-story collection with a framework somewhat like Canterbury Tales or 1001 Arabian Nights), was translated into English in the mid-sixteenth century by William Painter as The Palace of Pleasure, and it was this version that Shakespeare probably drew upon.

Shakespeare, of course, altered and reshaped the original story, adding characters such as Lafew, the Countess, and Parolles, but kept the basic elements — the bed trick and the war in Florence.

The Play

When his father dies, Bertram becomes Count of Rosillion. Helena is the orphaned daughter of a great doctor and has lived in the Rosillion household under the guardianship of Bertram's mother, the Countess.

Helena follows Bertram to Paris, where the King of France has been taken deathly ill. Helena bears one of her father's prescriptions and when she cures the King, in gratitude he tells her she can have her pick of the bachelors at his court. Over the years, Helena has developed a secret love for Bertram. Now she can act on this love.

She picks Bertram, who is distressed by the prospect, feeling that Helena is beneath him. Under protest, Bertram agrees to the marriage. Helena returns to Rosillion and the Countess, at first assuming that Bertram will be along directly. Bertram, however, slips off to fight in Tuscany with his cowardly friend, Parolles.

When it becomes apparent that Bertram is not returning home, Bertram sends word that Helena can't call him husband until she wears his ring (which he always wears) and bears his child. This is not a simple task considering that Bertram is in Italy and has no intention of ever sleeping with her.

Helena now sets out for Florence. She winds up lodging with a widow whose daughter Diana, ironically, is the object of Bertram's affections. With Diana's help, Helena designs a trap for Bertram.

Diana makes Bertram give her his ring before they share a bed. Helena then takes Diana's place in the dark. She exchanges rings with him, giving him one that the King had given her for Bertram.

She next spreads a rumor that she has died, and Bertram figures that he is in the clear. Back in France, the King recognizes the ring Bertram bears as the one he gave Helena. When Bertram is caught in a series of lies, the King has him arrested (supposing that Bertram has murdered her). Diana and her widowed mother arrive demanding justice, and when Helena finally turns up bearing Bertram's ring, carrying his child, and revealing the truth to all, Bertram repents the error of his ways and swears his love for Helena.

Commentary

All's Well That Ends Well is often described as a problem play, distinguished from the earlier, more cheerful comedies by a sophisticated bitterness toward human relations. These plays' happy endings are really nothing of the sort. It's hard for a modern audience to imagine Bertram and Helena enjoying a happy marriage.

For a play about love, All's Well That Ends Well is remarkably cynical. Helena's low opinion of men seems well founded. The successful central deception is the bedroom switch that enables Helena to become pregnant by Bertram, who had avoided marrying her, to trick him into living with her. It works, Shakespeare suggests, because in the dark all women look alike to men.

For modern audiences, the idea of great women picking men who are unworthy of them is disquieting. It's particularly tough with All's Well That Ends Well because Bertram turns out to be such a jerk. He abandons Helena, tries to seduce an innocent woman, and only repents because he has no choice. It's either marriage or jail.

The resourceful Helena, meanwhile, while loved by everyone (except Bertram), also gives us pause for thought. She seems to be a classic example of “why good women make bad choices.” Why does she so relentlessly pursue a man who is so demonstratively unworthy of her? Nothing stands in Helena's way as she “gets her man.” While we may admire her, by the time she's triumphant, our opinion of her good taste is all but gone.

Famous Lines

“All the learned and authentic fellows” (Act II, Scene III).

“A young man married is a man that's marr'd” (Act II, Scene III).

“Praising what is lost makes the remembrance dear” (Act V, Scene III).