# Dame Pliant — The Alchemist character guide

> Dame Pliant in The Alchemist by Ben Jonson.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0010-act-iii

## Snapshot

A wealthy, sheltered widow whose fortune makes her the prize in every schemer's game, though she herself would rather not be played.

## Who they are

Dame Pliant is a rich widow newly arrived in London under her brother Kastril's heavy-handed protection, and her inheritance makes her the target of suitors ranging from Face to a fabricated Spanish count. She is docile to the point of being bullied, yet her quiet protests — she 'shall never brook a Spaniard' — hint at a will that others keep overriding. Her passivity and her money together form the hinge on which the con men's marriage plots turn through the middle of the play.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_alchemist_se/characters/dame_pliant
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_alchemist_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_alchemist_se/characters