After reading · Section 16

Section 16Theseus Joins Palamon and Emily

Summary

After years have ended the general mourning, an Athenian council considers alliances and Theban obedience. Theseus summons Palamon and Emily and argues that the eternal “first mover” has established both cosmic order and a fixed duration for every created thing. Trees, stones, rivers, cities, kings, and pages must all pass away; wisdom therefore makes “a virtue of necessity” rather than rebelling against what cannot be escaped. He urges them to honour Arcite’s death at the height of his reputation instead of injuring themselves with endless grief.

Theseus then proposes turning two sorrows into one lasting joy: Emily should take the steadfast Palamon as husband. With the council’s support, Theseus joins Emily and the willing Palamon in marriage. Their marriage is celebrated with happiness and music. Palamon prospers, Emily loves him tenderly, and their life together is free of jealousy and anger; the tale closes by blessing the company.

Who’s who

• Theseus — duke of Athens, philosopher-orator, and arranger of the marriage.
• Palamon — Theban prince who has continued to serve Emily and now marries her.
• Emily — Theseus’s sister-in-law, who accepts Palamon at the council’s urging.
• Arcite — the dead knight whose honour and loss frame Theseus’s counsel.
• The first mover/Jupiter — the divine ordering power in Theseus’s account of change and mortality.