Shakespeare uses the morally reprehensible characters of Mistress Overdone and Mariana in order to show his audience that people are more than just what they appear to be.
In Measure for Measure, Shakespeare is able to examine the concept of right and wrong through the characters of Mistress Overdone and Mariana. Throughout the play, by using characters that most people would find morally reprehensible, Shakespeare is able to give the audience a different view of these people and, hopefully, show his audience that people aren't always what they appear to be. Through the character of Mistress Overdone, Shakespeare is able to bring a jovial side to the oldest job known to man -- prostitution. Through the character of Mariana, Shakespeare allows the audience to decide if two wrongs do, in fact, make a right. While the concepts of right and wrong are given a twist in this play, Shakespeare, in the end, allows his audience to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong.
At the beginning of act one, scene two, Shakespeare uses the bawd, Mistress Overdone, to convey to the audience that Angelo is enforcing the fornication laws of Vienna. While this seems like the more moral, and more right, action to take, Shakespeare puts a twist on what the audience would normally view as a clear cut case. In lines 79 - 81, Mistress Overdone explains to the audience the effects of these new policies. So, while it seems right to shut these businesses down, the audience now is shown that prostitution is this lady's livelihood and her way for making money. However, who is to decide if the "moral benefits" of eliminating the public display of prostitution is in the best interest of the city? By posing this question, Shakespeare forces the audience to consider both sides of the issue to, in the end, make some decision.
In England, during that time, people were very religious, so it is easy to say that in the context of the time many people would have sided with Angelo in closing down the whore houses. However, who gives the right to one man, or a group of people, to determine what is right and wrong for everyone? This question allows Shakespeare to challenge the general notion of something always being right or wrong. Through this scene with Mistress Overdone, Shakespeare wants his audience to consider if something can be always right or always wrong. However, what he does prove is that a person determining morality for everyone else is always wrong. By not allowing individuals to determine what they want to do for themselves, no society will ever be able to become right.
In lines 244 - 253 of act five, scene one, Angelo explains to the Duke why he could not marry Mariana. Shakespeare, by showing a petty reason like her dowry was lost at sea, is able to have his audience believe that the actions of Mariana were right. However, even though these actions seem right, the audience has to wonder if, in fact, they are right. Is it right to lie to someone you are in love with in order for you to sleep with them? By putting that spin on it, most people would assume that not on is this wrong, but also immoral as well. By challenging people's general conceptions about what is right and wrong, Shakespeare is able to have his audience look at the situation in two different ways, and, in the end, make a decision for themselves.
In Measure for Measure, Shakespeare uses the audience's general conceptions of right and wrong to make them consider how they arrived at their ideas. By portraying a person that a majority of people would find immoral on face as a comical character, Shakespeare challenges people's general preconception about prostitution. While, of course, this play does not say that Shakespeare was in favor of prostitution, it does force his audience to see these people as individuals and not objects. Likewise, by introducing the description of Mariana, Shakespeare challenges the idea of something always being right or wrong. Through the two characters, Shakespeare is able to have his audience challenge their ideas of right and wrong and force them into justifying these decisions.
