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Act 2, Scene 10
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Beggar’s Opera, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Moral Corruption and Hypocrisy
Gender, Love, and Marriage
Class, Capitalism, and Inequality
Opera, High Art, and Performance
Summary
Analysis
Lucy approaches Lockit in tears and admits that she still loves Macheath. Lockit declares that Macheath can’t be saved from execution—and that Lucy should be grateful, since most women look forward to becoming widows. In a brief song, Lucy asks whether Macheath is really condemned and cries that her heart is breaking (Air 31). Lockit replies with a song about how he’s going to hang Macheath, and Lucy should get over it (Air 32). He also tells her to get as much of Macheath’s money as she can.
Unsurprisingly, Lockit’s attitude toward marriage is exactly the same as Peachum’s: he cares about money, not love. He can’t make sense of Lucy’s feelings for Macheath and doesn’t even bother to try. Thus, the play’s humor once again depends on juxtaposing the sincere, dramatic flourishes of a conventional ordinary opera (Lucy) with the nonchalant, seedy cruelty of 18th-century London (Lockit). The play sets up Lucy and Polly to fight for Macheath’s heart in the coming scenes, while Peachum and Lockit will fight for his money.
Themes
