SOURCE: “All's Well That Ends Well,” in Shakespeare's Comedies: From Roman Farce to Romantic Mystery, Associated University Presses, 1986, pp. 173-94.

In the following essay, Ornstein surveys the plot and principal characters of All's Well That Ends Well.

It is not easy to say why Shakespeare wanted to write a play about characters as limited and uninspiring as Helena and Bertram. A relatively straightforward dramatization of Boccaccio's tale of Giletta and Beltramo,¹ All's Well is the only comedy that centers on a single love—or rather, a single love-hate—relationship. No Hero, Nerissa, or Celia stands by Helena's side; for most of the play she is a solitary figure who keeps her own counsel and pursues her ends without confiding them to any other person. For a time Bertram has Parolles as a companion, but he is nearly incapable of intimacy or emotional attachment. The minor characters of All's...