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The Two Noble Kinsmen · Chapter

Scene VI explained

The Gaoler's Daughter rejoices in freeing Palamon from prison, expressing her deep love and desperation.

What happens

The Gaoler's Daughter rejoices in freeing Palamon from prison, expressing her deep love and desperation. She plans to bring him tools and food, and vows to follow him despite the risks, while lamenting his lack of gratitude.

Themes in this chapter

  • Love and Madness

    The Daughter's love for Palamon is described as 'beyond love and beyond reason,' highlighting the irrational and dangerous nature of her devotion.

Characters to notice

  • Daughter

    Expresses her love and desperation after freeing Palamon, planning to follow him.

  • Palamon

    Freed by the Daughter, hiding in a wood, though he has not thanked her.

  • Gaoler

    Mentioned as the Daughter's father, who she bids farewell to.

Key passages

  • “I love him beyond love and beyond reason, Or wit, or safety; I have made him know it: I care not: I am desperate;”

    My love for him surpasses all logic and caution; I have confessed it to him, and I am reckless and desperate.

    The Daughter's declaration of her intense, irrational love for Palamon.

  • “If the law Find me, and then condemn me for't, some wenches, Some honest-hearted maids, will sing my dirge, And tell to memory my death was noble, Dying almost a martyr.”

    If I am caught and executed for this, some honest women will remember my death as noble, almost like a martyr's.

    The Daughter acknowledges the legal risk but hopes to be remembered as a martyr for love.

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