Life Is a Dream

Throughout the play, many characters, beginning with the dishonored Rossaura, who is in search of revenge, discuss honor and duty, revealing them to be significant personal and societal values. In Act I, upon learning that one of the two intruders to the tower is his child, Clothold struggles to reconcile his duty to his family with his duty to his king.He is relieved when, after reporting the intruders,they are immediately pardoned.

Honor is a much higher priority than other values like happiness or satisfaction, as the ending of the play confirms; “Sigismund restores Rossaura’s honor by forcing Aistulf to marry her” (26), so Rossaura does get what she wants by the end of the play. As well, Clothold is able to uphold his responsibility to his child by seeing her married well, which appears to satisfy him, despite the fact that Aistulf may not be entirely deserving of the beautiful and brave Rossaura.