Volpone

Roles

• Volpone
• Mosca
• Voltore

About this piece

Volpone and Mosca trick Voltore out of a gift

Summary

Volpone is a wealthy Venetian con man and Mosca is his parasitic assistant/manservant. Volpone has become rich through several cons and has another con in mind which he reveals to Mosca: he plans to pretend that he is terminally ill and about to die in order to con three gentlemen, Voltore, Corbaccio and Corvino into giving him gifts in order to become Volpone's heirs to his fortune. In this scene Volpone and Mosca trick their first victim, Voltore, a lawyer. Voltore inquires about Volpone's health and Volpone pretends to be very sick. Mosca eventually tells him he is the sole heir to his fortune and that he has chosen him because he deeply admires lawyers. Mosca begs him not to forget him when Volpone dies and he will inherit his fortune.

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