Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Surly

Surly's an interesting figure because he knows right away that Subtle, Face, and Doll are a bunch of lying cheats. In fact, he seems to be the only character that can see right through our con artists…and he'd love nothing more than to expose them as frauds. That's why he rats out Face and Subtle to Dame Pliant and even goes so far as to disguise himself as a wealthy Spanish count so he can get the drop on the conmen.

In a larger sense, we could also argue that any character who puts our protagonists in danger of getting busted is an "antagonist." So, does that mean that Master Lovewit is an antagonist, too? After all, it's his return to London that puts an end to our protagonists' elaborate con games.