You might find it interesting to think about the
transformation that Widge undergoes as he himself identifies it in Chapter 23 after his
performance at Whitehall in front of Queen Elizabeth I. Widge at this stage has made his
decision to stay true to his new friends and family, the players and the company, rather
than continue with the plan of deceiving them and stealing the copy of the play. Note
what he says about his own change and the impact of playing Ophelia in front of the
Queen on his character:
In the space of a few hours, I had done more
than transform temporarily into Ophelia. I had undergone a more dramatic change, from a
shabby impostor, a thief and an orphan who had been given a task far beyond his
abilities, into a reliable, valued member of an acting company who performed daily at
the centre of the
universe.
Widge therefore
decides to drop stealing the copy of the play because he has found something much more
important and valuable to him. From the very beginning of the story, when Widge talked
about his time in the orphanage and the way that the boys all dreamt of finding a true
family, Widge has been looking for somewhere to belong. Now he has found his own family,
stealing the play becomes unimportant.
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