Summary
In Marseilles, Helena discovers that the King has actually moved his court to Rousillon, so she, the Widow, and Diana decide to follow them.
At the Countess's home, Parolles has come as a beggar, and Lafeu offers him food after taking pity on his former enemy.
The King is just about to announce Bertram's engagement to Lafeu's daughter when he notices the ring on Bertram's hand. When Bertram is not able to provide a believable story as to how he came across the ring (as he does not want to admit what happened with him and Diana), the King is outraged and threatens to throw Bertram in prison for theft.
Just then, Diana enters, and explains the entire dalliance between herself and Bertram.
Before the King can punish anyone, however, Helena is ushered in. She tells Bertram that the conditions he set out in his letter have been met: she has his ring, and she is pregnant with his child.
Bertram is repentant and vows to love Helena and be a devoted husband for the rest of their lives.
The King rewards Diana with her choice of husband, provided she is still a virgin.
Everyone rejoices in this happy ending.
Analysis
All's Well That Ends Well was not a popular play, either in Shakespeare's time or in the centuries that have followed. While critics can only speculate as to why this was the case, many point to the abrupt and seemingly illogical ending that occurs in Act Five. Early modern comedies are famous for their often hasty endings – quickly established marriages, resolved feuds, and major revelations – with some of Shakespeare's "problem plays" even featuring conclusions that have been compared to deus ex machina, or a sudden resolution that appears seemingly out of nowhere.
Still, All's Well That Ends Well seems to surpass these conventionally abrupt endings in its absurdity by featuring a final act that, within the context of the rest of the play, makes little sense. First, the final act includes plot points that are irrelevant to the conclusion, such as Helena's travels to Marseilles, where she learns that the court has actually moved to Rousillon instead. Second, and more important, is the sudden conversion of Bertram when he discovers that Helena is alive, she has his ring, and she is pregnant with his child.
Critics have floated the idea that Bertram's sudden character shift is due to missing text from the play, arguing that there was originally a longer Act Five that would have explained this behavior in a more logical way. Others suggest that Bertram's vow to love Helena is only his attempt to garner favor with the King, and that he does not intend to uphold it.
In some modern performances of the play, directors have chosen to present Bertram's conversion as notably ambiguous, having him speak his lines while at the same time maintaining a blank and noncommittal expression similar to the last frame of the movie The Graduate (1967).
This modern interpretation may have some credence when readers consider the title of the play (a direct quotation that Helena herself speaks). In saying that "all's well that ends well," Helena essentially argues that as long as there is a happy ending, the path it took to get there does not matter. Many perceive that this title is ironic, and that Shakespeare is suggesting that happy endings – especially the extremely abrupt one at the end of this play – are not enough to completely resolve the conflicts that preceded them.
