Summary
Adam Overdo, a justice of the peace, enters the fair. He is determined to disguise himself as a fool at the fair in order to uncover the sin and "enormity" of London in order to better enforce the law. Meanwhile, Leatherhead and Trash sell low-quality goods at the fair and insult one another.
Adam Overdo enters and notes the debauchery he already sees developing around him. Ursla is of particular interest to him as she drinks, smokes, and complains constantly. When she sits down at a bar, she demands that her nephew, Mooncalf, serve her alcohol.
While at the bar, Overdo and Ursla are joined by a criminal named Knockem, who invites another criminal, Edgworth, to join them.
Mooncalf tells Overdo that Edgworth always pays people's bar tabs. Overdo assumes that Edgworth is a writer of some kind, though he is really a pickpocket. Ursla and Edgworth hatch a plan to pickpocket as many fair-goers as they can. When they invite Overdo to socialize with them, he refuses, instead planning an evening of reading poetry. The group continues to drink.
Winwife and Quarlous arrive, and are invited to Ursla's bar by Knockem. Winwife accidentally insults Ursla, who curses him and Quarlous as they depart.
Meanwhile, Cokes and his posse arrive at the fair. Edgworth notes their arrival and begins to plan his pickpocketing with another criminal, Nightingale. Edgworth steals Cokes's purse and tells Nightingale to bring it back to Ursla. Cokes assures Wasp that he has another more valuable purse on his person and wants to use it to lure the pickpocket back to him.
Next, Mistress Overdo encounters her disguised husband, recognizing him after she hears him scolding fair-goers for their sinful behavior. Wasp accuses Overdo of distracting Cokes and being the pickpocket's accomplice. Eventually, Wasp attacks Overdo.
Analysis
Act Two of the play revolves around the character of Adam Overdo, a justice of the peace. At the time, justices were the equivalent of law enforcement in London, and Overdo therefore represents an authority figure among a slew of common criminals.
Overdo is what one might consider a classic Jonsonian character – self-interested, entitled, foolish, and hypocritical. He is, in many ways, a political parallel to the religious hypocrisy of Zeal-of-the-Land Busy, as he desires nothing more than to uncover and eradicate petty crime at the fair while willingly participating in it himself. Overdo's disguise is meant to allow him to peruse the fair inconspicuously, observing debauchery and sinful behavior from a covert vantage point.
However, the central irony of his character is that his plan works too well: nobody recognizes him outside of his justice's robes, which means that nobody recognizes his authority and his entire plan is derailed by the fact that he simply blends in with the crowd. Nowhere is this more apparent than when Wasp accuses Overdo – a high-ranking authority figure – of being an accomplice to a common criminal, a pickpocket. Overdo receives a beating for Wasp's assumption, denigrating him far beneath his station and showcasing how "power" is not an inherent quality of a person but instead something one can put on and take off, like a disguise.
This act of the play also showcases some of the fun that fair-goers are having as they arrive, which would have likely been a familiar representation to audiences who likely attended the fair themselves. One important staple of Bartholomew Fair is indulgence, specifically indulgence in alcohol. Overdo is appalled to see Ursla – a woman – smoking and drinking among the men, and indeed this was not a common occurrence among early modern English women (specifically the upper classes).
However, Ursla and the other characters who are shown drinking alcohol suggest that the fair is a type of escape from the pressures of puritanical society that reigned during the Jacobean period of English history. Indeed, the only group of people who purportedly criticized the play were Puritans themselves, who took issue with the way they were represented through the character of Busy. What Jonson's portrayal of indulgences like alcohol ultimately suggests is that Bartholomew Fair – much like the theater – is a place of pleasure and freedom, where people are able to enjoy themselves without the social and religious expectations placed on them by various authority figures. In many ways, the play is a fantasy of an inverted London society as it shows religious and political authorities at the mercy of commoners, alcoholics, and petty criminals.
