Volpone is the main character and protagonist of the play, and his scheming with Mosca makes up the central conflict of the narrative. Because Volpone is an older gentleman with no immediate family upon whom he can bestow his vast riches, the people of Venice to try to stake their claims on his estate. Volpone is far from a heroic protagonist, but the greed of his victims initially makes him a sympathetic trickster figure. However, Volpone’s own insatiable greed for money and pleasure causes his humorous scam to become increasingly destructive. When he tries to rape Celia and has her and Bonario imprisoned for his own crimes, the play exposes his true nature. Now an unambiguous villain, Volpone receives punishment for his sins at the end of the play.

Volpone delights in linguistic prowess and wit, especially his own, and he makes expansive speeches in both private and public spaces. He shows off his persuasive skills in his mountebank performance in Act II, Scene 2—wearing a disguise and using rhetoric and performance to deceive the public, he demonstrates the same strategies he will use to deceive his wealthy suitors.