Question

What can be inferred from the following lines from the play Everyman? Beauty, Strength, and Discretion do man forsake, Foolish friends and kinsmen, that fair spake-- All fleeth save Good Deeds, and that am I Friends and kinsmen are not to be trusted because they may all be foolish. Only a person’s good deeds remain with him or her in the afterlife. Beauty, strength, and discretion have a tendency to flee. Good deeds do not necessarily accompany beauty and strength.

Answer 1

Everyman is morality play. Your good and evil deeds are going to be answered in the afterlife and you should struggle for the sake of good although there are difficulties which is depicted in the play. Good deeds is a character in the play which guides Everyman to his final judgement. In the play Good deeds is she because sympathetic characters of the nature can be represented better through female personification.

Answer 2

I believe the answer is that 'only a person's good deeds remain with him or her in the afterlife'. It is important to be a good person and do good, and everything else is fleeting, it will disappear. But you will be awarded for your good deeds.