Widows!

I am interested in the Duchess' role as a widow in this historical period, and how her actions would be seen by the audience in this light. As a widow, the Duchess no longer retains her virginity, which, as we have discussed, is massively important in this period. But as a widow, she has lost it honorably. What course of action, then, would be seen as moral by her contemporaries? I kept asking myself this as I read the play; surely Ferdinand and the Cardinal are seen as villains, but the overt sexuality and secrecy of the Duchess and Antonio's relationship would certainly raise some eyebrows as well. To shed some light on this subject I turned to I "The treasure of vowed chastity in secular persons. Also the widdowes glasse." a treatise on the importance of chastity, with a special focus on widowhood. The authors initially espouse on "that noble, and worthy state of chast Widdowhood."

Initially, the authors discuss "that noble, and worthy state of chast Widdowhood,"saying, "from hence it is manifest...for Widdowes also to vow Chastity, so that without a mortall sin, & being guilty of damnation, they could not marry againe." The Duchess so far seems to be in hot water. Even accounting for her rather hasty and perhaps dubious marriage to Antonio, the Duchess' main focus should have been on preserving her chastity. They go on, however, to concede that for "such widows, who being freed from the yoake and gouernement of their husbands, liue dissolutly, become idle, pratlers, wanton, curious, running vp and down to their neighbours houses, & the like," a second marriage could be appropriate, as it would at least lend some semblance of legitimacy to the fallen widow. Far from recommending them, the authors only concede that second marriages "are yet to be preferred before the condition of a Brothell-house" and no more.

While certainly, when faced with the scheming Cardinal and incestuous Ferdinand, the audience sympathises with the Duchess, it is likely that she would not escape the audiences judgment unscathed. The authors of "The treasure of vowed chastity" seem to think that, having lost her virginity, a young widow loses control of herself. How does this complicate our reading? Well, it increases the sense of scandal that pervades the play; this is not just a play about villains and heroes, but one in which seemingly every character is debauched or scheming to some degree. It also makes one wonder if the Cardinal and Ferdinand's actions would have been seem as more reasonable to audiences at the time, a scary thought but in line with the sort of thinking that would assume that young widows' only two destinations are a scandalous second marriage or a brothel house.


"The treasure of vowed chastity in secular persons. Also the widdowes glasse." Written by the RR. Fathers Leonard Lessius, and Fuluius Androtius, both of the Society of Iesus. 1621.

http://bert.lib.indiana.edu:2286/search/fulltext?SOURCE=var_spell.cfg&ACTION=ByID&ID=D00000998441640000&WARN=N&SIZE=181&FILE=../session/1235760748_7227&SEARCHSCREEN=CITATIONS&DISPLAY=AUTHOR&ECCO=N