The White Devil

First performed onstage in 1612, The White Devil is a revenge tragedy that is loosely based on the murder of Vittoria Accoramboni in Italy in 1585. The full title of the play is The White Divel; or, The Tragedy of Paulo Giordano Ursini, Duke of Bracciano. With The Life and Death of Vittoria Corombona the famous Venetian Curtizan). The play has been performed many times but has not been adapted for film.

This guide refers to the 2014 Penguin Classics edition.

Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide contain descriptions of suicide.

Plot Summary

The play opens in Rome, where Count Lodovico has been banished from the city for his numerous crimes. Despite his wealth, his criminal enterprises have led to his exile, and he resents his misfortune. Lodovico’s friends, including the lawyer Gasparo and the courtier Antonelli, suggest that he seek clemency from Francisco de Medici, the Duke of Florence. For the moment, Lodovico remains bitter about his punishment.

Meanwhile a powerful nobleman named Bracciano is infatuated Vittoria Corombona and is determined to pursue her although she is married to a man named Camillo. Vittoria’s brother, Flaminio, works for Bracciano and encourages the affair because he sees it as an opportunity to advance his own status. He encourages Bracciano not to worry about Camillo or Bracciano’s own wife, Isabella.

Bracciano conspires to seduce Vittoria, who initially feigns hesitancy but is ultimately drawn into the affair. Flaminio arranges for them to meet secretly, and the two begin their illicit relationship. Vittoria’s husband, Camillo, and Bracciano’s wife, Isabella (who is also the sister of Francisco de Medici), both stand in the way of Bracciano’s desires. Flaminio and Bracciano plot to remove these obstacles by murdering the unsuspecting Isabella and Camillo.

At the Medici palace, Isabella is deeply distressed by the rumors of her husband’s infidelity. She loves Bracciano but recognizes that he has grown cold and distant. Francisco de Medici, her brother, tries to comfort her, but Isabella’s emotional suffering is clear. Elsewhere, Bracciano grows bolder in his plot to rid himself of Isabella and Camillo. He arranges for Isabella and Camillo to be murdered and visits a conjurer whose magic allows Bracciano to view the murders from afar. Bracciano’s men place poison on a portrait of Bracciano that Isabella has the habit of kissing. Isabella kisses the portrait and is killed by the poison.

Meanwhile, Flaminio brings about Camillo’s death by orchestrating a fatal accident during a sporting event, making it appear that Camillo died due to his own carelessness. Both deaths serve Bracciano’s plan to pursue Vittoria freely. With Isabella and Camillo out of the way, Bracciano intends to marry Vittoria. Flaminio is gratified by the success of his machinations and hopes that the marriage between Vittoria and Bracciano will improve the prospects of his relatively poor family.

After the deaths of Isabella and Camillo, Francisco de Medici suspects foul play. Meanwhile, Vittoria is accused of complicity in her husband’s murder. She is put on trial for adultery and murder, and the trial is presided over by the Cardinal Monticelso, who has political motivations to bring her down. During the trial, Vittoria maintains her innocence, but although her eloquent speeches impress many onlookers, she is found guilty of adultery and sentenced to imprisonment in a house of convertites (a place for penitent women). Flaminio is also chastised for his involvement, but he escapes more severe punishment due to his cunning and manipulation.

Bracciano remains determined to protect Vittoria and plans to free her; he faces no legal consequences from the affair because he is a powerful man. Meanwhile, Francisco continues to seek justice for his sister, plotting his own revenge against Bracciano and Vittoria.

By this point, Lodovico has been pardoned for his many crimes and is allowed to return to Rome, and Francisco recruits him to help enact his revenge. Francisco, disguised as a Moor, allies with Lodovico and reveals his plan to kill Bracciano and Vittoria. At this point, Bracciano and Vittoria have escaped to Bracciano’s palace in Padua and are living together. Bracciano remains devoted to Vittoria, but they are both haunted by guilt and plagued by ominous dreams and visions. Bracciano is particularly affected; he dreams of Isabella’s ghost, who accuses him of murder.

Meanwhile, Francisco’s plan for revenge begins to unfold. While posing as an ally of Bracciano, Lodovico poisons Bracciano’s helmet. During a tournament, Bracciano puts on the helmet and is struck down by the poison. As he lies dying, Lodovico and Francisco taunt him, revealing their roles in his demise. Bracciano dies cursing his enemies, and Vittoria is left vulnerable.

With Bracciano dead, Lodovico and his co-conspirators turn their attention to Vittoria. Vittoria and Flaminio, realizing that they are in danger, try to protect themselves. Flaminio senses his imminent downfall, so he fakes his own death in an attempt to manipulate Vittoria and Zanche, Vittoria’s servant. He pretends to have been killed by Vittoria, but when Vittoria and Zanche discover that he is still alive, they attempt to flee.

Lodovico and his accomplices, determined to exact revenge, track down Vittoria, Flaminio, and Zanche. In a climactic scene, they confront the trio in a room filled with confusion and chaos. Lodovico and Gasparo stab Vittoria and Flaminio, killing them both. Zanche is also killed in the struggle.

As Vittoria lies dying, she defiantly proclaims that she is unafraid of death. Her last words express her resistance to the judgments of those around her. Flaminio dies after a brief moment of reflection in which he realizes the moral cost of his ambitions. The play concludes on a bleak note, with nearly all the central characters dead and the moral decay of the society they inhabited laid bare.