Women Beware Women by Thomas Middleton, Characters, Summary and Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse! Today we will discuss one of the most perplexing, mature, and impressive playwrights by Thomas Middleton which was titled Women Beware Women. It was written sometime in the 1620s and was first published in 1657. The play centers around an incidence of rape. However, unlike Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare), the rape in this drama is not a motive of revenge. Unlike the rape in Middleton’s own The Revenger’s Tragedy, the rape in Women Beware Women is not just an element implementing the plot. Rather, rape describes the hierarchy of domination and presents the economy of sexual relationships.
We will discuss the summary of Women Beware Women in detail and analyze the psychological aspects.
This play by Thomas Middleton was inspired by the real-life events of a Venetian noblewoman Bianca Cappello who eloped with a Florentian clerk at the age of 15. She later became the mistress of Grand Prince Francesco of Tuscany. Later on, Prince Francesco married Bianca Cappello and she became his second wife. The forced rape and power relationship described in the play are fictitious and resemble the power hierarchy shown in Measure for Measure, a play that Shakespeare wrote and produced in collaboration with Thomas Middleton. In Measure for Measure, Isabella is a chaste virgin who intends to lead a life of a Nun. However, the Duke is in love with her and after showing all his powers and gallant nature, when he proposes to marry Isabella, she fails to oppose him and accepts the marriage silently, against her own wish. In Women Beware Women, Bianca is fearful of the powerful position of the Duke and when he tries to woo her and threatens her of his power, she accepts the illegitimate relationship silently, against her will.
Women Beware Women shows a pessimistic cynical tragic world in which nothing good, no virtue can exist. Marriage in this play is described as a farce. Leantio presents his newlywed wife to his mother as a prized gift, precious property that need to be guarded and locked. Despite all this, the play doesn’t support any stereotypes and presents Livia as the most strong character. The men in this plays are without scruples and equally obsessed with ambition and self-gratification, and thus this drama shows the equal opportunity scourge of the viciousness in the world.
This is it for today. We will continue to discuss a few more plays by Thomas Middleton. Please stay connected with the Discourse!
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