- This scene opens with the trial of the Duchess's youngest son for the rape mentioned in the previous scene. The Duke is present with his son Lussurioso and his illegitimate son Spurio, and the Duchess is there with her older sons, Ambitioso and Supervacuo, while her youngest son is present as the accused.
- What happens in this scene is pretty basic, once you get past all the long speeches. The youngest son's trial begins with the Duke insisting on justice, and most of the others pleading for the judge to be soft on the Duchess's son. Partway through, the Duke decides to delay judgment, and stops the trial for now.
- The Duchess is angry that the Duke hasn't done more to get her son off the charges, so she decides to get revenge on him by cheating on their marriage. She asks the Duke's illegitimate son to sleep with her, trying to gain an incestuous revenge.
- Although the plot motion is simple here, the scene lays some important groundwork for how the characters will behave in the rest of the plot, and Shmoop is here with a quick cheat sheet to make it clear.
- First, the family snapshot: The Duke and Duchess were both married previously, and their children are from these earlier marriages. So Lussurioso and Spurio are half brothers, Lussurioso having been born to the Duke and the previous Duchess, and Spurio having been born to the Duke and a woman who wasn't married to him. Ambitioso, Supervacuo, and the third son who's now on trial (referred to as Junior) were born to the Duchess and her previous husband.
- If we were in any doubt that the Duke's family isn't comprised of shining examples of virtue, this scene proves it thoroughly.
- The Duke says that he wants the judges to decide impartially and give a just sentence even though the accused is his stepson. But it looks likely that he mainly wants to protect his own reputation, and it seems hypocritical for him to talk so much about justice when we know that he poisoned Vindice's girlfriend for refusing to sleep with him. Also, the Duke changes his mind partway through and stops the trial, leaving the sentence undecided. So he doesn't seem terribly concerned for justice.
- The Duchess pleads for mercy for her son, which is very understandable, but doesn't seem to show much regard for justice or for the woman her son hurt. When the Duke doesn't intervene as clearly as she wants on behalf of her son, she decides to get revenge on him. But instead of violence, she decides on a sexual revenge: She will sleep with someone else. The person she chooses is the Duke's illegitimate son Spurio, so her planned revenge is incestuous.
- When the Judge tries to emphasize the seriousness of the rape, the Duchess's son says he would happily do it again (1.2.64-65), and even appears to joke about it (1.2.51-53, 1.2.69-70).
- Spurio, the illegitimate son, is hoping that the Duchess's youngest son will be executed. In fact, he says he wouldn't mind seeing the whole court die (1.2.35-37), possibly because as an illegitimate son he would have a better chance of succeeding in society if all the legitimate heirs were dead.
- While Spurio hesitates at the Duchess's proposal of an incestuous relationship, he eventually decides to accept, because he wants revenge against his father as well and thinks this will achieve it (1.2.184-186). Go team.
- Yep, the Duke's family seems to be about as bad as Vindice said in the first scene. Hard to imagine wanting them to run your hometown.