How we cite our quotes:
Quote #7
SPURIO
Madam, unlock yourself, should it be seen,
Your arm would be suspected.(4.3.1-2)
Spurio is concerned with preserving his reputation here, so he tells the Duchess to hide their relationship in public. Does he have less to lose than the others because his illegitimate birth makes him unable to inherit the Dukedom? Or does he have more to lose because his social status is already unstable?
Quote #8
AMBITIOSO
'Tis too much seen already.SUPERVACUO
Seen and known,
The nobler she's, the baser is she grown.AMBITIOSO
If she were bent lasciviously, the fault
Of mighty women, that sleep soft – O death,
Must she needs choose such an unequal sinner
To make all worse?SUPERVACUO
A bastard, the duke's bastard; shame heaped on shame.AMBITIOSO
O our disgrace.(4.3.10-17)
Reputation is a family affair in this play. Supervacuo and Ambitioso feel like their reputations are affected by their mother's choices, just as Vindice and Hippolito feel that their sister's and mother's decisions affect them.