The families in The White Devil aren't exactly what you'd call models of domestic stability. Some family members genuinely care for each other—like Francisco, Isabella, and Giovanni—but others seem to be having a miserable time. Cornelia's children (at least, Flamineo and Vittoria) go against her wishes, plotting murder and adultery—and Flamineo murders her only good son, Marcello. And Vittoria's marriage to Camillo and Brachiano's marriage to Isabella are both terrible (considering they end in murder). But there's a hint that things could've been better—Flamineo seems to regret killing Marcello when he sees how distraught his mother is. By sticking with his familial affections, instead of just trying to upgrade his social status, maybe Flamineo could've been better, but we'll never really know.
Questions About Family
- What family members express genuine affection for each other? In what ways?
- Do the Duke and Vittoria have a good marriage, more or less?
- Could Flamineo have paid more attention to his mother and brother's feelings? Or was he always going to be wicked? Did he make the wrong choices, or is that just the way he is?
- Does The White Devil portray family life as something basically positive or as a nightmare of competing powers and pressures?
Chew on This
The family is the basic unit of human life—a source of education, affection, and moral training. Without the family, people would devolve into self-centered barbarism.
Families screw people up worse than anything else.