Literary magazine

Verbal wit Women’s Strongest Weapon Is In light of this view discuss ways in which Webster portrays women’s use of language. By Laurie Purnell-Prynn, Year 13

T he figure of Vitto- ria Corombona, the central female character in The White Devil , serves as an ac-

therefore, does not prove to

understandable when the

be an effective weapon within

context is understood. By

the world of the play. Howev-

1612 the unpopular Scottish

er, it does enable her to win

King James I had been in

over the play’s audience. On

power for nine years and had

tive reminder throughout the

a metatheatrical level, para-

brought with him an oppres-

play of the difficulties facing

doxically, her ultimate failure

sive style of rule endorsed by

women in a patriarchal Jaco-

to affect her own destiny de-

the Stuart belief in the divine

bean society. Vittoria is born

spite her brilliant rhetoric

right of Kings, which, along

with beauty and intelligence,

serves as a very effective

with his court dominated by

and possesses attributes

weapon as it reveals the

obsequious favourites, was

such as charisma and rhetori-

plight women faced in miso-

likely the target of much

cal ability, which were tradi-

gynistic societies and the cor-

veiled political criticism in The

tionally associated with men;

ruptions inherent in the sys-

White Devil . His predecessor

she uses both her sexuality

tems of government within

was the much-admired Eliza-

and her wit as much as she

which she was trapped.

beth, who had guided Eng-

can for her own ends. And yet

land into a “Golden Age” with

To portray a woman as such

she is married off against her

the help of the help of a more

an impressive figure in the

will, condemned to a convent

meritocratic court consisting

courtroom seems surprisingly

of penitent whores and even-

of such men as Cecil and

progressive for a play written

tually killed. Her verbal wit,

in 1612, but becomes more