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Lussurioso
The Duchess is the Duke’s wife and the mother of Ambitioso, Supervacuo, and Junior Brother (who are not the Duke’s children). When the Duke refuses to show leniency to her son, Junior Brother, who is imprisoned for the rape of Antonio’s wife, the Dutchess decides to seek her own revenge by “cuckolding” her husband—that is, by having an affair. To make it that little bit more illicit she chooses Spurio as her partner, the Duke’s own bastard son. When Lussurioso later ascends the throne, he has the Duchess exiled, angry at her treatment of his father, the Duke.
The Duchess Quotes in The Revenger’s Tragedy
The The Revenger’s Tragedy quotes below are all either spoken by The Duchess or refer to The Duchess. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 1, Scene 1 Quotes
Duke—royal lecher! Go, grey-haired adultery;
And thou his son, as impious steeped as he;
And thou his bastard true-begot in evil;
And thou his duchess that will do with devil;
Four ex’lent characters.
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Explanation and Analysis:
These are the opening lines of the play, spoken by Vindice as he watches the Duke go by with his entourage. This moment immediately sets up how distant Vindice feels from the Duke’s court, expressing his hatred for four key characters and giving an indication of why he hates them. The Duke is a “lecher,” a man given to excessive sexual indulgence. His son, Lussurioso, is accused by Vindice of being just as bad. The audience then learns that Spurio was conceived out of wedlock, “true-begot in evil”—further evidence of the Duke’s lifetime of lustiness. Vindice’s accusation that the Duchess Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum
Act 1, Scene 2 Quotes
Duchess, it is your youngest son, we’re sorry,
His violent act has e'en drawn blood of honour
And stained our honours,
Thrown ink upon the forehead of our state
Which envious spirits will dip their pens into
After our death, and blot us in our tombs."
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Junior Brother, the Duchess’ son from a relationship prior to the Duke, stands trial for raping the wife of Lord Antonio. This quote illustrates the Duke’s attitude toward justice: it isn’t a universal standard that humanity needs to uphold, but rather the mere expression of what’s good for the court—or, more accurately, what’s good for the Duke himself. He isn’t concerned with the horror of Junior Brother’s deed, but for how it will look to the public. In fact, it’s more his posthumous reputation that he’s worried about. It also shows the audience that it is the Duke who decides Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inven
DUCHESS: Who would not be revenged of such a father,
E'en in the worst way? I would thank that sin
That could most injury him, and be in league with it.
Oh what a grief 'tis that a man should live
But once i'th’ world, and then to live a bastard,
The curse o' the womb, the thief of Nature,
Begot against the seventh commandment
Half damned in the conception by the justice
Of that unbribed everlasting law.
SPURIO: O, I’d a hot-backed devil to my father.
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The Duchess, angry with the Duke for not showing leniency to Junior Brother, decides to get her revenge by having an illicit affair with Spurio, the Duke’s bastard son. Spurio is initially hesitant, thinking that any proposed affair would be immoral and incestuous. He doesn’t take much persuasion, however, and the above quote illustrates the Duchess’s reasoning, which quickly brings Spurio around. Spurio harbors resentment for his father because of his own status as a bastard. His father conceived him in adulterous fit of passion, and thereby denied Spurio the rights he would have enjoyed as a legitimate son of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam off
Act 2, Scene 3 Quotes
O, take me not in sleep; I have great sins.
I must have days—
Nay, months, dear son, with penitential heaves,
To lift 'em out and not to die unclear;
O, thou wilt kill me both in heaven and here.
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Lussurioso bursts in on the Duke and the Duchess, thinking he will catch the latter engaging in incestuous behavior with Spurio. The Duke’s reaction is telling of his attitude toward religion and the generally corrupted quality of religion throughout the play. He sees his relationship to “heaven” as essentially transactional—in order to secure his place in the preferred afterlife he needs to pay his moral debt with prayer. That is, all he needs to do in order to make up for his moral crimes is to make a superficial, vacuous tribute to his God. This emphasizes the extent of his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptate
Act 4, Scene 2 Quotes
Has not heaven an ear? Is all the lightning wasted?
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Lussurioso, now angry with Piato (Vindice in disguise) for giving him misinformation regarding the Duchess and Spurio’s affair, hires Vindice to kill Piato. The only problem, of course, is that Piato and Vindice are the same person. In recounting what happened with Piato, Lussurioso completely absolves himself of any responsibility, craftily telling Vindice that it was Piato who tried corrupt Castiza and Gratiana, Vindice’s sister and mother. It’s at this point that Vindice calls out (without Lussurioso hearing) for divine providence—that is, for the intervention of the heavens. Vindice is exasperated that God seems to have no interest in his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliqua
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The Duchess Character Timeline in The Revenger’s Tragedy
The timeline below shows where the character The Duchess appears in The Revenger’s Tragedy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, Scene 1
...holding the skull of his deceased fiancée, Gloriana. He watches from afar as the Duke, the Duchess , Lussurioso (the Duke’s eldest son by an earlier marriage), and Spurio (the Duke’s bastard...
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...given that Hippolito is closer to the court than Vindice—a side effect, Hippolito says, of the Duchess ’s attraction to him. Hippolito explains that there has indeed been an interesting development: Lussurioso...
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Gratiana asks Hippolito for news from the court. Hippolito informs her that the Duchess ’s youngest son (and the Duke’s stepson), Junior Brother, is rumored to have raped the...
(full context)
Act 1, Scene 2
The Duke, Lussurioso, the Duchess , Spurio, and Ambitioso and Supervacuo, the Duchess’s other two sons, enter. Junior Brother is...
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The Duke apologizes to the Duchess for the fact that Junior Brother, her youngest son, must be punished for his crime....
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The Duchess pleads on her knees for Junior Brother to be shown mercy. Lussurioso says that mercy...
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Much to the Duchess ’s dismay, the judge starts to pronounce the death sentence for Junior Brother. But before...
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The Duchess is furious with the Duke for not freeing Junior Brother. She vows to get her...
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Spurio greets the Duchess , who makes it obvious that she wants a kiss on her “lip” and not...
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...angry toward the Duke for his bastardy, and assents to have an illicit affair with the Duchess in order get “the vengeance that my birth was wrapped in.” They kiss, and the...
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Act 2, Scene 2
Hippolito comes back with news—he has heard about the affair between Spurio and the Duchess . Spurio enters with his servants; Vindice and Hippolito hide in order to eavesdrop. Spurio...
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...toy with the idea of killing Lussurioso immediately, but instead inform him of Spurio and the Duchess ’s sexual relationship.
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Act 2, Scene 3
Vindice (still in disguise) leads Lussurioso to the Duchess ’s chamber. Lussurioso draws his sword, hoping to kill Spurio, but discovers that the Duchess...
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...assailant; the Duke’s guards seize Lussurioso. Some noblemen, Ambitioso, and Supervacuo enter. The Duke and the Duchess express their surprise that Lussurioso had come to assassinate his own father. Sensing it best...
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Spurio enters with his servants. Lussurioso tries to tell the Duke about the Duchess ’s affair with Spurio but is silenced and taken to prison. On his way out,...
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Act 3, Scene 5
...which point Vindice will kill the Duke and make him bear witness to Spurio and the Duchess ’s affair.
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...the Duke when he kisses her. The dying Duke will then die witnessing Spurio and the Duchess together—Vindice has arranged the Duke’s sexual liaison to take place at the same location as...
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...will become a “renowned, high and mighty cuckold” by witnessing his bastard son, Spurio, and the Duchess together. The Duke pleads with them not to force him to see that. Vindice and...
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Spurio and the Duchess enter, kissing. The Duchess says, “there’s no pleasure sweet but it is sinful.” The Duke...
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Act 4, Scene 1
...“knave.” Lussurioso recounts how Piato’s misinformation led him to burst in on the Duke and the Duchess in bed, thinking he would find the “incestuous sweets” of Spurio and the Duchess instead.
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...comes in but is sent away immediately by Lussurioso for his misinformation about Spurio and the Duchess . Lussurioso asks Hippolito if he has a brother, and, learning that he does, requests...
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Act 4, Scene 3
The Duchess and Spurio enter, arm in arm and behaving “lasciviously.” Supervacuo runs after them with his...
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Act 5, Scene 1
...gets around, more nobles, guards, and court attendees enter, along with Ambitioso, Supervacuo, Spurio, and the Duchess . Ambitioso wonders “over what roof hangs this prodigious comet / In deadly fire?” Supervacuo,...
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...revels” to welcome Lussurioso to his new supremacy. In another aside, he vows to exile the Duchess . Lussurioso, the Duchess, and the nobles exit.
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Act 5, Scene 3
In an aside, Lussurioso states that he has banished the Duchess , and plans to kill Spurio, Supervacuo, and Ambitioso. Lussurioso looks to the star, thinking...
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