Like many other revenge tragedies, The White Devil features a pointedly cynical and pessimistic tone that permeates the entire play. One of the primary sources of this cynical tone is the play’s focus on a deeply corrupt and decadent society at court. Italy, as portrayed by Webster, is a morally bankrupt environment in which virtue receives no reward and crime goes unpunished. In order to pursue power and pleasure, characters flout the law and violate traditional Christian morality. Even the concept of the “family” has broken down entirely; husbands murder their wives, brothers “pander” or prostitute their sisters, and siblings betray each other without hesitation. This portrayal of a society consumed by vice and corruption contributes to the pessimistic worldview that characterizes the play.
The characters themselves are morally complex and often devoid of traditional virtues. Few, if any, characters can be described as virtuous or heroic. Instead, almost the entire cast is motivated by personal vices such as lust and greed, or by petty vendettas against others. In the pursuit of their self-interested goals, they engage in manipulative and ruthless behavior. The absence of clear-cut heroes and the prevalence of multiple antiheroes add to the cynical tone and bleak outlook of the play, which offers no clear-cut models of morality. Brachiano's son Giovanni suffers for this lack of positive role models; despite his young age and originally kind disposition, he is corrupted by the end of the play.
