ACT THREE*n9458
The third act is conceived as one continuing flow of action and is quite remarkable, given the subtlety of its dramaturgical skill, for coming relatively early in Brome’s career as dramatist, since in one way absolutely nothing happens that develops the plot. Instead Brome chooses to bring to spectators’ attention a sequence of male characters, three of whom are held up to scrutiny and an audience’s scorn. The technique deployed is akin to that pursued by Jonson in such early plays as Every Man In His Humour, where the dramatist is less interested in complexities of plotting than in offering an exploration of his principal characters through a series of episodes which are thematically linked. In the case of the play mentioned, as I have argued elsewhere, the unity of action comes from Jonson’s investigation of what precisely constitutes a gentleman. One might argue the same of this act, except for a major difference: Brome presents each of his male characters in conference with the courtesan, Victoria, and explores the quality of the relation they each in turn establish with her, the nature of their several arts of loving, their fundamental attitudes to a woman. He also in part uses the sequence of episodes to satirise certain national stereotypes (Piso is but thinly disguised and appears as the Italian that he actually is; Horatio masquerades as a French chevalier; Don Pedro is a haughty Spaniard; and Swatzenburgh a Dutchman). But such satire quickly comes to have less importance than the ways the four men independently view a courtesan: Piso’s misogyny reaches levels that are sneeringly abusive when he cannot get his way with Victoria (from the first he dismisses courtship as “Mere noise and lip-labour with loss of time” [NV 3.1.speech267]); Horatio hopes to excite her interest by displaying his cultural attributes as poet, musician and dancer, but his is a self-regarding performance that pays scant attention to the woman who should be the focus of his efforts; Don Pedro expects subservience and, when he is challenged, attempts rape till forcibly expelled by Borgio and the Dutchman; Swatzenburg, though a man of bluster, shows himself at least gallant and protective and his care of her inclines Victoria to invite him at the close of the act to join her in a small collation or supper. In the final moments of the second scene from Act Two, Victoria laughed with Borgio about the various men champing at the bit to meet her; by the close of the third act she is altogether more circumspect.
What impresses throughout the sequences with the various men is Victoria’s strength of will, her courtesy (she never outwardly voices her distaste for any of the men who intrude so grossly on her sensibility) and her forceful intelligence, which enables her to parry the men’s lines of attack while always sustaining her integrity and a clear sense of her own worth as more than the price that has been publicly set on the granting of her favour and the loss of her maidenhead. Repeatedly she proves how aptly she has been named by her creator as Victoria. In social terms what increasingly impresses with this act is the insight the episodes bring audiences into the vulnerability and downright danger of women when they are being wooed, if they lack the sharpness of wit that is necessary to answer men in terms of their own rhetorical and emotional methods. With (at this stage) the one exception of Swatzenburgh, the men all assume that gratitude will be the substance of the woman’s response, failing to see that such an attitude is wholly patronising and reductive. The first three wooers are totally astonished by Victoria’s ability, morally and emotionally, to read their characters, assess the degree of their want of worth, and effectively dismiss them from the stage. The playing space is her possession and she brilliantly sustains her control over who shall stay and who be expelled from its expanse. The writing expects nothing less than a tour de force from the performer playing Victoria.
3.1
[Enter] PISO [and] VICTORIA
265PisoWhy not me, lady?*n6975
Brome immediately creates dramatic tension by pitching spectators mid-way into a conversation that has clearly being continuing for some time, so that the audience join it at the climax. Already, as is implicit within the opening question, Victoria has been finding ways to refuse Piso's suit and is seeking to keep him at a distance.
Stand not I as fair
And fit for your embraces as any man?
I yield to none.
267Piso’Tis but to
try†gg1932
test
my courtship, I presume,
That you put on this
coyness†gg3662
shy reserve or unwillingness
and to draw
More ample testimony of affection
By protestation, prayers, compliments,
The weakest ceremonies due to love:
Mere noise and lip-labour with loss of time.
I think with scorn upon such poor expressions
And am above the art of
amorists†gg4647
professed lovers; gallants (the tone of the usage here is ironic and superior)
,
That
cringe†gg4648
cower; behave obsequiously or with mean submissiveness; show base or servile deference
and
creep†gg4649
to move timidly or diffidently; to proceed humbly, abjectly, or servilely
by weak degrees of love:
To kiss the hand, the cheek, the lip, then cry
“O divine touch!” *n9296
] O Divine touch!
then
smirk†gs1050
smile in an affected, self-satisfied, or silly manner; to simper
and then embrace,
Then
nuzzle†gg4650
nestle on or close to (some part of) a person; push or thrust (one's nose, head, face, etc.) intimately against
in the
Elysium*n6976
In classical mythology, Elysium referred to the supposed state or abode of the blessed after death; but here the word is used figuratively, signifying a "place or state of ideal or perfect happiness" (OED). Elysium is often invoked in love poetry as the height (as here) of a lover's bliss or ecstacy. Piso, of course, is being ironic and satirical, considering this as a feeble, overly sentimental expression of passion.
of your bosom
And be
entranced†gg2664
insensible, in a trance
! Means fit for
duller†gs1051
tedious, insensitive, overly conventional, lacking in vivacity or panache
spirits
To gather heat and strength of appetite*n6977
Piso's words suggest an individual lacking virility and sexual potency if he needs to work himself up into a passion by the means listed. Addressed to a woman, however, his words might be deemed lacking in insight and sensitivity.
!
My desire speaks in love’s true
dialect†gg2432
language, manner of speaking
;
And, from my heart inflamed, you may perceive
Love’s fire rage in mine
eyes enough*n9297
] eyes, enough
To melt to yieldingness a frozen breast.
In this I talk too much.
I find you yielding.*n9569
Director and cast must evolve some action at this moment that justifies Piso's assumption, even though Victoria quickly puts him right (that she finds him far from attractive). Piso's speech is increasingly insulting and maybe she could advance on him, making eye contact with eyes bright with anger, which in his characteristically smug manner he interprets as her succumbing to his charms. Whatever approach is chosen, there needs to be some motivation for Piso's line, if the drama of Victoria's furious self-reproach is to have maximum impact.
268VictoriaAnd I myself too blame†gg4651
blameworthy, culpable (instances of this adjectival use are also to be found in Shakespeare, Jonson, Heywood)
――――
269PisoLet us retire then.*n9570
Again, Piso woefully misjudges the import of Victoria's words and tone. He believes her to be apologising for not being as sexually forthcoming as he clearly would wish and moves towards her, intent on leading her to the privacy of a bedchamber. Such a movement is required to give a logic to Victoria's quick injunction: "Keep your distance".
270VictoriaMistake me not, good
signior†gg4652
a form of address of Italian usage (or with reference to Italians); the word is equivalent to "sir" or "sire" in English
. Keep your distance:
I blame myself to let you
overween†gs1052
presume, have unreasonably high expectations
By my long silence, that
immodesty†gg4653
impudence; the lack of a sense of decorum or decency
To be in me that might embolden you
To your and my dishonour. Pray desist,
And let the friendly welcome you have found
Persuade†gg4654
induce, entreat, urge (OED v. II 5b)
your fair construction†gs594
the interpretation put upon conduct, action, facts, words, etc.; the way in which these are taken or viewed by onlookers; usually with qualification, as to put a good, bad, favourable, charitable (or other) construction upon (OED n. 8a)
.
272VictoriaYes, in sooth†gg4655
(in) truth, (in) all honesty
is it.
What make you here i’th’
smock-fair*n6978
In modern parlance, the equivalent would be a phrase such as "the meat-market". That is, a place or market where women offer themselves for sex as a commodity. Numerous nouns were prefixed by the word "smock" as denigratory references to women throughout the early seventeenth century ("smock-agent", "smock-fees", "smock-council"). OED observes that "examples are very common in 17th cent. dramatists". In The Love-Sick Court Brome uses the term, "smock-secret" [LS 4.1.speech511], where Doris refers to a secret between Garrula and Thymele.
, precious mistress?
Or why
these dressings, these perfumes and paintings*n6979
The plural usage of the nouns here is vicious. Victoria is setting herself up as a Novella, a virgin novice; but this approach denigrates her by implying she is born or at least inured to the manner of the courtesan, since the plurals imply that matters to do with her appearance are everyday events to her. The matters in question are freshly adopted, as the audience witnessed in 2.2, where they watched her trying on her new attire and dressings for her hair and making up her face (painting). Piso is being highly insolent.
?
Do you wear the
habit†gs1013
a costume appropriate to a particular function or office, a uniform expressing a particular rank or position in society
of our courtesans
And, by their art,
call†gg4656
attract, lure (used in the sense of attracting animals when hunting by a particular ‘call’) (OED v. 4b)
gazers to your beauty,
Full of high hopes and flames of ardent love,
Thus to
delude†gg4657
cheat, disappoint or mock (the hopes of someone)
and make them witnesses
Of a
cold-seeming*n6980
Piso cannot believe that what he is experiencing might be a true reflection of Victoria's nature so he accuses her of acting a role, that her virtue is a sham, that her modesty is an assumed "art". "Cold" is an epithet traditionally linked to chastity, but here the familiar trope is subverted by the intrusive qualifier, "seeming".
*n9298
] cold seeming
chastity? What new
art†gs1053
cunning; artfulness; trickery, pretence
Is this? It cannot be to get a husband!
274VictoriaNor a child neither, sir,
that’s less*n6981
That is, less of an art; it requires less cunning.
.
275PisoThat’s soon believed, yet no
disparagement†gg4588
dishonour, disgrace, discredit
To your expert
sufficiency†gg4658
competence
in the
trade*n6982
That is: of prostitution.
:
For the best carpenters make fewest chips;*n9654
This proverb and the rest of this particular speech derive closely from a passage in Coryat's Crudities at the end of his section on Venetian courtesans. The full passage on which Brome draws heavily reads as follows: "If any of them [courtesans] happen to have any children (as indeed they have but few, for according to the old proverbe the best carpenters make the fewest chips) they are brought up either at their own charge, or in a certaine house of the citie appointed for no other use but onely for the bringing up of Cortezans bastards, which I saw Eastward above Saint Markes streete neare to the sea side. [...]Those that are brought up in this foresaid house, are removed therehence when they come to yeares of discretion, and many of the male children are employed in the warres, or to serve in the Arsenall, or Galleys at sea, or some other publique service for the Common weale. And many of the females if they bee faire doe matrizare, that is, imitate their mothers in their gainfull facultie, and get their living by prostituting their bodies to their favourites" (Thomas Coryat, Coryat's Crudities, 2 vols [Glasgow: James MacLehose for Glasgow University Press, 1905], Vol. 1, p. 407). The proverb about the carpenter and his chips (an early modern version of what today passes as "a chip off the old block") is listed by Tilley as C93, where both Coryat and Brome are given by way of examples, though the earliest version of the phrase is dated to 1555. (See Morris Palmer Tilley, A Dictionary of the Proverbs in England in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries [Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1950].)
There’s very few of all
your function*n6983
That is: as whores.
fruitful.
Yet some there be approvèd men at arms,
Famous in
public*n9299
] publique
service; and a many
Good handicraftsmen in the
Arsenal*n6984
The term is in general use meaning "a dock possessing naval stores, materials, and all appliances for the reception, construction, and repair of ships; a dockyard" (OED). That in Venice was famous for its size and efficiency. It was claimed that, as in the case of the modern conveyor belt system in factories, a galley-ship could be fully constructed and rigged within a single day, as it passed steadily through the waterways of the Arsenal.
,
Bred by this bounteous city from such mothers
That ne’er could boast their fathers; and as many
Daughters (if they prove worthy in their feature)
Succeed their active mothers*n6985
This is a practice that is recorded, as Ruggiero shows (Binding Passions [New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993]), in numerous Venetian state documents concerning trials of prostitutes and courtesans for various misdeamours. Aretino's The School of Whoredom (1535) has a one-time Roman courtesan educating her daughter to the profession. She intends to act as her daughter's "keeper".
in their fortunes.
277Piso’Tis common knowledge, lady. Nor do I
Read this t’inform yourself, who were instructed
(I make no doubt) before your price was set
By
all examples to*n6986
That is: as has been the case with all precedents for (what you are doing in setting yourself up as a courtesan).
your present practice.
278VictoriaSir, I must tell you now, you grow too
lavish†gg4659
unrestrained, effusive
.
So,
as I fear foul language*n6987
This shows remarkable courage, veiled as politeness: Victoria is indicating that she is finding Piso's remarks increasingly offensive; she subtly reprimands him by insisting that he leave before he resorts to such bad manners as he is actually exhibiting. Throughout the scene she coolly remains in control of the moral high ground.
,
t’avoid*n9300
] to'avoyd
which
Let me entreat a fair departure hence.
279PisoLady, this
overacted†gg4660
overdone; performed in an exaggerated manner
state might fit
The wife of a
Clarissimo†gg4661
a Venetian grandee; a magnifico, a magnate
, or the bashful
Daughter of some
patrician†gg4662
a hereditary noble citizen of any of several Italian republics, such as Venice, Genoa, etc.
: but in you,
A
piece†gg508
a woman, usually with the connotation of being a sexual object (OED II 9b)
*n9301
] pi ce (Either a letter "e" in font has been omitted by the compositor, though the space for one was left, or this particular piece of font failed to be properly inked before the page was printed.)
set out to sale, it but appears
To the temptations you wear about you
Than th’ holy-seeming pictures in your chamber.
281PisoIt does, to think what new and secret aim
You may intend by this, in taking on you
The habit and the name of courtesan:
And, first, to set a price so far beyond
The
strength†gs1054
aggregate resources, sum total
of any ordinary means;
And then to show a
carriage†gs186
morally upright behaviour
that may strike
Lust
out of countenance†gg4666
disconcert, discomfit
!
O the knot’s dissolved†gg4667
disentangled
!*n9457
The reference is to the Gordian Knot and a legend associated with Alexander the Great who, faced in Phrygia with this giant knot that none could untie, sliced it through with his sword. The tale became a metaphor for finding a quick solution to a seemingly intractable problem.
O Oedipus! O Sphynx!*n6988
Oedipus came to be made king of the Thebans by solving a riddle posed by a grotesque sphinx (a mythical creature that was part-woman and part-lion), who had destroyed anyone who previously failed to answer her question. The pride in his apparently superior intelligence was a point of hubris in the king, which eventually led to his downfall. This classical Greek legend was the source of Sophocles' tragedy, Oedipus, the King.
I now have found it:
You fish for
Fishermen*n6989
Piso means senior figures in the Roman Catholic Church. Because St. Peter and several of the other disciples were fishermen, and because (in the early years of the Christian faith) the fish was the emblem of Christ, Catholic clergymen were often figuratively called fishermen too.
(’tis
pregnant†gs1055
(of an argument, proof, piece of evidence) compelling, cogent, convincing, clear, obvious
truth)!
She
claps a cardinal aboard*n6990
"To clap aboard" is a nautical term generally meaning to capture another vessel or to go aboard another ship. Piso crudely imagines Victoria as like a pirate who sets out in the full sail of her courtesan's attire to capture a cardinal as her prey. Throughout the renaissance period, cardinals and indeed several popes kept courtesans as mistresses.
at least.
’Tis not a
layman’s†gg4668
a man who is not a cleric
purse or learning can
Or†gg3456
either
purchase or
confute†gs1056
confound (in argument), disprove, refute
you, is’t not so?
My
privilege*n6991
The privilege of the Novella, the details of which are set out again in the rest of this speech.
against you, sir: you know
I have a freedom, grounded upon custom
Here in this city, for a month to make
Choice of my lodging; set what price I please
Upon myself; admit what
visitants†gg4635
visitors, suitors
I shall think fit; no other, nor no more;
And this
without control or least exception*n6992
That is: Victoria will be subject to no man's influence or authority during the period of her "privilege", and there will be no exceptions to the rules as she has outlined them here.
Of you or any man;
secured†gg4669
protected, rendered safe
by th’ city,
So safe from outrages that least abuse
May, on my just complaint, be punishable
In whomsoever by
affront†gs1057
offence to one's dignity or modesty; a felt indignity; hostile attack; defiance
dares
grieve†gg4670
harass, trouble, vex, hurt (OED v. 2)
*n9302
] grive
me.
283Piso [Aside] I fear she’ll prove another creature than
The beast I took her for: she knows her strength.
I’ll yield for satisfaction
unexacted*n6993
That is: without you making demand of me; without you asking me.
:
If, in this month’s space, in that honoured way
(For I despair not of a husband, sir)
Of holy marriage I be not
promoved†gg4671
advanced to a higher grade or office; promoted
;
Nor, by that time
prefixed†gg4672
appointed, arranged (beforehand)
, the great
sum*n9303
] Son
tendered†gg4673
laid down (in payment), proffered
(Great, as you term’t) for my virginity;
And that I stoop for
less*n6998
That is, for less than the required fee.
, here is my hand:
I will be yours as freely as mine own
At your own price.
Only a word by way of friendly advice,
And so farewell. This maidenhead of yours,
By you so highly prized, now being ripe
(And therein only
merchantable†gg4674
marketable, saleable
ware†gg2781
goods; specifically, women, imagined as a commodity (OED n3. 4b)
)
Will, if you
overslip†gg4675
pass over without notice; let slip; let pass
*n9304
] oversl p (The "i" was either omitted by the compositor or the piece of font was not properly inked before the page was printed.)
the season, grow
Suddenly
fulsome†gg4676
abundant, plentiful, copious (but tending towards the overgrown, rank)
, straightway stale, then rotten.
Think upon choicest fruit or
fowl*n9305
] Foule
or fish,
Rich wines, or any rarity: how soon
Their virtue’s†gg4677
quintessence, excellence
lost.
287PisoOnce more farewell――Pray ponder on these things.
289PisoCould you consider how ’twould grieve a soul
Indued†gg2078
archaic form of 'endowed'
with reason, knowing the true use
Of nature’s
delicates†gg4679
dainties, delights, sensual pleasures
, to see ’em lost
Or spoiled for want of
seasonable taking*n7002
Piso is continuing his extended metaphor of ripening fruit, which must be picked in due season: at the right moment of perfect fruition. His intent is, of course, wholly sexual.
,
I know you would, and thank me for my
counsel†gg817
advice, direction
.
291PisoIndeed, farewell then.[PISO] exit[s]
292VictoriaHe’s gone; at last the tedious storm is over.
I shall want
day*n7003
that is: all day
as well as patience
T’endure and answer all the rest so
largely†gg4680
at length, fully
.
Enter HORATIO*n9571
This stage direction is placed in the 1653 text after the end of Victoria's speech. However she and the audience need to notice Horatio's arrival before she speaks about him to make the lines the funnier (perhaps spectators should have the time to recognise the Frenchman as none other than Horatio in disguise). This edition has consequently moved the direction back two lines to the midpoint of Victoria's speech where her line of thought changes direction.
, like
a French cavalier†gg3829
gentlemen trained to arms, gallants
*n7035
Given the satire on national types that prevails throughout this act, it is tempting to emend this entrance to read "like a French chevalier", from which the English term is derived. At this date the English word did not yet carry the royalist significance that accrued to it as the country moved rapidly towards civil war in the later 1630s.
[.] BORGIO presents him.
[Aside]*n9572
No such direction occurs in the 1653 text, but is required as a logical consequence of moving Horatio's entrance before these lines of Victoria's. It is the actress's choice whether to deliver the words as inward musing at the sight of the supposed Frenchman or to share the joke about French "spirit" directly with the audience.
See my
sprightly†gg2139
spirited
Frenchman! I must look
For
a hot onset now, though a short skirmish*n7004
That is: a vigorous attack but one of brief duration (one might in the context interpret the phrase as meaning a lusty assault ending in premature ejaculation). "Onset" carries the meaning "assault, a military attack or onslaught", while "skirmish" means "a petty fight or encounter". Both words could also be applied to modes of argument, so a series of puns may be at play here. Victoria establishes however her absolute confidence in being able to control the situation, whatever it offers.
.
293HoratioLet me in my approach admire that objectn10138
The workshop on this short extract (speeches 293 to 308) from Victoria’s encounter with Horatio in his disguise as “a French cavalier” set out to explore where exactly the focus of this scene should be. Is he the centre of an audience’s interest or is she? The audience have seen Horatio earlier in the play and know that he plans to visit the Novella. The printed text makes it clear that he is playing a role here; but should that be made evident to an audience? How overt should his performance of a Frenchman be? How seriously are we to take Horatio’s assumed style and wit? Should there be a lot of comic play with a cod French accent? What is Victoria’s role and function in the scene, and what are we to read into her expert ability to parry words with this suitor? Victoria is an enigmatic character whose moral worth is as yet undetermined by the play’s action. There are in this act overall and in its dominant situation intertextual resonances of Shakespeare’s Marina in Pericles who, when sold into a brothel, gets the better of all the men who try to take her maidenhead. How important is that sense of referencing Marina? We have seen Victoria in Act Two advertise herself as a courtesan; in this act we see her alone in a room with a series of men but she emasculates each in turn; she ends the various encounters psychologically on top and physically untouched. Whatever the prevailing atmosphere of the scenes in which Victoria appears, the writing seems to endow her with a manifest presence, which tends to transcend the farcical situations into which in this Act she is precipitated. Victoria’s self-possession affords a marked contrast in this scene with the deception being practised by Horatio. What is this power that she owns? We wished to explore the effect of this contrast in performance. In sum, the questions we posed were about character, tone and focus in the scene. How much of what one might hypothesize from a reading of the scene is realisable in performance?
An initial read-through established how quickly Victoria suspects Horatio is posing and not the real thing in the way she challenges his assertion of courtliness. In teasing out the meaning of the lines, it became clear what a formidable intelligence she has, given the wit with which she enters into debate and gets the better of him. The density of the writing and the complexity of the syntax appeared to the actors to be used by Brome to establish Victoria’s intellectual supremacy. Brian Woolland in directing the actors recommended that they admit the difficulty and compactness of the verse and suggested this might best be accomplished if Joseph Thompson (Horatio) showed himself staggered by the force of Victoria’s replies. He arrives expecting all he need do to win the prize of Victoria’s affections is to indulge in a little exaggerated praise and then is repeatedly knocked off his feet by her first accusing him of not being what he claimed to be socially and culturally and then showing how penetrating her mind and perceptions are. What adds to the tension of the scene is Victoria’s aside which reveals a crack in her armour: Horatio’s words incline her to suppose he has the requisite fee to possess her and she fears that. To establish Horatio’s shock, Brian suggested that Joseph start the episode by gazing at and appraising Victoria. As Liz Schafer observed, Horatio has no money but he nonetheless goes to the brothel thinking that he will give the courtesan such a good time sexually that she will waive all question of a fee; and she deflates his expectations, his self-image and his cockiness at the first look. It was the first moments of the encounter that were attempted next.
Joseph here readily caught the deflated bombast of Horatio and his uncertainty how to proceed. By directing his aside to the audience, he revealed both his duplicity and the collapse of his confidence. A point noted by Brian and the actors was how Victoria further discomfits him with her line, “Sir, your further pleasure?” which she intrudes into his attempt at collecting his thoughts. That she uses the word “pleasure” in the context is profoundly ironic, particularly coming in the wake of his decision to “come closer to her”. Before attempting the scene again, Brian instructed Joseph to step up the detail of the opening appraisal and asked Olivia to take the gaze and surprise us by having the power to return the evaluation on Horatio in a manner that humiliates him; he suggested that she enjoy the exercise of control here. This would stress the nastiness of his privately considering her just a whore who is acting above her station and point up the contrast of her inviting him to voice what would best please him. This was the actors’ next exploration, following from this discussion.
Richard Cave felt that there was not yet a level of conscious performance in the rendering such as seems present in the situation. It was agreed next to attempt the scene with Joseph adopting a French accent but speaking his aside when discommoded in his own voice (so that, if any spectators had not yet realised that the Frenchman is actually Horatio in disguise, they would now be enlightened). The blatant exposure of his role-play throws into sharp relief for spectators the question of Victoria’s integrity too. To what degree is her aside less a sudden intimation of a loss of power than an indication that her whole initial reception of Horatio is also a consciously wrought performance? The use of the French accent helps to isolate the aside, which reveals what a total sham morally and well as culturally Horatio’s persona is. Joseph found that the accent caused him to place stresses in the poetry differently from when speaking the verse in received pronunciation. The effect of this was to place certain of the nouns almost in quotation marks so that the flattery did seem overstated (unEnglish and therefore questionable): the character took on a pomposity and tone of insistence he had not shown before, which made his humiliation the funnier. The aside now revealed a far from courtly reality behind all the display. Olivia’s impromptu curtsy on Horatio’s entrance established a polite formality, against which Horatio’s verbal and rhetorical excesses seemed immediately crass and ill-judged. Here was a man setting himself up as the acme of civilised behaviour but demonstrating a distinct want of taste. The aside confirmed what spectators had already begun to suspect. Victoria cast him only rare glances in return for his gazing at her from all sides, but they were clearly enough for her to form a critical opinion of him. Her aside (“He brings the money sure”) carried far more weight in consequence of all this: it was now the heartfelt cry of a woman who despaired lest Horatio have the fee to hand and she be forced into a relationship with a man she despised.
Much had been achieved in a short while in this workshop, which concisely demonstrates how in rehearsal a scene such as this is steadily built up in layers as a consequence of shifting the perspective from blocking, though experiments with eye-contact and handling of asides, to use of accent. More might still be accomplished with further exploration, but dramatic tension had now entered the performance; the tone was decidedly more intricate in its shifts between farce (much of Horatio’s part) and a high moral seriousness (Victoria’s position); Victoria’s resilience in the face of rudeness and apparent defeat were rendering her portrayal enigmatic while simultaneously investing her with a credible dignity; Horatio was established as a buffoon but a dangerous one, given what an audience learns of the extent of his duplicity. The richness of Brome’s dramaturgy was patent.
That
vindicates†gs1059
clears from criticism or doubt by means of demonstration; justifies or upholds by evidence or argument; endorses
the voice of fame, in proving
She was no
liar*n9306
] Lyer
in the loud reports
That
blazed†gs1060
proclaimed, published at large, divulged, made known
it for the beauty of the world!
Would they
forbear†gs712
cease, refrain (from)
their
wonted†gs641
customary, usual
heathenish worship,
And fall in adoration of this face――――
You are so far above the
pitch†gg331
height; summit (OED n2. 19a); height to which a bird rises in its flight (OED n2. 21)
of flattery
That highest courtship in our best of language
Wants†gg921
is without, lacks, is lacking (something)
due†gg212
proper, rightful, fitting
expression of your supreme graces;
And not to
tender†gs1061
offer, proffer
you the height of praise
Were mere
rusticity†gg4704
(showing) a lack of breeding, culture, or refinement; clownishness, awkwardness
, rather
prophanation†gg4705
desecration, sacrilege
.
298VictoriaYet let*n9307
] Yet. Let
me
stay†gs1062
halt, stop (someone's speech)
you there, and let me tell you
You have
worded†gg4706
phrased, expressed
well your high
conceit†gs1063
conception, notion, idea
*n9308
] conceipt
of me;
But in a way so low, so undeserving
A
courtier’s†gg4707
a wooer; also one of high social standing (in this instance both senses are relevant)
art that I have found you none.
How can it
fall†gg4708
to come to be, come about that, occur (but with additional sense of a decline in that coming to be) (OED v. 40d)
in courtly understanding
That beauty can be conquered by
its*n9309
] it's
praise?
It breeds but less respect*n7036
The sense of this and the following two lines is relatively clear, despite the rather compressed expression: Victoria argues that people ambitious of adoration are frequently disposed to despise the people who actually worship them.
and oft times scorn
From those that are ambitious of praise
On such praise-givers. And if you came only
Thus to pronounce my praise, you have said enough.
301HoratioNay, dearest lady, saving your displeasure―――
Aside*n9455
In the 1653 text this direction is placed in the right-hand margin beside the closing words of Horatio's line "...she'll forget". This edition has sited the direction where it would more usually be placed in current playtexts, namely at the start of the words to be delivered as an aside.
I must come closer to her, she’ll forget
She is a whore else†gs122
otherwise
.
Equally with your beauty; briefly of which
A word or two, and so unto our
business*n7037
That is: the sexual union that Horatio is hoping to achieve, but he is too polite in his role as cavalier to be so direct.
.
(You
tax†gg1085
censure, accuse
me with the loss of time already.)
You do consider
fitly†gg4709
appropriately, fittingly
that to praise
What we would purchase makes the value higher:
It is the chapman’s†gg4710
merchant, trader, dealer
rule to discommend†gg4711
express disapproval (disapprobation) of; speak dissuasively about; cause (anything) to be unfavourably viewed
.*n9752
This sounds proverbial but Tilley offers no parallel English example. However, there is an Italian proverb that would appear to lie behind this wording. Fynes Moryson in his An Itinerary gives it in Italian and then in English translation: "For I remembered the Italian Proverbe, La bellezza di putana, la forza del' fachino, &c nulla vagliano, that is, the beauty of a Harlot, the strength of the Porter, and (to omit many like) Musicke it selfe, and all vertues, become less prized in them, who set them out to sale" (An Itinerary [Glasgow: James MacLehose and Sons for the University of Glasgow, 1907],
pp.426-427). It is not clear whether Brome read Moryson's account of his trip to Venice, which was printed in 1617, in addition to Coryat's Crudities. This is one of only two passages which suggest that Brome might have read Moryson's work. Brome could as easily have recalled a line from Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida: "...you do as chapmen do, /Dispraise the thing that you desire to buy" (4.1.76-77). There are other intertextual echoes of Shakespeare's play in The Novella.
304VictoriaRight, sir. Were you to buy a horse or jewel,
You would not praise it past the price
propounded†gg4372
intended, suggested
.
305HoratioYes: where I find the worth exceed the price.
306Victoria Aside*n9456
In the 1653 text this direction has been placed in the right-hand margin beside the final words of Victoria's speech ("...the money sure"). In this edition the direction has been sited where it is nowadays customary to place such directions, namely at the start of the words to be delivered as an aside.
(I am betrayed. He brings the money sure.)
307HoratioAnd, that you know I do esteem your worth
Above all
salary†gg4712
reward or remuneration for services rendered; fee (OED n. 2)
, I yield myself,
Fraught*n7038
This word puns on various meanings of "fraught": "laden" (as of a ship carrying freight); "stored, supplied, furnished, equipped with"; "‘big’ with the promise of". The complexity of resonance somewhat undermines Horatio's confident stance.
with
unvaluable†gg4713
of inestimable value, of incalculable worth
love and honour,
To be the due reward of your embraces.
308VictoriaWhat’s this, sir, to
a thousand double ducats*n7039
That is: a thousand coins each worth twice the value of a ducat. As a ducat was valued at this period of the 1630s as worth the equivalent in contemporaneous English currency of 3s and 6d, a double ducat would be worth around 7s or a third of a guinea. The modern equivalent of the total sum (£350) would be in excess of £30,000.
?
Perceive them in a taste of my endowments†gg3789
‘gift’, power, capacity, or other advantage with which a person is endowed by nature or fortune (OED 4)
*n7040
What Horatio means here is that, if Victoria really judges by only material terms (as her previous speech leads him to suppose), then she should observe and learn his real worth by experiencing an example of his true, gentlemanly quality.
.
First, see my late
composure†gg4714
literary, musical, or artistic composition
, where the flame
Of the soul-ravishing art of
poesy†gg4715
poetry
May
light†gs1064
(v) enlighten, illumine spiritually or intellectually (also with the punning sense of "to lighten in weight", thus allowing Victoria to rise above mercenary considerations)
your judgement ’bove the love of money.
310VictoriaYou’ll say my soul is noble*n7041
Victoria parodies what she supposes Horatio's song will say about her and argues that, however strongly she may demure at such claims, thinking herself unworthy of them, the words are written, available to whoever will read them and so are unchangeable.
; then if I
(As I protest I do) complain the wants
Of even the best
professors†gg4716
exponents (of)
of that art,
The words are set†gs1065
Two meanings elide in this usage: "fixed, definite, not subject to uncertainty or alteration"; and "provided with a musical setting". (OED ppl. a, 2 and 1d)
.
312VictoriaPlease you to read ’em, sir, and in
requital†gs1049
recompense, reward
Of such a debt, my maid shall sing ’em for you.
Enter JACCONETTA*n9573
Director and cast must devise some means to make Jacconetta's arrival into the scene plausible. There has been no advance planning on the part of Victoria with Borgio and her maid whereby one or both would be within earshot in case Victoria should have need of their assistance. It is noticeable that later in the act in the scene with Don Pedro both Borgio and Jacconetta arrive immediately onstage the instant Victoria summons them [NV 3.1. speech 362]. It would be possible for the actress playing Victoria in this sequence to slightly raise her voice as a summons to Jacconetta without losing the actual direction of the speech to Horatio.
Jacconetta, observe this
ditty†gg4719
the words of a song, as distinguished from the music or tune (OED n. 3)
*n9310
] Dity
.
[HORATIO] reads the song.
Let not the corrupted steam
Of invective's*n7047
] invective (The emendation seems required for grammatical sense to avoid the juxtaposition of two otherwise unrelated nouns. An alternative reading would be to see "breach" as a verb offered as an initial alternative of two actions of which the second "blaspheme" is the stronger.)
†gg4720
a violent attack in words; a denunciatory or railing speech, writing, or expression
breach†gs1067
injurious assault, violation
blaspheme†gg4721
speak evil of, revile, calumniate, abuse
Ladies for those artful†gg4722
ingenious, clever, cunning, skilled
graces,
Which they lay†gg4723
paint (in the context of make-up)
upon their faces:
Ceruse†gg3654
white lead, used in make-up
and vermillion†gg4724
cinnabar or red crystalline mercuric sulphide, much valued on account of its brilliant scarlet colour, used from Roman times onwards as a cosmetic or for painting the body
there
As aptly†gg4725
fittingly
may be laid,
As (to cover nature bare)
All other parts*n7048
That is: of the body. Sharpe in his study of the sources of the play (Robert Boies Sharpe, 'The Sources of Richard Brome's The Novella', Studies in Philology, 30 [January 1933], 69-85) suggests that the song is a deliberate riposte to Coryat's prudishness in describing the fondness of Venetian women and particularly courtesans for a noticeably heavy form of makeup involving "stibium, cerussa, and purpurissum". Coryat in fact continues from this observation: "For few of the Cortezans are so much beholding to nature, but that they adulterate their faces, and supply the defect with one of these three. A thing so common amongst them, that many of them which have an elegant naturall beauty, doe varnish their faces (the observation whereof made me not a little pitty their vanities) with these kind of sordid trumperies" (Thomas Coryat, Coryat's Crudities, [Glasgow: James Maclehouse for the University of Glasgow Press, 1905], p.404).
be clad.
Be we sick in any part,
Pained or lame, we seek to*n7049
That is: look to, expect.
art,
(Nature’s rector†gg4727
one exercising supreme or directive control
) to restore
Us*n7050
That is: to us.
the strength we had before.
Who can say a lady’s face
Less meriteth the cost,
Or the privilege or grace
Her other parts may boast†gg4728
display proudly, possess as a thing to be proud of
?
Ladies, no: since time may steal
Nature’s bounty†gs1068
wealth, munificence
, learn to heal;
And with nimble hand repair
Teeth and lips, cheeks, eyes and hair;
Filling wrinkles, purling†gg4729
stimulating so as to flow smoothly (like a running stream)
veins:
That, unperceived*n9311
] unperceav'd
may be
Upon your looks, the strokes†gg4730
marks (the image is drawn from whipping or lashing)
and pains
Of age and casualty†gg4731
chance, accident
.
JACCONETTA sings*n7080
] Jac. Sings. (The abbreviation, Jac., here again leaves it open to question which of the character's names is being referred to: Jacomo or Jacconetta. This edition has opted for the latter as the name associated with the individual in question by everyone involved in the action at this point .)
314HoratioHowever ’twas well sung, you seem to
slight†gg1900
(v) disregard, treat with disrespect
In such
requital†gs1049
recompense, reward
my
esteem†gg4763
favourable opinion; regard; respect
of you:
But yet there rests in me a quality,
I may suppose not so to be
requited†gg4764
rewarded
.
Please you
command your music*n7081
give order to your musicians to play
, I will dance
To what you first shall name of
latest practice*n7082
Two interpretations are possible here: both "what most recently you have been practising" but also "whatever is the latest fashion" (that is a dance that is most practised because most in favour). The condensed syntax used leaves it open whether this has a particular reference to Victoria or a more generalised application.
.
Do so much honour these
endowments†gs1071
(in plural) cultural abilities or pursuits
in you
That I myself will answer you in this.
Name you the dance, sir.
317VictoriaI am but
weakly†gg4765
poorly, to only a slight degree
practised yet in that.
Go play it, Jacconetta, the Novella.JACCONETTA exit[s]
320Horatio [Aside] I do begin to doubt my
qualities†gs1072
abilities, accomplishments, cultual and aesthetic gifts
Will not pass here in payment at the rate
My
schooling†gg4766
education, training in the arts of dancing, music etc.
cost me, when she repays all
I can bestow
in the same coin again*n7086
What Horatio means is that he cannot impress Victoria, since every endowment he displays before her she can match with equal proficiency.
.
But since
I’m in*n7087
That is: (since) I have begun on a particular line of proceeding or mode of behaviour.
, I’ll
on†gg593
proceed, continue
, and make the best
Both face and legs I can in’t.
Dance*n10137
I consulted with Barbara Ravelhofer, an authority on dance and drama in the seventeenth century, about this particular dance and how it might be performed in a production today. I quote with considerable gratitude from her detailed reply [further information of mine which extends comments in her response are enclosed in square brackets]. “It was a common Venetian / central Italian practice around 1600, and probably for some decades after, for aspiring dancing masters to think of themselves as “authors”. As such they occasionally revised well-known dances of their own making or by another master or added a new variation of their own; and they tended to name such products in a manner that emphasized their newness, giving the dances such titles as Contrapasso nuovo or Barriera nuova. [The dance that Horatio refers to as the "Novella" might well allude to this practice.] Every dancing master worth his salt would boast new dances in his repertoire and advertise them in this manner. [Over 180 dances are listed as "new" in Robert Meller's The Dancing Master, 1651-1728 which, while it surveys an era later than the date of Brome's play, is nonetheless indicative of how common the practice was even in England that Dr. Ravelhofer describes.]
“It was also common to dedicate a dance to a person of consequence, in the same way as poets addressed their works to potential patrons. Sometimes these dances are named after the dedicatee. [In this context, perhaps a new dance is being named after the new courtesan whom Horatio covets.]
“However, Fabritio Caroso’s Il Ballarino (Venice: Ziletti, 1581) includes an example of courtly dancing entitled, Alba Novella (“The New Dawn”); it is the first dance in the collection, dedicated to Bianca Cappello de Medici, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, who is also the dedicatee of the book as a whole. It has five parts: the first four grave, the last more easygoing. It is not the most demanding of dances: the choreography is quite basic, and is probably to be seen as a beginner’s dance, one that is meant to ease the reader/practitioner into the more demanding choreographies, which follow. In the last part there are a few trabuchetti (small jumps ending with the legs closed, one foot lifted and at a ninety-degree angle from the other foot, which is on tiptoe and supports the dancer). The melody is pleasing and vaguely reminiscent of that for Caroso’s later dance Cortesia. (Melodies like dance steps were endlessly recycled). It is possible that Caroso’s book was available in England in Brome’s time, but there is no conclusive evidence for this.”
Barbara Ravelhofer expressed doubts whether the play alludes to this particular dance. However, Bianca Cappello de Medici was from Venice and deemed by many to have been a courtesan, even though she rose to a position of eminence in marrying into the Medici family. She is the subject of Middleton’s Women Beware Women (which has been convincingly dated by John Jowett in Thomas Middleton: The Collected Works as c. July, 1621) where she is so portrayed; and she may have been known to Brome in this context. Speculation all too quickly slips into hypothetical surmise beyond this point: was the name, Fabritio that Brome uses in his play culled from Caroso? did Brome have contact through Jonson with some of the choreographers deployed for the court masques, who might have known or had access to Caroso's volume? The most plausible explanation for the title of Horatio’s proposed dance is that he wishes to cut a dash and create a new choreographic figure extempore, just to prove his skill, and that he is dedicating the work to the woman he wishes to honour. Perhaps in performance the actor playing Horatio led the boy actor in the role of Victoria through a series of simple steps, before he proceeded to dance round her with more complex and impressive figures. There would be potential for considerable comic invention in this and, if Horatio became more interested in his dancing than in his partner, it would explain the sudden access of scorn and sarcasm that Victoria directs at Horatio immediately afterwards, before tiring of his arrogance and quitting his presence. Clearly a scenario of this kind that motivates Victoria's dismissal of Horatio is necessary in production.
I crave your kind acceptance of my thanks.
323HoratioI still had rather you were pleased to accept
Me and my whole
deservings†gg4768
deserts, merits
.
I come to you*n7088
That is: I'll be open with you, come to the point, come to a conclusion, conclude with (you).
.
If you
esteem†gs1073
(v) value, respect
of courtship, language, quality,
Sorting†gg4769
corresponding to, agreeing with, suiting, befitting
a gentleman of best degree,
The
mixture†gg4770
union, synthesis, integration
of whose knowledge with his practice
Cost thrice your golden
sum*n7089
] Son
; let me and
those*n7090
That is: his abilities, qualities and qualifications as a gentleman.
Be made the
meed†gg2175
reward, wages (OED n. 1a)
of your most sweet enjoying.
But rather wish you had your money again
Those excellencies cost*n7091
That is: the money spent in being taught the qualities of a gentleman.
.
325HoratioYou do not flout†gg4771
mock, jeer, insult; express contempt for (someone)
me, lady?
326VictoriaNo, I’ll speak plainly, sir. These qualities
Might on some
thriving stage and lucky legs*n7092
That is: if you were an actor performing in a popular and successful theatre and were possessed of a good pair of legs that, in attracting the attention of spectators there, could make your fortune.
Bring you your money again, winning perhaps
The love of some old lady by
stirring up†gg4772
provoking, stimulating (erotically)
The embers of affection, rather lust.
They will not pass for
ready money†gs1074
cash or funds immediately available for use
, sir.
329Horatio [Aside] I dreamt as much. She has a devilish wit.
330VictoriaMy
courtesy†gs1075
graceful politeness or considerateness in dealings with others; polite and courtly behaviour
, sir, forbids me bid you hence;
But, having private business of my own,
I must crave
leave†gg885
permission
to
leave†gg4773
depart from, quit (someone's presence)
you to the thought
Of what two thousand ducats are.[VICTORIA] exit[s]
331HoratioBe handed.*n9312
This is a curious phrase to the modern reader. It is perhaps best interpreted as a courteous gesture (and Horatio has been vaunting the excellence of his manners) in which Horatio offers Victoria his hand as a formal farewell or to assist her in leaving the space (to hand her out, even as in other circumstances one might helpfully hand a woman into a carriage). However, the Eton College Library copy of the 1653 edition of Five Plays is inked over here to read more like an expletive: "Be dann'd" or perhaps "Be damn'd". This copy contains a number of handwritten emendations of uncertain date; most are highly intelligent and sensitive corrections, and two have been incorporated into this edition. In this instance, however, heavy inking on the initial "d" and second "n" makes it difficult to be certain that this is the intended reading. An expression of rage and frustration would be logical at this point in the action, which Borgio's ensuing insinuations would considerably augment to an audience's amusement. I have chosen to retain "Be handed" in this edition, but in performance a cast might prefer to take the reading made in the Eton copy.
Enter BORGIO
332BorgioIs it performed, sir? Have you done the feat?
333HoratioPox†gs45
pox on/of (it): a plague on (an expletive)
o’ your feats!
334BorgioJust as the music played. I
warrant†gg859
assure, promise
you,
Sir, ’twas a
moving†gs1076
arousing (but here used with sexual overtones)
lesson, played to th’ life.
We
struck it home*n7094
That is: played vigorously to the finish (usually on a keyboard). But the phrase is used here with obvious implications of sexual penetration. The music was designed to give Horatio a rhythm for his erotic activity. The comment makes it clear that offstage music is required to accompany the dance (and possibly the song). Perhaps the accompaniment continues after Victoria breaks off the dancing.
that you might do so too.
335Horatio [Aside] The rogue, too,
jeers†gs1077
(v) deride, mock, scoff at
me!
[Aloud] Sir, I should do well
To strike or beat your undeserved fee
Out of your bawdy pocket.
336BorgioAs if you had not done the
do†gs251
the sexual act
you came for!
What pretty ways can gentlemen find out
To save their monies! ’Tis worth praise in some
That have but little, or come
hardly†gg4776
with difficulty, trouble or hardship
by’t
By
travail†gs973
effort, exertion
, study, or laborious toil,
Dear†gs1041
the usage here embraces a pun on the meanings "costly" and "hard-won" (dear-bought experience)
shifts†gs1078
(in plural) strategies, schemes, expedients
sometimes and dangerous ways
with hazard†gg4777
involving risk, chancy, dangerous
――――
338BorgioBut for you gallants that have, as it were,
Wealth above wit born with you and still growing
Up with you,
past the reach of your expenses*n7095
That is: with more income than expenditure; wealth that exceeds what is spent.
;
And never sweat but for your exercise,
Or what your
exercises bring you to*n7096
That is: heated sexual activity.
!
For you to think your pleasures costly;
feign*n7097
] faine ("Fain", meaning "gladly, willingly" would seem out of place in the context, hence the emendation.)
Excuse for petty fees now the great
charge*n7098
That is: the fee of two thousand ducats that is the price of taking Victoria's maidenhead.
Is paid and your desire satisfied ―――
340BorgioAlas sir, what is a poor
ducatoon†gg4778
a silver coin formerly current in Italian and some other European states, worth in the 1600s from 5 to 6 shillings sterling (currently in 2009 the value would be between £22.00 and £26.00)
After a thousand ducats?――――
342BorgioWould you had not;
’less*n7101
That is: lest, unless
my reward were better.
See, see, the bed made smooth
again! And all*n7102
] againe and all!
(O
precious†gs1079
fastidious (but used here also maybe with the force of an intensifier, meaning "out-and-out", "downright")
craft†gg4779
cunning, ingenuity
!) as here had nothing been!
Well! Would ye were all as wise in greater matters.
343Horatio [Aside] ’Tis the rogue’s
humour†gg4694
whim, caprice (OED n. 6)
: I will give him something
For
abusing†gg4783
insulting, playing games with
me.
[Aloud] There’s your ducatoon
To
work†gg349
(v) influence, prevail upon
more affability in your mistress
Against†gs1080
in anticipation of, in preparation for, in time for (OED 19)
my next approach.
You are not
cloyed†gg1931
satisfied, satiated (OED v1. 8a)
with her deliciousness.
345HoratioNor had one taste (I swear by life and honour)
Of all my hopes, more than her hand and lips.
346BorgioHave you not in that a double meaning, sir?
347HoratioI vow, for ought I know, she is a virgin.
348BorgioYou’ve satisfied me, and perhaps my
art†gs1081
skill in persuasion
May in your absence
work†gg349
(v) influence, prevail upon
a little for you.
350BorgioMy profit pricks†gg4785
drives or urges (as with a spur) (OED prick v, II 9a)
me to it.
351HoratioRespect†gg4787
heed, pay attention to (OED v. 2b)
it then. Adieu†gg4132
goodbye
.[HORATIO] exit[s]
352BorgioServiteur, Monsieur*n7106
That is: your servant, sire. This was a formal mode of address within polite French society especially with reference to a person of superior social status. It is possible that in performance Borgio's remark might be accompanied by a particular posturing of the body, which Coryat describes as characteristic of polite male society in the city: "when they [men of good standing] meet and not talke, they give a low congie [a ceremonial bow at leave-taking] to each other by very civill and courteous gestures, as by bending of their bodies, and clapping their right hand upon their breastes, without uncovering of their heads, which sometimes they use, but very seldome". (See Thomas Coryat, Coryat's Crudities, 2 vols [Glasgow: James MacLehose for Glasgow University Press, 1905], p.399).
.
The fear of thee is past.*n7107
Borgio (Paulo) admits his fear that the affable Frenchman would prevail with Victoria, who would allow him to take her virginity out of sheer love or passion for him. This whole speech within the theatre where spectators are not informed of the fact that Paulo is playing a role is enigmatic in its effect. Is he admitting to this fear out of concern lest Victoria should give herself away, showing that all his advice outlined in 2.2 concerning the advantage to be gained by delaying tactics has gone unregarded? Or there may be some deeper preoccupation with Victoria's honour, which spectators may register without fully understanding.
I was almost
In a cold sweat; but all the danger now,
Lies on the tother side o’th’ house: my
Don†gg4789
a Spanish title, prefixed to a man's Christian name (still in the 1600s confined to men of high rank)
,
My
hot†gs1082
sexually excited, rampant
,
goat-livered*n7109
The liver was in the 1600s believed to be the seat of love and all passionate emotions. Goats were at that date considered extremely lascivious, a trope that may derive from the goat-like satyrs of classical Greek and Roman legend, who were notoriously lusty and licentious.
Diego*n6956
A contemptuous term in the period for any Spanish man (much like Taffy for a Welshman or Taig for an Irishman). Diego was a version of the equally pejorative word, "Dago". The character's actual name is Don Pedro.
, should he now
Discharge his pistols on her*n7111
The phrase invites a sexual interpretation.
, they would prove
More
forcible†gg4790
violent (in its consequences), destructive
than
cannon-shot†gg4791
ammunition shot from a cannon; cannon-balls
on me.
Enter
[DON] PEDRO*n9313
This character is omitted from the list of "persons in the play". Piso and Horatio, who though they visit Victoria in disguise, are given their own names by way of speech prefixes. Don Pedro, however, is not another disguised identity. This character is a wholly new acquaintance to spectators and one seen very briefly. One might suppose that he is introduced merely to allow for the pointed political comment about the relations between Spain and Holland when, later, he is confronted by Swatzenburgh. However, his violent mood adds to an audience's appreciation of the dangers to which Victoria is exposed in her role as courtesan.
[and] VICTORIA
Faith†gs1083
trust (that is, in Victoria's remaining true to her pact with Borgio)
quit me of suspect! How big he looks!
As if he scorned
repulse†gg218
(n) rejection
. If he grow violent,
I’ll bring the Dutchman in to cool his pride
And set them by the ears for our Low Countries.*n9655
Spain and the Netherlands were old enemies, after Holland became part of the Spanish empire and anti-Protestant purges were brutally pursued, particularly during the reign of Philip II. But the line is equally capable of yielding a bawdy interpretation: the "Low Countries" has a long history in English drama as referencing the female genitalia.
[BORGIO] exit[s]
353PedroI have not in all Spain (where majesty,
Enthroned, sits upon the brow of beauty
And
crowns*n7112
] crowne
the ladies with
prerogative†gs1084
a superiority, a pre-eminence, precedence
’Bove all the women of the earth) encountered
With such a scorn as here:
discourteous†gg4566
void of or lacking in courtesy; rude, uncivil (OED)
woman,
Worthless and ignorant of the
weighty†gg400
serious, grave, important
trust
Was
tendered†gs1085
offered or presented formally for acceptance
to thee in my
blood†gs974
family line, lineage
and honour.
354VictoriaYour blood and honour will not feed or clothe me.
355PedroI will not
change†gg203
(v) exchange
a word more*n7113
] charge a word more (There is no OED definition of "charge" that would clearly justify its use here; the syntactical context culminating in the phrase "with a mouth" suggests the need for the emendation offered, where the meaning is "to exchange words with another" in argument. An angry exchange is what is happening here from the very onset of the sequence.)
with a mouth
So full of rudeness and
mechanic†gg1677
belonging to or characteristic of the lower part of the social scale or the lower classes; vulgar, coarse; among the exemplifying quotations in the OED is this from John Donne’s 'Satire 4': "He smacked, and cried, / He’s base, mechanic, coarse."(OED a and n, 3)
baseness.
356VictoriaNot upon my
submission†gg4792
yielding, deference
, sir?
357PedroIt must be great and sudden, if it
move†gg1799
persuade, convince
me.
358VictoriaHe looks that I should kneel and beg a kiss.
359PedroWhy seek you not to
expiate†gg4793
make amends or reparation for
your
trespass†gg319
(n) offence (OED n. 1); minor violation of the law (OED n. 2); crime
By
tender†gg4739
(n) offer
of yourself to my embraces?
Denies that freedom†gs1086
the state of being able to act without hindrance or restraint; liberty of act (also with sense of "magnanimity", "generosity") (OED n. 4a and 2)
.
I see ’tis only force must conquer you.
Enter BORGIO [and] JACCONETTA
363BorgioWhat! Is the great
sum*n7114
] some
tendered†gg4673
laid down (in payment), proffered
?
Do you
want†gg491
lack
hands to
tell†gg1675
count
your money, mistress?
364VictoriaNo, to take off the hands of rape and outrage
This proud imperious Spaniard
griped†gg4794
grasped or clutched; grappled with; seized or gripped
me with.
365BorgioSignor, you must not
gripe†gg3219
grasp
nor grope here
Under the sum prefixed*n7115
That is: for less than the ordained fee.
: two thousand ducats.
We have arithmetic to receive them by
In your own
pistolets†gg4796
a Spanish gold escudo; also a Spanish double-escudo was termed a pistole; occasionally used of any of various other gold coins of the 16th and 17th centuries (an escudo was a gold or silver Portuguese coin to the value of an English crown, the value of which in the currency of 2009 would be £22.30)
or
pieces of eight†gg4797
each of these was a Spanish silver dollar, or peso, worth eight reals and marked with the figure 8
,
In
reals†gg4798
small Spanish silver coins (eight of these made up the more famous "pieces of eight")
, if you please; but not one single one
To be
abated†gg4799
brought down in value; haggled over as to the price
, my most thrifty Don,
Whom I cannot abuse enough. Methinks,
I have seen one in your shape so well presented*n7116
This would appear to be an intertextual reference to Jonson's The Alchemist (1610) and the character of Surly, who dresses as a Spanish grandee in an attempt to discover what exactly is the scam that Face, Doll and Subtle are carrying out in Lovewit's house. Face sets the puritan, Ananias, to attack him on the grounds of the lewd ostentation of his clothes, even as Swatzenburgh is soon to be set at Don Pedro by Borgio. "Shape" here means "appearance" (though it can also refer to costuming or dress) and "represented" means "enacted" or "performed". The intertextual reference must have alerted the knowing spectator that a farcical squabble was about to occur.
.
366PedroVillain, I’ll have thee
whipped*n7117
Whipping was a common punishment for a range of crimes in seventeenth-century London, particularly for prostitution and pimping.
for this
affront†gs1057
offence to one's dignity or modesty; a felt indignity; hostile attack; defiance
,
Thy fault is punishable by the law.
367BorgioNot in defence of honour, dear Don
Tarquin*n7118
The reference is to the last of the kings of ancient Rome, who raped Lucretia, believing all women were his for the taking. Tarquin was hounded out of the city and defeated in battle; Rome became a republic; Lucretia committed suicide.
,
Preventing rape and murder.
368PedroVillain, die.[Pedro] draws [a] pistol*n9753
According to Fynes Moryson, foreigners were forbidden to carry guns of any kind in Venice in the early seventeenth century, though unlike the situation in most other Italian cities they were permitted to wear swords. Moryson writes: "It is unlawfull to weare a sword without licence of the Magistrate, either at Milan, Cremona, Mantua, or almost in any Citie in Italy; onely at Venice and Paduoa, and the Cities of that State, strangers may weare Swords, and onely the wearing of Pistols or short gunnes is forbidden" (Fynes Moryson, An Itinerary [Glasgow: James MacLehose and Sons for the University of Glasgow, 1907], p. 372). It is arguable whether Brome was familiar with Moryson's work; but, if he had read An Itinerary, then it is wholly in line with his caricatured portrayal of Don Pedro that he should use this information to show the Spaniard as flouting the law in this imperious way.
369BorgioNot at this distance, sir. Besides, here’s aid.*n9314
The 1653 text sets what is clearly a single pentameter as two lines, thus making it appear like prose. This is caused partly by the compositor's decision to set the stage direction ("He draws /Pistoll") as a block of two lines in the right-hand margin alongside Pedro's "Villain, die." and the first of Borgio's sentences that make up his cool reply.
Enter SWATZENBURGH
370SwatzenburghHence, you
mosquito*n9574
] musquitta (the term does not occur in the OED with this period spelling)
. Give a look more this way,
I’ll force thee take thy
wings*n7119
The word continues the idea of a mosquito but it was also used to denote an aspect of male attire: "a pair of lateral projecting pieces of a garment on or near the shoulder, as of a doublet" (OED wing n, 8a).
out at the window.
371PedroBorne down†gg4801
overwhelmed, overthrown, vanquished
by
bravoes†gg4615
(in the singular) a reckless desperado; daring villain; an agent of the criminal underworld; (in the plural) desperadoes, criminals
! Let the place protect ye,
By my few minutes’ patience. My revenge
Shall shortly speak in thunder*n7120
That is: like Zeus or Jupiter in classical myth, who directed thunder bolts against their enemies. Don Pedro here may be referring more literally to the noise that the use of his pistols will make.
.
And vent not here your loud
rodomontadoes†gg4802
extravagant boasting or bragging; vainglorious rhetoric (more hot air than real words)
,
Lest I spit lightning.
374BorgioBe so, my
politic†gg514
expedient, sagacious
*n7121
] politique
Don. This
Hans*n7122
A common generic nickname for a Dutchman.
has
snapped†gg4803
snatched, made a quick or eager catch at a thing, bore off
her;
The Dutchman carries her from your great claim:
And this may be an
ominous portent*n7123
That is: a bad or evil omen foretelling the future. This idea and indeed the whole of this speech relates directly to the prolonged (Protestant) Dutch resistance to the (Catholic) Spanish occupation of their lands. Though trade rivalry with the Dutch had intensified during the 1620s, English soldiers were often recruited successfully into the Dutch forces, particularly in the later years of that decade. In the very year when Brome composed this play, the Dutch commander, Prince Frederik Hendrik of Orange, marched on Maastricht after successfully capturing S'Hertogenbosch in 1629. He laid siege to the city and, though various Spanish attempts were made to end the strategy by their commanders, Don Gonzalez and Pappenheim, the Dutch eventually breached Maastricht and expelled the Spaniards. The repossession of the city took place on August 23rd, 1632. This was a major victory and one much celebrated in England (though King Charles resisted subsequent overtures to establish an Anglo-Dutch alliance). There was a substantial English presence among the regiments engaged on the siege, and the Earl of Oxford, Robert de Vere, was killed there. The image of the Dutchman carrying a prize off from the Spaniard's "great claim" may be interpreted as indicating that the play was completed and staged after the successful siege (this would support Lucy Munro's contention that The Novella was most likely staged during the 1632-1633 season). If this were indeed so, then these lines express a wish for the entire freeing of Dutch soil from Spanish colonisation, and that the one military victory at Maastricht ("this small assay") might be prophetic of a total expulsion of Spaniards from the Netherlands ("the great work"). I am indebted to Michael Leslie and to Lucy Munro for help with research on this note.
Against your title to the Netherlands,
It may hold in the great work, sir, as well
As in this small assay†gg4805
an attack, an assault, trial of strength
.
375PedroAbused and jeered†gs1088
insulted, derided
!
376BorgioNor†gs1089
and if, since
they hear me not, my noble
signor†gg5953
usually a polite form of address in Spanish or Italian to a man of superior degree (the equivalent of "Sir") but here used contemptuously (Brome is not consistent in his spelling of the term but tends to use "signior" when referring to Italian and "signor" with regard to Spanish men)
,
I’ll tell you for your satisfaction
This
Alemannic†gg4809
Traditionally the term was applied to German speaking peoples from Alsace, Swabia and Switzerland. There is a problem here in that elsewhere Swatzenburgh is referred to as coming from the Netherlands. Perhaps Brome is aiming to sound exotic and is creating an adjectival noun from the French word for Germany ("Allemagne"); or maybe he just means to infer that Swatzenburgh is German-speaking.
*n7137
] Alenanie (It is difficult to read the final letter in copies consulted: it may be an "e" or a "c". OED, however, does not list a use of this word before the mid 1700s.)
is a
younker†gg4810
a young nobleman or gentleman of high rank (originally Dutch or German); often spelt "junker"
that would marry her,
And she nor I
durst†gg219
dared
bear†gs1090
uphold, profess, claim
it otherwise,
(Knowing by chance he slipped into the house
And overheard
us). When*n7139
] us) when
you come again,
I will inform you further; you shall find
My information worthy of a fee.
377PedroTake from my hand a
piece†gs1091
coin
of four
gazetts*n7141
OED defines the word "gazett" as "a Venetian coin of small value" and, besides citing this and the following line from Brome, also quotes from the Mountebank scene in Ben Jonson's Volpone, where "some three or four gazetts" are again as here valued at "threepence" (2.2.174-176). Coryat in his Crudities (1611) alleges that the entrance fee to the tower of St. Mark's in Venice "will cost thee but a gazet, which is not fully an English penny" (Thomas Coryat, Coryat's Crudities, 2 vols. [Glasgow: James MacLehose for Glasgow University Press, 1905], vol. 1, p. 327).
.
378BorgioThat’s three-pence sterling: you are bounteous, sir;
So, now, look big and vanish.PEDRO exit[s].
379VictoriaI have not, sir, in
my short story*n7143
The telling of this, we are to suppose, occupies Victoria and Swatzenburgh for the duration of Borgio's dialogue with Don Pedro. They stand intimately apart and the narrative seems highly engrossing, given Borgio's comments about how he is not likely to be overheard by the pair as he tantalises the Spaniard with talk of the Dutchman's prowess.
strayed
In the least syllable from truth, and were
The eyes of all the world fixed upon
My
seeming*n7144
This is another indication to the alert spectator that Victoria's courtesanship is all a front, a role, a facade, which is quite different from her inner, quintessential self.
levity†gg4813
frivolity, "light" or undignified behaviour
, my mind should be
Still constant as the
centre*n7145
Victoria means her constancy is like the still point at the heart of the circle, around which it is described. Or as OED (centre n, 4) defines it: "the point, pivot, axis, or line round which a body turns or revolves; the fixed or unmoving centre of rotation or revolution". All without is giddy movement; all within is an absolute stillness.
to that end,
Reserved†gg4814
restrained (Interestingly Cawdrey in his Table Alphabetical of 1604 defines the word as kept safe "for the time to come", which has a subtle bearing on the plot.)
in my
free†gs1092
unrestricted (as opposed in the context to "reserved"); but also with the sense of private
thoughts.
Proclaimed the price of your virginity?
381VictoriaTo keep the
flesh-flies†gg4816
(literally) flies which deposit their eggs (or larvæ) in dead flesh, blow-flies; (figuratively of persons) lewd reprobates, whore-mongers, lechers
off. You know
my aim*n7146
It is becoming clearer as this act advances that Victoria has a particular goal in view in pursuing her career as a courtesan, but its precise terms are still withheld from the audience.
, sir.
Further attempt
a breach†gs1067
injurious assault, violation
upon your honour*n7147
"Breach" here means a sexual violation, but also it calls metaphorically on the battle and fortification imagery that has permeated the previous would-be suitors' rhetoric, which has caused Victoria much discomfort. This has all culminated in Don Pedro's attempted rape. Victoria's virginity has been seen by Piso, Horatio and Pedro as a fort to which they see themselves as laying siege with a view to breaching her defences and taking possession of her. Swatzenburgh admits that this was his initial reason for visiting her, but now finds her nobility requires of him a more honourable and civilised response.
.
I have by this time a
slight†gs1093
(of a meal) light, insubstantial
dinner
staying†gs1094
waiting (already prepared and laid at table)
.
385VictoriaSee all in readiness, Jacconet.
JACCONETTA exit[s]
386SwatzenburghI’ll drink a
frolic*n7148
OED cites no meaning that relates directly to a specific drink. Normally the word means "gaiety", "fun" or an entertainment that produces such responses. However the OED cites two usages, one of 1616 from Ben Jonson's The Devil Is An Ass (2.8.73) with reference to Dick Robinson acting in drag at a gossips' feast: "To see him [...]drink vnto 'em; /And then talk bawdy: and send frolics! O!"; and the other of 1631 from a text by "R. H." Arraignment Whole Creature xiv. §2. 244: "Moveable as Shittlecockes..or as Frolicks at Feasts, sent from man to man, returning againe at last, to the first man". In both these instances drink or a filled glass or goblet seems to be being passed around a table between diners. In both contexts there seems to be an erotic or amatory connection between those indulging in the game.
, lady;
Mirth and good wine take me: my
loose†gs1030
lustful, lewd
desire
Is to chaste love refined by
Vesta’s fire*n7149
Vesta was a Roman female divinity, the daughter of Saturn, goddess of the hearth and household. Her emblem was a fire, which was kept permanently alight and guarded in a special temple in Rome by a group of celebate women, known as the Vestal Virgins.
.
[SWATZENBURGH and VICTORIA] exit*n7150
] Exit (The 1653 text simply gives the direction in the singular, which implies that only Swatzenburgh leaves the stage at this point. At the close of Borgio's final speech, the direction "Exeunt omnes" implies that more characters than Borgio leave the stage at the end of the act and scene. But Borgio's final speech is clearly a soliloquy addressed to the audience about how he interprets what he has just witnessed, and it would be perverse to have Victoria remain behind and either overhear it or pretend not to be listening; and his words are certainly not directed at her in the form of a dialogue. In consequence this edition gives Victoria an exit direction in company with Swatzenburgh, which would seem logical, since she has just invited him to partake with her of a small collation as her private guest. Borgio leaves the stage alone on the final line of the scene.
387BorgioAm I a prophet? Sure the Dutchman’s ta’en
In a chaste snare indeed. I did but
forge†gg4817
fabricate, invent
it
For an excuse to calm and
rid†gg4818
get rid or free of (OED v. 3c)
the Spaniard,
And
he*n7151
That is, Swatzenburgh.
seems to
prevent†gs1095
outstrips, anticipates, acts in advance (OED v. 1 and 5a)
my fiction; yet
Presumption†gs1096
overly forward behaviour
shall not
sway†gg4819
influence, divert or cause to swerve from a decision, path or line of conduct, make one vacillate in one's judgement
me. Women’s
wiles†gg4820
cunning tricks, strategems, deceits
Are oft-times past
prevention†gg4821
the hindering, frustrating or forestalling of a scheme
, and men
catch†gg4822
apprehend, intuit
Sense of the wrongs, which to
prevent†gg4462
hinder, thwart, forestall, frustrate (OED v. II 8)
they
watch†gg3041
(keep) watch, be on the look out, stay awake or alert
.
[BORGIO] exit[s]*n7152
] exeunt omnes (By following the logic implicit in the dialogue and taking Victoria from the stage along with Swatzenburgh before Borgio begins this speech, that leaves Borgio only to depart at the close of the scene: hence the emendation here.)
Edited by Professor Richard Cave