The White Devil

Throughout The White Devil, characters who base their actions on their emotions are often punished, and Bracciano is a prime example of this pattern. His lust for Vittoria prompts him to murder his wife and Vittoria’s husband, and he abandons all social and moral standards in order to satisfy his illicit sexual desires. Significantly, Bracciano barely pauses to reflect on the consequences of his actions, and his emotions often override his reason. He is so excited to carry out the murders of Camillo and Isabella that he goes to a conjurer to view the deeds directly rather than waiting until news of their deaths is brought to him. Thus, it is clear that Bracciano does not think about the consequences of his actions because, as a wealthy and privileged member of the Italian elite, he has never had to deal with repercussions and acts as he pleases. As the trial of Vittoria suggests, his crimes will be ignored and condoned while others are punished in his place. Bracciano’s actions in the play therefore suggest that he and his peers have the luxury of acting on impulse because society does nothing to inhibit or police their actions.

On a personal level, however, Bracciano nearly undoes his relationship with Vittoria out of this same penchant for emotional impulsivity. When he feels a sudden stab of jealousy at the mere suggestion that she might be unfaithful to him, he launches into an angry diatribe and momentarily casts aside the very love for which he has already willingly committed two murders. Despite the meager evidence of Francisco’s false love letter, Bracciano takes its words as truth and immediately begins to insult Vittoria in the most strident terms. In this moment, his emotions overrule his reason, at least until Vittoria and Flaminio manage to calm him through flattery and deceit. Thus, they rely upon the same emotional means to change his mind, realizing that he can be easily manipulated in such a fashion.

At her trial, Vittoria demonstrates that the dangers of succumbing to emotion are in fact a broader social issue. While Bracciano is the most pronounced example of a man whose actions are dictated by emotion, the absurdity of the trial suggests that other men are just as guilty of this flaw. For example, when Vittoria criticizes the court as hypocritical and cynical, her logical reasoning convinces no one. The trial is instead dominated by Monticelso, who is too intrigued by the salacious details of Vittoria’s indiscretions to follow her logic. Likewise, when he becomes Pope, the emotional Monticelso illustrates the extent to which his emotional instincts are tolerated and even rewarded in this patriarchal society.

In contrast to Bracciano’s emotional impulsivity, Francisco’s demeanor offers a distinct alternative. Although Francisco is not immune to emotional reactions, he nonetheless demonstrates a more calculated approach that rewards him by the end of the play. In Act 4, for example, Monticelso talks to Francisco and suggests that they should kill Bracciano, and Francisco takes the time to mull over the implications of this emotional desire, weighing the various consequences of such an action. Despite his hatred of Bracciano, he understands that caution is a better option, and Francisco therefore survives while Bracciano does not, secure in the knowledge that his cold calculations triumph over Bracciano’s emotional actions.