Venice Preserv'd
Encyclopedia
Venice Preserv'd is an English Restoration
play written by Thomas Otway
, and the most significant tragedy
of the English
stage in the 1680s. It was staged first in 1682
, with Thomas Betterton
as Jaffeir and Elizabeth Barry
as Belvidera. The play was soon printed and enjoyed many revivals through to the 1830s.
Antonio’s key scene in Venice Preserv’d is the “Nicky Nacky” scene where Antonio makes an attempt at foreplay with Aquilina by pretending to be a bull, a toad, and a dog. Including the “Nicky Nacky” scene, Antonio makes five appearances throughout the play: Pierre and Aquilina’s discussion about Antonio in Act II; Antonio and Aquilina’s interaction during the “Nicky Nacky” scene in Act III; Antonio’s involvement with the execution of the conspirators in Act IV, and Antonio and Aquilina’s discussion about Pierre’s execution in Act V.
According to Derek H. Hughes, Antonio’s relationship with Aquilina mirrors other relationships in the play by portraying prostitution, submission, and self-abasement which can be subtly seen in the relationships between Renault and Belvidera, Jaffeir and Pierre, and Jaffeir and Belvidera.
Aquilina is a courtesan woman who is romantically involved with Pierre, as well as sexually involved with the senator Antonio. Aquilina allows Pierre to meet with the conspirators in her home (II.i.48.) Aquilina appears in the play three times: Act II, Act III, and Act V (8). When the Lyric Theatre performed Venice Preserv’d in 1920, Edith Evans performed as a successful Aquilina. Aquilina was played by Stephanie Beacham at the Lyttelton Theatre in 1984.
Belvidera is a noble woman who is the daughter of Priuli and the wife of Jaffeir. “Belvidera is affectionate, constant, and pure” character who remains faithful to Jaffeir and gains pardon for the conspirators who were plotting to murder her father (1). According to Derek Hughes, Belvidera is a complex character; sometimes Belvidera is an admirable character particularly in comparison to those who surround her. When Jaffeir tells Belvidera of the plot to destroy the senate, she recognizes the corruption of the senate, but does not condone the plan of the conspirators (4): she says to Jaffeir, “Can thy great heart descend so vilely low, / Mix with hired slaves, bravoes, and common/ stabbers,… and take a ruffian’s wages/ To cut the throats of wretches as they sleep?” (8). Her argument persuades Jaffeir to not partake in the conspirators’ plan, but to instead turn them in to the senate.
On the other hand, Derek Hughes also says, “Belvidera is not different in kind from the other characters. She is the highest product of the world of Venice Preserv’d, but she is of that world to the very end” (4). Belvidera is also resourceful and cunning when it comes to getting what she wants. Belvidera persuades Jaffeir to discontinue his association with the conspirators by telling him of Renault’s assault towards her (III. ii. 181.) Belvidera calls up on the memories of her dead mother in order to convince her father to pardon the conspirators (Otway V. i. 44.)
Venice Preserv'd’s first performance was at the Duke's Theatre on February 9, 1682, with Elizabeth Barry as Belvidera. In 1782 at the Drury Lane Theatre, Sarah Siddons played the role of Belvidera; two years later, Siddons was Belvidera at the Covenant Garden (5). The Lyric Theatre in London filled the role of Belvidera with Cathleen Nesbitt in 1920. Barbara Leigh Hung played Belvidera in 1970 at Prospect Productions’ production of Venice Preserv’d. Jane Lapotaire was Belvidera in Lyttelton Theatre’s production of Venice Preserv’d in 1984.
Jaffeir is the husband of Belvidera, the son-in-law of Priuli, and the friend of Pierre.
Jaffeir is the tragic hero in Venice Preserv’d: he is expected to fulfill the roles of husband, friend, and activist. According to Michael DePorte, “Most readers seldom, if ever, admire Jaffeir for anything, they can sympathize with him only as a man torn on the horns of a terrible dilemma;” that dilemma being his divided loyalties between Belvidera and Pierre (1). Because of his friendship with Pierre, Jaffeir gives his loyalty to Pierre and the conspirators, but because of his love for Belvidera he betrays Pierre and the conspirators.
According to Bywaters, Jaffeir can be easily compared with the Popish betrayer Oates due to the proximity of the Popish Plot with the production of Venice Preserv’d, as well as the Catholic terminology that Pierre uses in reference to Jaffeir (2). The religious tones in Venice Preserv’d allows Bettie Proffitt, in her article concerning religious symbolism in Venice Preserv’d, to compare Jaffeir with Adam.
For the opening showing of Venice Preserv’d on February 9, 1682 at the Duke’s Theatre, William Smith played the character of Jaffeir. In 1782 John Kemble was Jaffeir. In London in 1953, John Gielgud filled the role of Jaffeir. Alan Bates was Jaffeir in 1969 at The Bristol Old Vic’s production of Venice Preserv’d. More recently, John Castle was Jaffeir in 1970 during the Prospects Productions’ of Venice Preserv’d. (6) in 1984 Michael Pennington was Jaffeir (6).
Pierre is the friend of Jaffeir, the lover of Aquilina, and a conspirator against the senate, as well as a soldier for Venice.
Pierre discovers that while he has been away (presumably at war) Senator Antonio has been sexually involved with his mistress Aquilina. Pierre brings this matter before the senate hoping for justice, but the senate excuses Antonio’s behavior as a privilege entitled to the senators (I. i. 206-217). This situation is what causes Pierre to become involved with the conspiracy against the State.
Pierre is the primary voice for the conspirators and delivers many eloquent speeches throughout the play. Pierre has little difficulty in recruiting Jaffeir to the plot against the senate because of his ability to transform Jaffeir’s need for revenge against Priuli into a need for revenge against the corrupt senate (3)
Even though Pierre manipulates Jaffeir, Pierre is a loyal and devoted friend to Jaffeir (1). When Pierre presents Jaffeir to the conspirators, he says, “I’ve brought my All into the publick Stock, / I had but one Friend, and him I’ll share amongst you!” (II. 310-11) Not only faithful to Jaffeir, Pierre is also faithful to his cause with the conspirators until the very end.
Because of Pierre’s political jargon, several of his speeches have been censored over the years. Bywaters believes that Venice Preserv’d is an attack on the Whig party and that Pierre’s speeches are the primary vehicle for those attacks: “and Pierre’s accusation of a ‘new Tyranny’… turns the Whigs’ rhetoric of tyranny and arbitrary power against them." Pierre’s charismatic speeches encourage such a passionate response from the audience that The Times wrote, “the audience seemed enraptured with every development of rebel villainy." After an assassination attempt on George III, the performance of Venice Preserv’d that evening nearly caused a riot which caused the further performances to be cancelled. Venice Preserv’d was not seen in London for seven years until it returned in 1802; however, Pierre’s part was censored and lacking its idealism.
At the Duke's Theatre in 1682, Pierre was performed by Thomas Betterton. In 1802 George Frederick Cooke played the role of Pierre. In London in 1920 at the Lyric Theatre, Baliol Holloway was Pierre. In 1953, Pierre was played by Paul Scofield. In the Prospect Production in 1970, Julian Glover was Pierre. (6) in 1984, Ian Mckellen played Pierre at the Lyttelton Theatre.
Priuli is the father of Belvidera and a senator of Venice. According to DePort, Priuli is a complex character because of the mixed signals he gives concerning Belvidera (1). Priuli calls Belvidera his “age’s darling” who is “all that his heart holds dear,” but according to Jaffeir, Priuli protects himself before taking care of Belvidera: “Your unskilled pilot/ Dashed us upon a rock, when to your boat/ You made for safety, entered first yourself” (I. i. 36.). Priuli disowns his only child when she chooses and marries a man without her father’s permission (8). In 1984, Brewster Mason played Priuli at the Lyttelton Theatre.
her, but she escapes to Jaffeir. Jaffeir then tells Belvidera about the plot against the Senate, and against her father. She devises a plan of her own. Jaffeir will reveal the conspiracy
to the Senate and claim the lives of the conspirators as his reward. It is only after Belvidera informs him of the attempted rape that Jaffeir agrees to do this, but the Senate breaks its word and condemns all the conspirators to death. In remorse for betraying his friend and losing his honour (by betraying his oath to the conspirators), Jaffeir threatens to kill Belvidera, unless she can get a pardon for the conspirators. She does so, but the pardon arrives too late. Jaffeir visits Pierre at his execution. Pierre is crestfallen because he is sentenced to die a dishonourable death and not the death of a soldier. He forgives Jaffeir and whispers to him (unheard by the audience) to kill him honourably before he is executed. Jaffeir stabs his friend, Pierre, on the gallows, and as a form of atonement
commits suicide
. Belvidera then goes insane
and dies.
, and the grand plot resembles the Gunpowder Plot
, among others, most notably the so-called "Spanish Conspiracy" against Venice of 1618. The oceanic city of Venice had been used as a stand-in for London
before, but the subtext most noticeable to contemporaries was the parallel with the Exclusion Crisis (see, for example, Dryden's
Absalom and Achitophel
). Therefore, one reason for the play's outstanding initial success was its political allusiveness.
Venice Preserv'd also has several feminist issues. As the play was written in the Restoration
period, when the legal protections for women were few, the emotional heart of the play is the vulnerability of women. Aquillina, the play's courtesan
, is shown very little regard by the men in the play. Her lover, Pierre, refuses to reveal the plot against the Senate to her, suggesting that women shouldn't talk out of bed, and Antonio never calls her by her name, but refers to her only as his "little Nacky" (a slang term for a woman's genitalia). Belvidera is reduced to collateral when she is left in the hands of men her husband barely knows. Jaffeir's honour takes precedence over Belvidera, and the tension over love and honour is the male characters' crisis. At the end of the play, Jaffeir chooses his devotion to his friend over his devotion to his wife, and the two men die honourably, whereas Belvidera is left to die an inglorious death resulting from her madness. Contemporary theater-goers were sensitive to the tragic
tension between the public and private obligations of the characters.
Venice Preserv'd was one of the first of the she-tragedy
plays. Contemporary audiences responded to the pathos
of the character of Belvidera, which was written for the tragedienne Elizabeth Barry and capitalised on Barry's phenomenal success in the role of the similarly helpless Monimia in Otway's The Orphan
(1680). Of all of the characters, Belvidera is the most powerless in the face of overwhelming social and political turmoil. Each of the characters has a conflict between the social and personal laws of class and self. Belvidera has to struggle against duty to her father and to love. Jaffeir has to struggle against "honour" and love, as well as friendship and ideals. Priuli must decide between love of daughter and personal pride. Belvidera remained a starring role for actresses because her tragic situation was most affecting for audiences.
(To Julian, Secretary of the Muses) wrote, "Otway, though very fat, starves." Venice Preserv'd has not survived to the 21st century as a byword for tragedy, but it was one of the best-known and most important of English tragedies for over 100 years.
On April 10, 1864, John Wilkes Booth
told Louis J. Weichmann
that he was done with the stage and that the only play he wanted to present henceforth was Venice Preserv'd. Although Weichmann did not understand the reference at the time, it was later assumed to be a veiled allusion to the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln
.
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
play written by Thomas Otway
Thomas Otway
Thomas Otway was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for Venice Preserv'd, or A Plot Discover'd .-Life:...
, and the most significant tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
stage in the 1680s. It was staged first in 1682
1682 in literature
The year 1682 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* In London, the King's Company and the Duke's Company join to form the United Company.-New books:*John Bunyan - The Holy War...
, with Thomas Betterton
Thomas Betterton
Thomas Patrick Betterton , English actor, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London.-Apprentice and actor:...
as Jaffeir and Elizabeth Barry
Elizabeth Barry
Elizabeth Barry was an English actress of the Restoration period.She worked in big, prestigious London theatre companies throughout her successful career: from 1675 in the Duke's Company, 1682 – 1695 in the monopoly United Company, and from 1695 onwards as a member of the actors' cooperative...
as Belvidera. The play was soon printed and enjoyed many revivals through to the 1830s.
Main Characters
Antonio is a corrupt senator who is sexually involved with the courtesan Aquilina: in the prologue of Venice Preserv’d, Otway describes Antonio as “a Senator that keeps a whore/ In Venice none of a higher office bore. / To lewdness every night the lecher ran;/ Show me, all London, such another man, /”. Otway’s invitation to find a “such another man” has allowed several critics to connect Senator Antonio with Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury who was a Whig politician.Antonio’s key scene in Venice Preserv’d is the “Nicky Nacky” scene where Antonio makes an attempt at foreplay with Aquilina by pretending to be a bull, a toad, and a dog. Including the “Nicky Nacky” scene, Antonio makes five appearances throughout the play: Pierre and Aquilina’s discussion about Antonio in Act II; Antonio and Aquilina’s interaction during the “Nicky Nacky” scene in Act III; Antonio’s involvement with the execution of the conspirators in Act IV, and Antonio and Aquilina’s discussion about Pierre’s execution in Act V.
According to Derek H. Hughes, Antonio’s relationship with Aquilina mirrors other relationships in the play by portraying prostitution, submission, and self-abasement which can be subtly seen in the relationships between Renault and Belvidera, Jaffeir and Pierre, and Jaffeir and Belvidera.
Aquilina is a courtesan woman who is romantically involved with Pierre, as well as sexually involved with the senator Antonio. Aquilina allows Pierre to meet with the conspirators in her home (II.i.48.) Aquilina appears in the play three times: Act II, Act III, and Act V (8). When the Lyric Theatre performed Venice Preserv’d in 1920, Edith Evans performed as a successful Aquilina. Aquilina was played by Stephanie Beacham at the Lyttelton Theatre in 1984.
Belvidera is a noble woman who is the daughter of Priuli and the wife of Jaffeir. “Belvidera is affectionate, constant, and pure” character who remains faithful to Jaffeir and gains pardon for the conspirators who were plotting to murder her father (1). According to Derek Hughes, Belvidera is a complex character; sometimes Belvidera is an admirable character particularly in comparison to those who surround her. When Jaffeir tells Belvidera of the plot to destroy the senate, she recognizes the corruption of the senate, but does not condone the plan of the conspirators (4): she says to Jaffeir, “Can thy great heart descend so vilely low, / Mix with hired slaves, bravoes, and common/ stabbers,… and take a ruffian’s wages/ To cut the throats of wretches as they sleep?” (8). Her argument persuades Jaffeir to not partake in the conspirators’ plan, but to instead turn them in to the senate.
On the other hand, Derek Hughes also says, “Belvidera is not different in kind from the other characters. She is the highest product of the world of Venice Preserv’d, but she is of that world to the very end” (4). Belvidera is also resourceful and cunning when it comes to getting what she wants. Belvidera persuades Jaffeir to discontinue his association with the conspirators by telling him of Renault’s assault towards her (III. ii. 181.) Belvidera calls up on the memories of her dead mother in order to convince her father to pardon the conspirators (Otway V. i. 44.)
Venice Preserv'd’s first performance was at the Duke's Theatre on February 9, 1682, with Elizabeth Barry as Belvidera. In 1782 at the Drury Lane Theatre, Sarah Siddons played the role of Belvidera; two years later, Siddons was Belvidera at the Covenant Garden (5). The Lyric Theatre in London filled the role of Belvidera with Cathleen Nesbitt in 1920. Barbara Leigh Hung played Belvidera in 1970 at Prospect Productions’ production of Venice Preserv’d. Jane Lapotaire was Belvidera in Lyttelton Theatre’s production of Venice Preserv’d in 1984.
Jaffeir is the husband of Belvidera, the son-in-law of Priuli, and the friend of Pierre.
Jaffeir is the tragic hero in Venice Preserv’d: he is expected to fulfill the roles of husband, friend, and activist. According to Michael DePorte, “Most readers seldom, if ever, admire Jaffeir for anything, they can sympathize with him only as a man torn on the horns of a terrible dilemma;” that dilemma being his divided loyalties between Belvidera and Pierre (1). Because of his friendship with Pierre, Jaffeir gives his loyalty to Pierre and the conspirators, but because of his love for Belvidera he betrays Pierre and the conspirators.
According to Bywaters, Jaffeir can be easily compared with the Popish betrayer Oates due to the proximity of the Popish Plot with the production of Venice Preserv’d, as well as the Catholic terminology that Pierre uses in reference to Jaffeir (2). The religious tones in Venice Preserv’d allows Bettie Proffitt, in her article concerning religious symbolism in Venice Preserv’d, to compare Jaffeir with Adam.
For the opening showing of Venice Preserv’d on February 9, 1682 at the Duke’s Theatre, William Smith played the character of Jaffeir. In 1782 John Kemble was Jaffeir. In London in 1953, John Gielgud filled the role of Jaffeir. Alan Bates was Jaffeir in 1969 at The Bristol Old Vic’s production of Venice Preserv’d. More recently, John Castle was Jaffeir in 1970 during the Prospects Productions’ of Venice Preserv’d. (6) in 1984 Michael Pennington was Jaffeir (6).
Pierre is the friend of Jaffeir, the lover of Aquilina, and a conspirator against the senate, as well as a soldier for Venice.
Pierre discovers that while he has been away (presumably at war) Senator Antonio has been sexually involved with his mistress Aquilina. Pierre brings this matter before the senate hoping for justice, but the senate excuses Antonio’s behavior as a privilege entitled to the senators (I. i. 206-217). This situation is what causes Pierre to become involved with the conspiracy against the State.
Pierre is the primary voice for the conspirators and delivers many eloquent speeches throughout the play. Pierre has little difficulty in recruiting Jaffeir to the plot against the senate because of his ability to transform Jaffeir’s need for revenge against Priuli into a need for revenge against the corrupt senate (3)
Even though Pierre manipulates Jaffeir, Pierre is a loyal and devoted friend to Jaffeir (1). When Pierre presents Jaffeir to the conspirators, he says, “I’ve brought my All into the publick Stock, / I had but one Friend, and him I’ll share amongst you!” (II. 310-11) Not only faithful to Jaffeir, Pierre is also faithful to his cause with the conspirators until the very end.
Because of Pierre’s political jargon, several of his speeches have been censored over the years. Bywaters believes that Venice Preserv’d is an attack on the Whig party and that Pierre’s speeches are the primary vehicle for those attacks: “and Pierre’s accusation of a ‘new Tyranny’… turns the Whigs’ rhetoric of tyranny and arbitrary power against them." Pierre’s charismatic speeches encourage such a passionate response from the audience that The Times wrote, “the audience seemed enraptured with every development of rebel villainy." After an assassination attempt on George III, the performance of Venice Preserv’d that evening nearly caused a riot which caused the further performances to be cancelled. Venice Preserv’d was not seen in London for seven years until it returned in 1802; however, Pierre’s part was censored and lacking its idealism.
At the Duke's Theatre in 1682, Pierre was performed by Thomas Betterton. In 1802 George Frederick Cooke played the role of Pierre. In London in 1920 at the Lyric Theatre, Baliol Holloway was Pierre. In 1953, Pierre was played by Paul Scofield. In the Prospect Production in 1970, Julian Glover was Pierre. (6) in 1984, Ian Mckellen played Pierre at the Lyttelton Theatre.
Priuli is the father of Belvidera and a senator of Venice. According to DePort, Priuli is a complex character because of the mixed signals he gives concerning Belvidera (1). Priuli calls Belvidera his “age’s darling” who is “all that his heart holds dear,” but according to Jaffeir, Priuli protects himself before taking care of Belvidera: “Your unskilled pilot/ Dashed us upon a rock, when to your boat/ You made for safety, entered first yourself” (I. i. 36.). Priuli disowns his only child when she chooses and marries a man without her father’s permission (8). In 1984, Brewster Mason played Priuli at the Lyttelton Theatre.
Plot
The play concerns Jaffeir, a noble Venetian who has secretly married Belvidera, the daughter of a proud senator named Priuli, who has cut off her inheritance. Jaffeir is impoverished and is constantly rebuffed by Priuli. Jaffeir's friend Pierre, a foreign soldier, stokes Jaffeir's resentment and entices him into a plot against the Senate of Venice. Pierre's own reasons for plotting against the Senate revolve around a senator (a corrupt and foolish Antonio) paying for relations with Pierre's mistress, Aquillina. Despite Pierre's complaints, the Senate does nothing about it, explaining that Antonio has senatorial privilege. Pierre introduces Jaffeir to the conspirators, led by blood-thirsty Renault. To get their trust, he must put Belvidera in Renault's care as a hostage. In the night, Renault attempts to rapeRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
her, but she escapes to Jaffeir. Jaffeir then tells Belvidera about the plot against the Senate, and against her father. She devises a plan of her own. Jaffeir will reveal the conspiracy
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
to the Senate and claim the lives of the conspirators as his reward. It is only after Belvidera informs him of the attempted rape that Jaffeir agrees to do this, but the Senate breaks its word and condemns all the conspirators to death. In remorse for betraying his friend and losing his honour (by betraying his oath to the conspirators), Jaffeir threatens to kill Belvidera, unless she can get a pardon for the conspirators. She does so, but the pardon arrives too late. Jaffeir visits Pierre at his execution. Pierre is crestfallen because he is sentenced to die a dishonourable death and not the death of a soldier. He forgives Jaffeir and whispers to him (unheard by the audience) to kill him honourably before he is executed. Jaffeir stabs his friend, Pierre, on the gallows, and as a form of atonement
Atonement
Atonement is a doctrine that describes how human beings can be reconciled to God. In Christian theology the atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin through the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion, which made possible the reconciliation between God and creation...
commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Belvidera then goes insane
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
and dies.
Context
The play contains a fair number of political parallels. The character of Senator Antonio is a reference to ShaftesburyAnthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury PC , known as Anthony Ashley Cooper from 1621 to 1631, as Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd Baronet from 1631 to 1661, and as The Lord Ashley from 1661 to 1672, was a prominent English politician during the Interregnum and during the reign of King Charles...
, and the grand plot resembles the Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
, among others, most notably the so-called "Spanish Conspiracy" against Venice of 1618. The oceanic city of Venice had been used as a stand-in for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
before, but the subtext most noticeable to contemporaries was the parallel with the Exclusion Crisis (see, for example, Dryden's
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
Absalom and Achitophel
Absalom and Achitophel
Absalom and Achitophel is a landmark poetic political satire by John Dryden. The poem exists in two parts. The first part, of 1681, is undoubtedly by Dryden...
). Therefore, one reason for the play's outstanding initial success was its political allusiveness.
Venice Preserv'd also has several feminist issues. As the play was written in the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
period, when the legal protections for women were few, the emotional heart of the play is the vulnerability of women. Aquillina, the play's courtesan
Courtesan
A courtesan was originally a female courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person.In feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
, is shown very little regard by the men in the play. Her lover, Pierre, refuses to reveal the plot against the Senate to her, suggesting that women shouldn't talk out of bed, and Antonio never calls her by her name, but refers to her only as his "little Nacky" (a slang term for a woman's genitalia). Belvidera is reduced to collateral when she is left in the hands of men her husband barely knows. Jaffeir's honour takes precedence over Belvidera, and the tension over love and honour is the male characters' crisis. At the end of the play, Jaffeir chooses his devotion to his friend over his devotion to his wife, and the two men die honourably, whereas Belvidera is left to die an inglorious death resulting from her madness. Contemporary theater-goers were sensitive to the tragic
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
tension between the public and private obligations of the characters.
Venice Preserv'd was one of the first of the she-tragedy
She-tragedy
The term she-tragedy refers to a vogue in the late 17th and early 18th centuries for tragic plays focused on the sufferings of an innocent and virtuous woman...
plays. Contemporary audiences responded to the pathos
Pathos
Pathos represents an appeal to the audience's emotions. Pathos is a communication technique used most often in rhetoric , and in literature, film and other narrative art....
of the character of Belvidera, which was written for the tragedienne Elizabeth Barry and capitalised on Barry's phenomenal success in the role of the similarly helpless Monimia in Otway's The Orphan
The Orphan
This article is about the play. For the 2009 horror film, see Orphan .The Orphan, or The Unhappy Marriage is a domestic tragedy, written by Thomas Otway in 1680. It was first produced at the Dorset Garden Theatre, and starred Mrs. Barry as Monimia, Thomas Betterton as Castalio and Mr. Jo. Williams...
(1680). Of all of the characters, Belvidera is the most powerless in the face of overwhelming social and political turmoil. Each of the characters has a conflict between the social and personal laws of class and self. Belvidera has to struggle against duty to her father and to love. Jaffeir has to struggle against "honour" and love, as well as friendship and ideals. Priuli must decide between love of daughter and personal pride. Belvidera remained a starring role for actresses because her tragic situation was most affecting for audiences.
Success of the play
Otway was the toast of London after Venice Preserv'd, and yet the financial situation of the theater meant that he did not grow wealthy from his work. In 1692, Robert GouldRobert Gould
Robert Gould was a significant voice in Restoration poetry in England.He was born in the lower classes and orphaned when he was thirteen. It is possible that he had a sister, but her name and fate are unknown. Gould entered into domestic service...
(To Julian, Secretary of the Muses) wrote, "Otway, though very fat, starves." Venice Preserv'd has not survived to the 21st century as a byword for tragedy, but it was one of the best-known and most important of English tragedies for over 100 years.
On April 10, 1864, John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
told Louis J. Weichmann
Louis J. Weichmann
Louis J. Weichmann was one of the chief witnesses for the prosecution in the conspiracy trial of the Abraham Lincoln assassination. Previously, he had been also a suspect because of his association with Mary Surratt's family.-Background and early life:Weichmann was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the...
that he was done with the stage and that the only play he wanted to present henceforth was Venice Preserv'd. Although Weichmann did not understand the reference at the time, it was later assumed to be a veiled allusion to the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln assassination
The assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination occurred five days after the commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee, and his battered Army of...
.
External links
- Text of Venice Preserved at Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
Text from an American edition of 1874, which bowdlerizes the text, completely eliminating the character of Antonio.
- Venice preserved; or, A plot discovered, a tragedy. Adapted for theatrical representation (1796) Scanned from University of Toronto - Robarts Library, in the Internet Archive. Full text.