''A Woman Killed with Kindness'' is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

written by Thomas Heywood. Acted in 1603 and first published in 1607, the play has generally been considered Heywood's masterpiece, and has received the most critical attention among Heywood's works. Along with the anonymous '' Arden of Faversham,'' Heywood's play has been regarded as the apex of Renaissance drama's achievement in the subgenre of bourgeois or domestic tragedy. The play was originally performed by Worcester's Men, the company for which Heywood acted and wrote in the early Jacobean era. The records of Philip Henslowe show that Heywood was paid £6 for the play in February and March 1603. The 1607

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

was printed by

William Jaggard William Jaggard ( – November 1623) was an Elizabethan era, Elizabethan and Jacobean era, Jacobean printer and publisher, best known for his connection with the texts of William Shakespeare, most notably the First Folio of Shakespeare's pl ...

for the bookseller John Hodgets. A second quarto was issued in 1617 by William Jaggard's son Isaac Jaggard. The plot of Heywood's play derives from an Italian novel by Illicini, which was translated into English and published in ''The Palace of Pleasure'' by William Painter (1566).

Characters

* Master Frankford * Mistress Anne Frankford – Frankford's wife * Sir Francis Acton – Anne's brother * Sir Charles Mountford * Master Malby * Master Wendoll – friend of Frankford * Master Cranwell – an old gentleman * Nicholas – a servant of Frankford * Jenkin – a servant of Frankford * Spigot – a butler and servant of Frankford * Cicely Milkpail – a servant of Frankford * Jack Slime – a country fellow * Roger Brickbat – a country fellow * Joan Miniver – a country wench * Jane Trubkin – a country wench * Isbell Motley – a country wench * Falconer * Susan – Charles' sister * Sheriff * Shafton * Old Mountford – Charles' uncle * Sandy – Charles' former friend * Roder – Charles' former tenant * Tidy – Charles' cousin * Frankford and Anne's children

Synopsis

Act I (Or Scenes I-III)

Anne and Frankford are celebrating their wedding. Anne's family remarks how well suited she is for marriage and how well she is taking to it so far. Francis and Charles arrange to go hawking and hunting tomorrow. Wendoll and Cranwell place bets on the men. The next day, Francis and Charles argue over whose falcon did better, and the quarrel devolves into a fight. Charles kills two of Francis's men. Charles immediately repents his anger. His sister Susan encourages him to flee so that he will not be arrested. He resolves to stay and face the consequences of his actions, and the sheriff comes to arrest him.

Act II (Or Scenes IV-VII)

Frankford ruminates on how lucky he is by birth and station, but mostly because he has such a lovely wife. Wendoll arrives with news of the fight between Charles and Francis. Frankford welcomes him and takes him in. The servant, Nick, does not like Wendoll, and swears he'll refuse to serve him. (Scene IV) Charles has been cleared of all charges, but it has cost him everything he has and now he's a "plain countryman". Shafton offers Charles 500 pounds in friendship....except it is not out of friendship; it is a ploy to get his remaining property, the house he shares with Susan.(Scene V) Wendoll is in love with Anne and is trying to ignore his feelings, not least because he loves Frankford so much. He confesses his love to her anyway, and though she is horrified at first, she begins to melt. He kisses her and encourages her to take him to bed, since her husband is away. Nick witnesses the end of their exchange and swears to kill Wendoll for abusing his mistress thus. (Scene VI) Charles and Susan are very poor, but thankful that they have a roof over their heads and each other. Shafton makes an offer on Charles's house, and when Charles refuses, has him arrested for not being able to pay back the money Shafton lent him. Francis takes joy in this, as he does not feel sufficiently revenged on Charles yet. He decides to seduce Susan to disgrace her and Charles with her lewdness, but when he sees her, he falls terribly in love with her. (Scene VII)

Act III (Or Scenes VIII-X)

Nick tells Frankford about Wendoll and Anne. At a card game after dinner where the conversation is full of doublespeak, Frankford begins to believe it and works out a plan to catch them in the act. He retires to bed early. (Scene VIII) Susan pleads for help from various friends and family members, who all cast her off. She despairs, and Francis sends her money. She rejoices, but when she learns it is from him, she refuses it. Despairing of ever being able to woo her, Francis decides to pay Charles's debts and drop the charges against him for killing the servants earlier, in hopes that this kindness will bring Susan around. Later, Susan and Charles are shocked to find out his debts have been paid by Sir Francis. Susan surmises this must be because of his love for her, and Charles seems to think that by giving Susan to Sir Francis, he can repay all. (Scene IX-X)

Act IV Or Scenes (XI-XIII)

Frankford and Nick devise a scheme to call him away from home and see what Wendoll and Anne do in his absence. As he departs, Wendoll convinces Anne to take their dinner in her private chambers, which will no doubt lead to dessert of a carnal nature. Frankford and Nick sneak home in the night and Frankford finds Anne and Wendoll in bed together. He chases Wendoll out and expresses his disappointment in Anne. He calls for their two children and scorns her in front of them. After a bit of time, he pronounces his sentence on her: she is to take all her furniture, all her clothes and everything that belongs to her, choose which servants she likes best, and remove herself to the manor house seven miles away, where she can live out her days in peace. Moreover, she will never again be allowed to communicate with Frankford or the children in any way. (XI-XIII)

Act V (Or Scenes XIV-XVII)

Charles dresses up Susan and takes her to Sir Francis to be his bride and repay the debts. She resists, preferring death first, but relents at last. Francis is thrilled and makes preparations for their wedding at once. (XIV) Frankford makes sure Anne left nothing behind her and finds her lute, which makes him sad. Nick sets off with it to overtake her. Cranwell departs for Sir Francis, to let him know what's happened between Frankford and his sister. Anne is sad on the road to the manor house. Nick arrives with the lute, and she tells him to swear to Frankford that he saw her sad and that she will never again eat or drink. Wendoll encounters them and hopes to comfort Anne, but she calls him the devil and flies. Charles, Susan, and Francis go to visit Anne, who is on her deathbed. They tell her Frankford has agreed to see her. He arrives, and forgives her. She dies. Frankford laments, which restores the social and patriarchal order at the end of the play. (XV-XVII)

Self-starvation

Early Modern The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

and Jacobean views of

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

or self-starvation were often hearkened to old

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

views which considered a woman's fasting a visual cue to a woman's obedience, chastity, and honour. Eating, binging, or gluttony were considered to be fundamentally connected with sexuality. According to several Early Modern conduct book writers, the sin of gluttony will inevitably lead to lust, and several of these tract writers suggested female fasting should be a part of a woman's education as it would prove her to be (and help her to be) a better wife and mother.

References

External links

''A Woman Killed With Kindness''
at Luminarium * ''A Woman Killed With Kindness'' at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woman Killed with Kindness, A Plays by Thomas Heywood 1603 plays 1607 plays Domestic tragedies Tragedy plays Fasting