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Giovanni
Marcello is Cornelia’s son and Vittoria and Flamineo’s sibling. Unlike his older brother Flamineo, Marcello feels that decency and honesty are more important than wealth; he does not approve of Flamineo’s scheme to kill Camillo and Isabella, nor does he approve of Vittoria’s affair with Brachiano. By contrast, Marcello allies himself with Francisco, hoping to earn higher standing through more traditional means. Despite his noble aspirations, however, Marcello is just as impulsive as his siblings: when Flamineo teases him about his youth, he threatens to kill his brother. Before Marcello can act, however, Flamineo pre-emptively stabs him. Ultimately, Marcello’s life and death demonstrate the near-impossibility of class mobility in such a stratified social system.
Marcello Quotes in The White Devil
The The White Devil quotes below are all either spoken by Marcello or refer to Marcello . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 4, Scene 1
Quotes
FRANCISCO:
Oh, the fate of princes!
I am so used to frequent flattery
That, being alone, I now flatter myself.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5, Scene 2
Quotes
MARCELLO:
There are some sins which heaven doth duly punish
In a whole family. This is it to rise
By dishonest means. Let all men know
That tree shall long time keep a steady foot
Whose branches spread no wider than the root.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
CORNELIA:
Let me go, let me go.
She runs to Flamineo with her knife drawn, and coming to him lets it fall.
The God of heaven forgive thee! Dost not wonder
I pray for thee? I ’ll tell thee what ’s the reason,
I have scarce breath to number twenty minutes;
I ’d not spend that in cursing. Fare thee well:
Half of thyself lies there; and mayst thou live
To fill an hour-glass with his moulder’d ashes,
To tell how thou shouldst spend the time to come
In blessed repentance!
Act 5, Scene 4
Quotes
FLAMINEO:
I have a strange thing in me, to th’which
I cannot give a name without it be
Compassion.
Act 5, Scene 6
Quotes
FLAMINEO:
‘Tis well yet there’s some goodness in my death;
My life was a black charnel. I have caught
An everlasting cold; I have lost my voice
Most irrecoverably. Farewell, glorious villains.
This busy trade of life appears most vain,
Since rest breeds rest, where all seek pain by pain.
Let no harsh flattering bells resound my knell;
Strike, thunder, and strike loud, to my farewell!
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Marcello Quotes in The White Devil
The The White Devil quotes below are all either spoken by Marcello or refer to Marcello . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 4, Scene 1
Quotes
FRANCISCO:
Oh, the fate of princes!
I am so used to frequent flattery
That, being alone, I now flatter myself.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5, Scene 2
Quotes
MARCELLO:
There are some sins which heaven doth duly punish
In a whole family. This is it to rise
By dishonest means. Let all men know
That tree shall long time keep a steady foot
Whose branches spread no wider than the root.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
CORNELIA:
Let me go, let me go.
She runs to Flamineo with her knife drawn, and coming to him lets it fall.
The God of heaven forgive thee! Dost not wonder
I pray for thee? I ’ll tell thee what ’s the reason,
I have scarce breath to number twenty minutes;
I ’d not spend that in cursing. Fare thee well:
Half of thyself lies there; and mayst thou live
To fill an hour-glass with his moulder’d ashes,
To tell how thou shouldst spend the time to come
In blessed repentance!
Act 5, Scene 4
Quotes
FLAMINEO:
I have a strange thing in me, to th’which
I cannot give a name without it be
Compassion.
Act 5, Scene 6
Quotes
FLAMINEO:
‘Tis well yet there’s some goodness in my death;
My life was a black charnel. I have caught
An everlasting cold; I have lost my voice
Most irrecoverably. Farewell, glorious villains.
This busy trade of life appears most vain,
Since rest breeds rest, where all seek pain by pain.
Let no harsh flattering bells resound my knell;
Strike, thunder, and strike loud, to my farewell!
