Leading by Example vs. Leading by Force Theme Analysis

Though there are very few heroes in The White Devil, the character who is most consistently decent is the young Prince Giovanni. As Giovanni comes of age over the course of the play, he gets plenty of advice from both his father the Duke of Brachiano, and from his father’s rival, Duke Francisco. But while each of these prominent men instructs Giovanni in the bravery and selflessness needed to be a successful leader, neither manages to live out in practice the virtues that he preaches. Without a role model to learn from, Giovanni begins to lose his boyish generosity; by the end of the play, other characters feel that Giovanni is as harsh and cruel as the uncle he was “taught to imitate.” Giovanni’s trajectory thus demonstrates the play’s most important political message: with great power comes great responsibility, and princes should be “examples” not only for their family members and successors but for the communities they govern. Or as Cornelia (Vittoria, Flamineo, and Marcello’s mother) says, “the lives of princes should like dials move, whose regular example is so strong, they make the times by them go right, or wrong”.

This emphasis on leading by example is especially fascinating given the early-modern period in which Webster was writing. In 1612, the concept of organized government was still relatively new, and people were passionately debating how the leaders of these governments should behave. One of the most prominent voices in this conversation was Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, who believed that rulers should govern with fear and manipulation and who The White Devil mentions by name (when Flamineo labels Francisco “a Machiavellian”). By contrast, in emphasizing the importance of good “examples,” Webster suggests an anti-Machiavellian approach to governance—one in which leaders pass down good behavior to their subjects and future generations of leaders.