SCENE III.

A Hall in Florios House.

Giovanni. Lost! I am lost! my fates have doomd my death:
The more I strive, I love; the more I love,
The less I hope: I see my ruin certain.
What judgment or endeavours could apply
To my incurable and restless wounds,
I thoroughly have examined, but in vain.
O, that it were not in religion sin
To make our love a god, and worship it!
I have even wearied heaven with prayrs, dried up
The spring of my continual tears, even starvd
My veins with daily fasts: what wit or art
Could counsel, I have practised; but, alas!
I find all these but dreams, and old mens tales,
To fright unsteady youth; I am still the same:
Or I must speak, or burst. Tis not, I know,
My lust, but tis my fate, that leads me on. 15
Keep fear and low faint-hearted shame with slaves!
Ill tell her that I love her, though my heart
Were rated at the price of that attempt.
Oh me! she comes.
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/ford/john/pity/act1.html 28/04/2014
'Tis Pity She's a Whore is a tragedy written by John Ford. It was likely first
performed between 1629 and 1633, by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit
Theatre. The play was first published in 1633, in a quarto printed by Nicholas
Okes for the bookseller Richard Collins. Ford dedicated the play to John
Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough and Baron of Turvey.

Controversy
The play's treatment of the subject of incest made it one of the most controversial works
in English literature. The play was entirely omitted from an 1831 collected edition of
Ford's plays; its title has often been changed to something euphemistic such as Giovanni

and Annabella or 'Tis Pity or The Brother and Sister. Until well into the twentieth century,
critics were usually harsh in their condemnations. The subject matter offended them, as
did Ford's failure to condemn his protagonist. "Instead of stressing the villainy, Ford
portrays Giovanni as a talented, virtuous, and noble man who is overcome by a
tumultuous passion that brings about his destruction." Since the mid-twentieth century,
scholars and critics have shown more tolerance, understanding, and appreciation of the
complexities and ambiguities of the work.
Synopsis
Giovanni, recently returned from university study in Bologna, has developed an
incestuous passion for his sister Annabella, despite their blood relationship, and the play
opens with his discussing this ethical problem with Friar Bonaventura. Bonaventura tries
to convince Giovanni that his desires are evil despite Giovanni's passionate reasoning,
and eventually persuades him to try to rid himself of his feelings through repentance.
Annabella, meanwhile, is being approached by a number of suitors, including Bergetto,
Grimaldi, and Soranzo. She is not interested in any of them, however, and when Giovanni
finally tells her how he feels (obviously having failed in his attempts to repent), she
requites his love immediately. Annabella's tutoress Putana encourages the relationship.
The siblings consummate their relationship.
Hippolita, a past lover of Soranzo, verbally attacks him, furious with him for letting her
send her husband Richardetto on a dangerous journey she believed would result in his
death so that they could be together, then declining his vows and abandoning her.
Soranzo leaves and his servant Vasques promises to help Hippolita get revenge on
Soranzo, and the pair agree to marry after they murder him.
However, Richardetto is not dead but also in Parma with niece Philotis, and is also
desperate for revenge against Soranzo. He convinces Grimaldi that to win Annabella, he
should stab Soranzo (his main competition) with a poisoned sword. Unfortunately,
Bergetto and Philotis, now betrothed, are planning to marry secretly in the place
Richardetto orders Grimaldi to wait, and Grimaldi mistakenly stabs and kills Bergetto
instead, leaving Philotis, Poggio, and Donado distraught.
Annabella resigns herself to marrying Soranzo, knowing she has to choose someone and
it cannot be her brother. She subsequently falls ill and it is revealed that she is pregnant.
Friar Bonaventura then convinces her to marry Soranzo before her pregnancy becomes
apparent.
Meanwhile Donado and Florio go to the cardinal's house, where Grimaldi has been in
hiding, to beg for justice. The cardinal refuses due to Grimaldi's high status and instead
sends him back to Rome. Florio tells Donado to wait for God to bring them justice.
Annabella and Soranzo are married soon after, and their ceremony includes masque
dancers, one of whom reveals herself to be Hippolita. She claims to be willing to drink a
toast with Soranzo, and the two raise their glasses and drink, on which note she explains
that her plan was to poison his wine. Vasques comes forward and reveals that he was
always loyal to his master, and in fact he poisoned Hippolita. She dies spouting insults
and damning prophecies to the newlyweds. Seeing the effects of anger and revenge,
Richardetto abandons his plans and sends Philotis off to a convent to save her soul.
When Soranzo discovers Annabella's pregnancy, the two argue until Annabella realises
that Soranzo truly did love her, and finds herself consumed with guilt. She is confined to

her room by her husband, who plots with Vasques to avenge him against his cheating
wife and her unknown lover. On Soranzo's exit, Putana comes onto the stage and
Vasques pretends to befriend her to gain the name of Annabella's baby's father. Once
Putana reveals that it's Giovanni, Vasques has a bandit tie Putana up and remove her
eyes as punishment for the terrible acts she has willingly overseen and encouraged.
In her room, Annabella writes a letter to her brother in her own blood, warning him that
Soranzo knows and will soon wreak his revenge. The friar delivers the letter, but Giovanni
is too arrogant to believe he can be harmed and ignores advice to decline the invitation
to Soranzo's birthday feast. The friar subsequently flees from Parma to avoid further
involvement in Giovanni's downfall.
On the day of the feast, Giovanni visits Annabella in her room, and after talking with her,
stabs her during a kiss. He then enters the feast, at which all remaining characters are
present, wielding a dagger on which his sister's heart is skewered, and tells everyone of
the incestuous affair. Florio dies immediately from shock. Soranzo begins to attack
Giovanni, but Giovanni manages to stab and kill him. Vasques intervenes, wounding
Giovanni before ordering the bandit to finish the job.
Following the massacre, the cardinal orders Putana to be burnt at the stake, Vasques to
be banished, and the church to seize all the wealth and property belonging to the dead.
Richardetto finally reveals his true identity and the play ends with the cardinal saying of
Annabella "who could not say, 'Tis pity she's a whore?"