One thing that really stuck out to me while reading this play was the value of life, or the lack thereof. Death seems to be such a common occurrence that it becomes the “quick fix” to many of the issues the characters face. Almost makes it seem like the characters in this play don’t fully understand how permanent and extreme death is. We can observe this through several characters actions. It all starts when Lorenzo finds out that Bel-Imperia rejects Balthazar because she’s in love with Horatio. His first and immediate thought is that he simply must be disposed of. This then leads to Lorenzo telling Pedringano to kill Serberine because of mere suspicion (mind you, no questioning or further investigation was done in order to confirm this). Pedringano performs this duty without a doubt in mind, and this leads to Pedringano’s death sentence.
We observe a death trend after Horatio’s death, including the suicide of three characters. Hieronimo kills himself after he gets his son’s revenge, Isabella goes mad and kills herself after Horatio’s death, and Bel-Imperia commits suicide after she murders Balthazar. There’s very little value of life in this book, possibly due to the culture of war at this time and also because death isn’t a concept that’s fully understood. These people obviously know HOW to kill, but haven’t grasped the concept and permanence of death; no longer existing. They’re desensitized to death from the constant killings that occur as a way to “right a wrong” or punish those who have committed crimes.
It’s worth noting that the first character we meet in this play is dead, but he’s still walking around as a ghost. In a weird way, death may be attractive because literature has taught these people that it isn’t a permanent state of separation from the world.
If Andrea was walking around as a ghost, what happened to Horatio, who was killed like Andrea? He, along with Andrea, should had been a ghost with Andrea so the tragic play could be more suspenseful with the input of both ghosts who were killed by both of the main villains. Wonder if Horatio would be upset to see the deaths of both of his parents….and the method of the death.
I also questioned the use of death in this play as well and how killing was seen as a solution to their problems. The sense of revenge and justice makes this play morally corrupt which is why it remains unrealistic. Revenge was a main theme in this play which was always acted out in murder. Furthermore, the characters viewed their revenge as gaining justice. The danger in this was seen most clearly when Balthazar used revenge as a motive to kill Horatio. Horatio never wronged Balthazar, but in order for Balthazar to gain Bel’Imperia he had to take out the competition. The use of revenge here is completely absurd.