Francis Quarles
THE VIRGIN WIDOW
circa1640–1642
a synoptic, alphabetical character list
ANTONY
Antony, the head drawer at the George, is courting the chambermaid Madge.
ARTESIO
The doctor Artesio is the father of Rosia and Marina, and supposedly of Kettreena, for whose sake he has honours heaped on him by the king. Venal, he has married Kettreena to Pertenax only because of the latter's wealth, and sacks Quack because a patient whom the latter has inadvertently killed was rich. When it is eventually revealed that he colluded in the swapping of Kettreena and Augusta, he is imprisoned for life on Kettreena's orders.
AUGUSTA
Augusta is the queen and the mother of Bellarmo, Palladius and Museus. It appears from events at the close that the throne was hereditarily hers, and that King Evaldus rules only in her right. Falsely assured that the King is having an affair with Kettreena, Augusta persuades Lactusia to commission Quack to send poison to Kettreena. Along with two of her sons and her maid, she is struck dead by the Oracle when she questions is truth. She is subsequently revealed to have been in fact the daughter of Artesio, swapped in the cradle with Kettreena.
BELLARMO
Bellarmo is one of the king's twin sons. He and Palladius jockey for the succession and, egged on by Museus, challenge each other to a duel. When the King asks the Oracle to decide which of the two should succeed him and the Oracle replies that neither will, Bellarmo declares that it is a false oracle and is instantly struck dead, along with his brother Palladio, their mother, and her maid.
CARDINAL RICHELIEU
A "ghost character," mentioned as having been cured by Quack, along with the Prince of Orange, the Emperor, the Pope, and the Great Mogul.
CIS
Cis is a chambermaid who thinks about buying a love-potion from Quack so that her suitor Frank the Falconer will no longer be so interested in his hawk.
COMODUS
Comodus is the husband of Artesio's shrewish daughter Marina. He is a reasonable man who, along with Artesio's other son-in-law Formidon, attempts to moderate Pertenax's behavior and ensures that his estate is transmitted to Kettreena after his death.
CORNELIUS QUACK
Sacked by Artesio for killing a wealthy patient, Cornelius Quack obtains from Bellarmo license to practice as a mountebank. He is retained by Lactusia to poison Kettreena, though the plan misfires.
COUNT GONDOMAR
A "ghost character," referred to by Quibble as having been cured by Sir Walter Ralegh's ointment.
DOLL
A "ghost character". Doll the dairymaid is mentioned by Cis and Madge.
EVALDUS
Evaldus, husband of Augusta, reigns as king. As a young man disguised as a pilgrim he met Kettreena, and has loved her ever since. For her sake he showers her family with favours. He reveals himself to her, but assures her that his intentions are entirely virtuous. After Augusta is killed when she challenges the Oracle, Evaldus marries Kettreena, who is in any case revealed to be the true queen; the Oracle has already made it clear that the marriage will be fruitful.
FORMIDON
Formidon is married to Artesio's vain, cruel daughter Rosia. Along with his brother-in-law Comodus, he acts as a voice of reason in Artesio's family.
FRANK the FALCONER
Frank the Falconer is the suitor of the chambermaid Cis, though she complains that he is more interested in his hawk.
GEORGE FAILE
A "ghost character." Pertenax has a bond from him.
GLISTERPIPE
Glisterpipe, Artesio's boy, drops Lady Albion's urine and replaces it with his own.
HENRY THRIFT
A "ghost character." Pertenax has a bond from him.
HUMPHREY RICH
A "ghost character." Pertenax has a bond from him.
JACK
Jack, Quibble's boy, sings a song.
JEFFERY QUIBBLE
Quibble, Quack's man, initially reminds him of the demands of conscience, but soon desists and advertises Quack's wares, pretending, among other things, that he has stabbed himself and then healed himself with Quack's magic ointment.
JOHN HAVELAND
A "ghost character." Pertenax has a bond from him.
KETTREENA
Kettreena is the beautiful and virtuous heroine of the play. Supposed to be the daughter of Artesio, she has been married for some years to the unpleasant Pertenax, though she tells the king that she has remained a virgin. Sweet and modest, she dutifully mourns the death of Pertenax, even though she has already admitted that she has loved the king ever since she first met him disguised as a pilgrim. After the death of Augusta, Lactusia reveals that Kettreena is the real queen, swapped in her cradle with Augusta. Kettreena marries Evaldus and the oracle has already made clear that their child will rule after them.
LACTUSIA
Lactusia, a nurse and occasional amateur poisoner, is Quack's confidante, and persuades him to poison Kettreena at the queen's behest. At the close of the play she reveals that she swapped the infant Kettreena and Augusta in their cradles, when in Artesio's employ.
LADY ALBION
A "ghost character," whose urine is brought to Artesio for analysis.
LADY TEMPLE
A "ghost character," whose urine is brought to Artesio for analysis.
MADGE
Madge, a chambermaid, is in love with Antony. She has already rejected him once because her mother taught her always to say "Noforsooth," but they are eventually reconciled.
MARINA
Marina is Artesio's daughter and the wife of Comodus. She and her sister Rosia are cast much in the mould of Cinderella's ugly sisters.
MASTER LUSTYBLOOD
A "ghost character." Quack reads his bill out.
MUSEUS
Museus, youngest son of the king and Augusta, appears to be philosophically-minded but is in fact vigorously engaged in egging on his brothers to combat so that he will be the sole survivor. Although this is never revealed, at the end of the play he is imprisoned for life on Evaldus' orders, so that he will not be in the way of the succession.
NICK
A "ghost character". Nick the butler's boy is mentioned by Cis and Madge.
OFFICERS
An unspecified number of officers bring the various captives in and out.
PAGES
Two pages bring urine for diagnosis from Lady Albion and Lady Temple respectively.
PALLADIUS
Palladius, one of the king's twin sons, is locked in bitter rivalry with his brother Bellarmo. Eventually both are struck dead when they challenge the pronouncement of the Oracle that neither shall succeed.
PANTHEA
A "ghost character." She sends Palladius a letter encouraging him to fight a duel with his brother.
[PENELOPE] TRIPPIT
Trippit, the queen's maid, encourages her mistress to believe the worst of the king and Kettreena and attempts to frame Kettreena for the death of Pertenax. She dies along with her mistress when the latter challenges the oracle. Presumably she is also the Penelope Trippit whose bill is read out by Quack.
PERTENAX
Pertenax, husband of Kettreena, is a foolish, jealous, old usurer, and presumably also impotent since Kettreena tells the king that she is a virgin. He insults the king and kicks Kettreena. Believing that the poison sent by the queen to Kettreena is a cordial from the king, he takes it and dies.
PHONILLA
Phonilla, the queen's maid, advises her mistress not to be too quick to believe the slanderous tales about Kettreena and the king. She also sings.
PRINCE OF ORANGE
A "ghost character," mentioned as having been cured by Quack.
PULCHRELLA
A "ghost character." She sends Palladius a letter asking him not to fight a duel with his brother.
PYTHIAN PRIESTS
Three Pythian priests attend on the Oracle.
QUISQUILLA
Quisquilla, Quack's shrewish wife, attends Kettreena when she is ill and tells tales about her to her sister.
ROSIA
Rosia, Artesio's daughter, is married to Formidon. Like her sister Marina, she is shrewish, vain, and maliciously jealous of Kettreena.
THOMAS BADLUCK
A "ghost character." Pertenax has a bond from him.
SIR WALTER RALEGH
A "ghost character." Quibble says Sir Walter Ralegh's ointment cured Count Gondomar's fistula.
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