Characters
Callimaco
Callimaco is a lovesick—or perhaps lust-sick—young man who is willing to go to just about any lengths to spend the night with another man’s wife. He is completely focused on his own desires and is positive he will die if they go unfulfilled. He thinks of nothing but getting his own way, even if that comes about at the expense of others, including a virtuous woman and her foolish husband. Callimaco is willing to trust the conman Ligurio, be fully embarrassed by Nicia, and even go to Hell to get what he wants, but in the end, he is pleased with the results of his trick, for he has gained (and corrupted) the woman he desires.
Ligurio
Ligurio is the “mastermind” of the scheme to bring Callimaco and Lucrezia together, and he is a shrewd yet not overly intelligent fellow. His first plan of sending Nicia and Lucrezia to a spa fails, so he makes up the second plan centering on the potion spontaneously but forgets the detail about ensuring that Callimaco is the young man kidnapped to sleep with Lucrezia. Somehow, though, Ligurio manages to sort everything out, even testing the Friar to make sure he would be willing to participate, and he pulls off the scheme in the end, proving his worth as a conman and earning what he wants most: money.
Nicia
Nicia is a fool. As a wealthy man, he is used to getting exactly what he wants, but this time, he has run into a problem. His wife has not conceived an heir, and of course, he blames her completely. Nicia’s desire for a child leads him to go along with a scheme that results in his wife cheating on him with another man. Somehow he is overjoyed with the results. Nicia is unable to see through Callimaco’s doctor act, being thoroughly impressed by the latter’s use of Latin; he has no idea that, in the end, his wife and her lover have manipulated him into giving Callimaco full access to his house and his wife.
Friar Timoteo
Friar Timoteo is both a scoundrel and a hypocrite. He will do nearly anything if he is paid well enough, yet he puts on a holy act that fools people like Lucrezia and makes them think he is trustworthy. As a Friar, he should be the model of virtue and a credible source of advice, but he is exactly the opposite. The Friar is completely focused on money, a desire that leads him to approve of and participate in the cuckolding of a husband, the moral ruin of a wife, and the continuing act of adultery. He even jokes about it, announcing with some sharp wit that the battle cry for capturing a young man for Lucrezia will be “Saint Cuckoldino!”
Lucrezia
At the beginning of the play, Lucrezia is a virtuous woman, but she is also easily manipulated. She puts up a fuss about her husband’s scheme and is unwilling to participate, yet since she trusts (rather foolishly) in the Friar and fails to see through his hypocrisy, she is led away from her conscience and into sin. This shows a weakness in Lucrezia because her conscience is telling her that to have relations with another man is wrong no matter what, yet she allows herself to be convinced by the Friar and bullied by her mother. In the end, Lucrezia’s virtue is revealed as quite shallow, for she has so much fun with Callimaco that she agrees to a long-term affair with him and manipulates her husband into making that happen easily.
Sostrata
Sostrata,...
(This entire section contains 716 words.)
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Lucrezia’s mother, has no moral sense. She simply wants a grandchild, and if her son-in-law and his friends have a plan to make that happen, she is all for it. Sostrata nags and bullies her daughter into cooperating with the scheme, even to the point of threatening Lucrezia with violence and keeping guard over her.
Siro
Siro, Callimaco’s servant, obediently and unthinkingly follows his master’s orders. He does, however, note the humor of the situation, especially laughing at Nicia’s foolishness. Siro is basically a tool that allows the scheme to proceed smoothly as he runs errands, “captures” Callimaco, and keeps his mouth firmly shut.