Summary
A Woman Killed with Kindness - Thomas Heywood, scene-by-scene summary
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This is a scene-by-scene summary of A Woman Killed with Kindness, a play by Thomas Heywood
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A Woman Killed with Kindness 1A Woman Killed with Kindness
characters
Master Frankford
Mistress Anne Frankford
o Frankford's wife
Sir Francis Acton
o Anne's brother
Sir Charles Mountford
Master Malby
Master Wendoll
o friend of Frankford
Master Cranwell
o an old gentleman
Nicholas
o a servant of Frankford
Jenkin
o a servant of Frankford
Spigot
o a butler and servant of Frankford
Cicely Milkpail
o a servant of Frankford
Jack Slime
o a country fellow
Roger Brickbat
o a country fellow
Joan Miniver
o a country wench
Jane Trubkin
o a country wench
Isbell Motley
o a country wench
Falconer
Susan
o Charles' sister
Sheriff
Shafton
Old Mountford
o Charles' uncle
Sandy
o Charles' former friend
Order
o Charles' former tenant
Tidy
o Charles' cousin
Frankford and Anne's children
, A Woman Killed with Kindness 2
quick plot overview
Anne and Frankford are getting married. Charles kills two men after losing a bet and in order to be
cleared of his charges he goes bankrupt. Wendoll is in love with Anne and admits this to her, which
the servant Nick tells Frankford. Charles’ sister Susan pleads to friends and family members to pay
off Charles’ debt. Francis offers to pay, but she refuses to accept money from him. Frankford and
Nick catch Wendoll and Anne in bed together. He allows her to take all her stuff and move to a
different manor, as long as she never speaks to him or their two children ever again. Francis
prepares to marry Susan and Anne leaves. Nick comes after her to give her the lute she forgot. Anne
flees from Wendoll. Charles, Susan and Francis go to visit Anne, who is on her deathbed. Frankford
agrees to see her one last time. She dies, he laments.
about
This play was acted in 1603 and first published in 1607. It is Thomas Heywood’s most popular work.
The plot is based on an Italian novel, translated into English and published in 1566 in The Palace of
Pleasure. It is a domestic tragedy.
actual play
Prologue
This play will be sad.
Act 1 Scene 1
Frankford, Charles and Francis are dancing at Frankford’s wedding. They praise Anne and are happy
to see how obedient of a wife she is. She is no chain around Frankford’s neck, the two are a perfect
pair. When Anne and Frankford are greeting their guests, Charles and Francis start a bet: the next
day both will go hawking, the one with the best hawk will get 100 pounds 1. They bet another 100
pounds on which dogs are the best2,3. Wendoll bets 10 angels4 on Sir Francis’ hawk and 10 on his
dogs, meanwhile Cranwell bets on Charles’ hawk and dogs. They agree to meet early the following
morning.
Act 1 Scene 2
Nicholas, Jenkin, Jack Slime, Roger Brickbat and the country wenches dance in the garden.
Act 1 Scene 3
Charles and Francis go out hawking. They discuss which of the hawks did best. They both claim their
own hawk won. They insult each other’s hawk and dogs, so much so that they get into a fight.
Francis strikes first. They go full Captain America: Civil War, divide into two groups and fight each
other. One group is Charles, Cranwell, his falconer and huntsman, the other Francis, Wendoll, his
falconer and huntsman. Charles kills both of Francis’ men and everyone else flees, leaving Charles
alone in intense regret. Susan enters and is distressed, seeing her brother wounded amongst dead
people. She discovers that Charles is the murderer and encourages him to flee, for Francis is a
powerful man. Before he can, however, he is apprehended by the sheriff and brought to prison.
1
About 24108 pounds in 2019.
2
All of them. All dogs are the best. Dogs are the best. Look at all those good boys:
3
Listen, I am just taking every opportunity to put pictures of cute dogs in my summary.
4
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