A Woman Killed With Kindness

A Woman Killed with Kindness is a tragedy by Thomas Heywood, first performed in 1603 and published in 1607. It therefore straddles the divide between the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods of English drama, which are split by Queen Elizabeth’s death in 1603. Elizabethan theater was known for appealing to both the commoners and gentility, and Heywood was best known for domestic tragedies, of which A Woman Killed with Kindness is considered his masterpiece. As with most domestic works, the play deals primarily with the issue of marriage, with a primary plot involving the unfaithful wife of the main character, Sir John Frankford. A secondary and separate plot investigates the possibility of losing one’s fortune. Through these two storylines, the play explores themes of Marriage and Gender Roles in a Patriarchal Society, Social Judgment, Legal Consequences, and Moral Regulation, and The Limitations of Forgiveness Following Betrayal.

This guide is based on the 1950 Modern Library edition of the text, found in the anthology Eight Famous Elizabethan Plays.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of graphic violence, death, gender discrimination, rape, sexual harassment, death by suicide, sexual content, and suicidal ideation.

Plot Summary

The Prologue asks the audience to understand the context of the play, which is not concerned with matters of high state. Nevertheless, Heywood assures them that beauty can still be found in the work and urges them to use their imagination to transform the play into something beautiful. Heywood closes by professing confidence in the audience’s indulgence.

The narrative begins with Sir John and Anne Frankford, who have just married, celebrating with their friends and family. Everyone praises Anne’s beauty, intelligence, and obedience to Frankford, and they appear to be a happy couple. Two gentlemen present at the wedding celebrations, Sir Charles Mountford and Sir Francis Acton, agree to a bet on hunting the following day. 

During the hunt, Francis loses his bet and starts a fight with Charles, leading to a brawl between the two men’s groups. In the fight, many are wounded, and Charles kills Francis’s falconer and huntsman. Everyone flees, leaving Charles to take the blame, and he is arrested on Francis’s orders. 

Meanwhile, Frankford enjoys his happy life and marriage, welcoming a gentleman named Wendoll into his home as a friend. Wendoll reports what happened with Charles and Francis. Nick, Frankford’s servant, has a bad feeling about Wendoll and refuses to serve him. Wendoll himself struggles with his feelings toward Anne, to whom he is attracted, considering the kindness Frankford has shown him. Wendoll is by this point a regular fixture in the house, but he cannot stop himself from seducing Anne while Frankford is away. Nick witnesses the infidelity and plans to expose them to Frankford.

In the meantime, Charles is released from prison, but it costs him all his wealth, leaving him with only his home and his sister, Susan. A man named Shafton offers to loan Charles 500 pounds to help cover his costs. Charles accepts, not knowing that Shafton plans to use the debt to extort Charles.

Shafton soon approaches Charles, who is in despair that he and his sister have lost all their money and must work for an income. Shafton offers to buy Charles’s house, but Charles refuses, saying the house is all he and Susan have left. Shafton then calls in the loan, and when Charles cannot repay it, he demands Charles’s arrest. Later, Susan meets with Charles’s family and friends, all of whom refuse to help Charles. Francis, however, falls in love with Susan and tries to give her money. Susan refuses the money and flees, blaming Francis for her family’s downfall.

At dinner, Nick tries to tell Frankford about Wendoll and Anne. Frankford initially struggles to believe in the affair but becomes increasingly convinced during a game of cards with Wendoll and Anne. He therefore devises a scheme with Nick, planning to use a false letter as an excuse to pretend to leave town. With Wendoll and Anne thinking Frankford is gone, Frankford will use a copy of his keys to catch them in the act.

Francis pays Charles’s debts and drops his lawsuit against Charles, allowing Charles to leave prison. However, Charles is frustrated to hear that Francis secured his release, knowing that Francis still wants revenge. Susan suspects that Francis released Charles because Francis is in love with her, and Charles suspects that he can use Susan as a gift to repay Francis.

Frankford excuses himself from dinner using the fake letter and secures the copied keys from Nick, who accompanies Frankford. Wendoll sees Frankford’s departure as a perfect chance to sleep with Anne again, but Anne is reluctant, saying she is only sleeping with Wendoll out of fear. Frankford sneaks back into the house and tries to kill Wendoll after finding him in bed with Anne, but a maid stops him. Letting Wendoll go, Frankford punishes Anne by banishing her to another manor. Anne must take all her belongings, say goodbye to their children, and never contact Frankford or their children again.

Charles and Susan argue about how to repay Francis, with Charles insisting that Susan accept being gifted to Francis to save their family. Susan threatens to die by suicide, and Charles agrees that she may do so to save her honor. Nevertheless, he offers her to Francis to do what he likes with her, including raping or murdering her. Francis surprises them by asking to marry Susan, who reluctantly claims that she will try to love Francis.

Frankford finds Anne’s lute, which he orders Nick to bring to Anne. Anne laments her sins, saying that she will starve herself to death, and she plays a sad tune on the lute. Nick is moved and agrees to report Anne’s suffering to Frankford. Wendoll appears, but Anne sends him away. Wendoll plans to leave for the Continent and then return to England years later to try to get into politics.

Francis, Charles, Susan, Cranwell, and Malby visit Anne, hearing that she is about to die. Anne has starved herself, and her last wish is for Frankford to forgive her. At the urging of his friends, Frankford agrees, visiting Anne and forgiving her. They kiss, which Frankford says marks a new marriage, and then she dies. Francis congratulates Frankford on his ingenious punishment, and Frankford intends to explain how Anne died on her tombstone.

The Epilogue acknowledges that the same wine can taste different to different tasters, much as even a good play may appear to have different flaws to different viewers.