Throughout The Spanish Tragedy, there is a scarf that is possessed by three different people. At first it is Don Andrea’s scarf, given to him by Bel-Imperia. Then Horatio takes it from his body as a way to honor his friend. Lastly, Hieronimo takes it from Horatio’s body as a way to vow revenge for his son. Although this scarf is often interpreted as passing revenge from one character to another, there is more to it than that. The scarf represents the different types of love that make characters throughout the play capable of revenge or victims of revenge. Each recipient of the scarf loves the character that they got it from dearly, whether it be in a familial, romantic, or friendly way. Love being the basis for the passing on of the scarf connects all the characters that possess it in a very interesting way.
The scarf is first given to Don Andrea by his lover, Bel-Imperia. She gave him this scarf to show her love, she directly tells Horatio,
“BEL-IMPERIA: I know the scarf; would he had kept it still.
For had he lived he would have kept it still,
And worn it for his Bel-Imperia’s sake:
For ‘twas my favor at his last depart” (Kyd 1.4 44-47).
This is the basis for the first plot of revenge the audience sees in the play. Bel-Imperia loved Don Andera greatly and refuses to allow the man that killed him to get away with it. The scarf was a token of her strong love toward Andrea and shows that she loved him enough to plan revenge on his behalf. This conversation between Bel-Imperia and Horatio first introduces us to the importance of the scarf to these characters. It is the first time it is mentioned, but it feels very deliberate in its placement. In the same conversation, the audience is told how Horatio got the scarf, and is shown his grief for his friend Andrea.
“HORATIO: I took him up and wound him in mine arms,
And wielding him unto my private tent,
There laid him down, and dewed him with my tears,
And signed and sorrowed as became a friend.
But neither friendly sorrow, sighs, nor tears
Could pale Death from his usurpéd right.
Yet this I did, and less I could not do:
I saw him honored with due funeral.
The scarf I plucked from off his lifeless arm,
And wear it in remembrance of my friend” (Kyd 1.4 34-43).
This is a very important passage when it comes to analyzing the meaning of the scarf. Horatio is expressing the extreme grief he went through when he found Andrea dead, describing how he went through the trouble of giving Andrea the funeral he thought he deserved. He is venerable with Bel-Imperia in this passage, knowing that she loved him too. The scarf is a token he took from Andrea’s body to remember him, he loved Andrea deeply as a friend just as Bel loved Andrea deeply as a lover. After this passage, Bel-Imperia tells Horatio to wear he scarf for them both, after she reveals that she ordinally gave it to Andrea. Her making this statement shows her growing love for Horatio, whist maintaining that she still possesses love for Andrea. The scarf connects Bel-Imperia, Horatio, and Don Andrea’s love for each other in a physical way. So, while it makes sense to see the scarf as a passing on of revenge, Horatio doesn’t actually plan any revenge. His connection to Bel-Imperia and Don Andrea through their love for one other is what gets him involved in any kind of revenge. He gets caught in the middle of Bel using her love for him to get revenge of Balthazar, causing his death in the end. This is a huge reason why there is more to the scarf than just the topic of revenge, because there has to be a motivator in order for revenge to even be brought up, these passages prove the motivator to be love.
After Horatio is killed, his father, Hieronimo, takes a handkerchief from his body. This headkerchief can only be assumed to be the scarf that was discussed between Bel and Horatio.
“HIERONIMO: Seest thou this handkercher besmeared with blood?
It shall not from me till I take revenge.
Seest thou those wounds that yet are bleeding fresh?
I’ll not entomb them till I have my revenged.
Then will I joy amidst my discontent;
Till then my arrow never shall be spent” (Kyd 2.4 113-117)
When Hieronimo takes the scarf, it is not revenge that it represents for him, but the reminder of what happened to his son. Hieronimo’s love for his son and the devastation about what happened to Horatio is what pushed him to vow revenge. It would be too simplistic to assume that the only thing the scarf symbolizes for Hieronimo in this moment is revenge. The audience is shown exactly how strong Hieronimo’s feelings are when he is described as a very level-headed being. He is the one who is often sought out to settle disputes, so for him to take on the mantle of revenge show just how much he loved his son. He even starts to question divine justice as a whole concept, asking the question:
“HIERONIMO: O sacred heavens! If this unhallowed deed,
If this inhuman and barbarous attempt,
If this incomparable murder thus
Of mine, but now is no more my son,
Shall unrevealed and unrevenged pass,
How should we term your dealings to be just,
If you unjustly deal with those that in your justice trust?” (Kyd 3.2 5-11).
Hieronimo not only is incredibly distressed about his son, but he is distressed about the fact that his faith is being tested. His decision to take revenge is not a light one. That scarf reminds him of the duty he thinks he must perform for justice to yet again be served. Although the scarf has a lot heavier meaning to Hieronimo than maybe it does to Bel-Imperia or Horatio, it still is derived from that concept of love. Hieronimo would not have this reaction to just anybody being killed. This being said, this scarf also connects him to Bel-Imperia. Whilst the letter is the main thing that connects Hieronimo and Bel-Imperia, the scarf represents a connection of their motivations as well. The audience must remember that Bel-Imperia was very much in love with Horatio, despite getting him involved in her revenge plan. She told Horatio to wear that scarf for the both of them, expressing her love for Don Andrea and Horatio at the same time. Now, the scarf connects Hieronimo and Bel-Imperia in their love for Horatio and their determination to get revenge on those who killed him.
“BEL-IMPERIA: Hieronimo I will consent, conceal,
And aught that may effect for thine avail,
Join with thee to revenge Horatio’s death.
Hieronimo: On then. Whatsoever I devise,
Let me entreat you grace my practices,
For why the plot’s already in mine head
Here they are” (Kyd 4.1 45-51).
All of the connections made through the scarf built up to this last pair. Their shared love for Horatio is the main reason there is so much bloodshed at the end of the play. Although they may have slightly different motivations; one is about justice for Hieronimo. He believes that the main issue is the fact that is son was disrespected and did nothing to deserve death. Whilst Bel-Imperia was in love with Horatio, and that was violently taken away from her. She is furious for his sake and her own sake. This is the second lover or hers that has been killed in a relatively short period of time. She is not shown to be the most moral character, but she is shown to be passionate. Although having different moral codes and personalities, Bel-Imperia and Hieronimo still both go through with the same plan. These actions are motivated by love, and since they have this same motivation, the same outcome occurs. Bel-Imperia even completes her revenge, then expresses that she cannot live in misery without Horatio anymore and ends up ending her own life.
Whilst the scarf does not represent the same kind of love or same kind of interaction with revenge with all of those who wear it, it still has consistent symbolism of being a token representing some kind of love. Some argue that the scarf doesn’t literally mean revenge, but the lust for revenge. However, previous to his death Don Andrea did not have any kind of lusting for revenge that we know of. On top of that, lust for revenge implies that the characters are doing it for themselves, when in this play they are often doing for the loved ones who have passed. Whilst Bel-Imperia is more selfish than Hieronimo, she does not take revenge solely for herself. If that were true, she would not have killed herself at the end of the play. The scarf originated from her, and she gifted it out of love. For the scarf to represent a lust for revenge, she would have had to have some kind of ulterior motive in giving it to Don Andrea, and she did not. Hieronimo can be said to lust for revenge, however the scarf proves to remind him of his son and as a showing of his love. So, in turn what he has to do to get justice for him. This implies that Hieronimo wants justice, and he doesn’t necessarily lust for revenge, but finds it necessary. Lastly, if the scarf were symbolic of the lust for power, Lorenzo and Balthazar would have come across it at some point. Balthazar’s “love” for Bel-Imperia may motivate him, but Lorenzo can only be described is having a lust for revenge because of his lust for power. The symbolism of the scarf proves to be more complicated than it lets on, and that shows when it comes to each of the characters actions when they possess it. Overall, the scarf connects each of our characters that it comes across in their love for one another. While the outcome ended up being revenge, the meaning of the scarf is simply the motivator.
Works Cited
Kyd, Thomas. "The Spanish Tragedy." Drama, Oxford English. Four Revenge Tragedies. New York: Oxford University Press Inc, 1995. 1-91.