The Revenger's Tragedy Respect and Reputation Quotes

How much does fame matter when you're dead? Quite a lot, according to the Duke. He's really concerned about his postmortem reputation, at least in this speech. Why does it matter so much to him?

Whew—reputation seems to matter from several angles in this quote. The woman who was harmed had a great reputation that was justly deserved. It was so good, in fact, that failing to do justice for her might damage not only the judges' reputations, but the reputation of judgment itself.

Antonio's wife doesn't get to speak much for herself in this play since she committed suicide in response to being raped. That said, what do you make of people's interest in her reputation? Does it suggest that she may have only killed herself to save her reputation? Or, put differently, would people think so highly of her if she lived?

It's not just about external reputation for Castiza—it's also about honor, a quality she carries within herself, which we see here when she speaks to Lussurioso's messenger. Honor is linked to reputation (she definitely doesn't want to have her name sullied by accepting Lussurioso's offer), but it's more than just external. Incidentally, she majorly disses Lussurioso here by implying that his reputation is going downhill fast.

For a man just slapped by his sister, Vindice's awfully happy. Along the way, he shows that he also thinks honor and reputation aren't quite the same (though they might overlap), and here he's glad Castiza seems to have both.

Vindice's mother may cave later to encouraging her daughter to sleep with Lussurioso for money, but she starts off this conversation by asserting the importance of honor. Is this one reason she repents later in the play—because she actually cares about honor deep down?

Spurio is concerned with preserving his reputation here, so he tells the Duchess to hide their relationship in public. Does he have less to lose than the others because his illegitimate birth makes him unable to inherit the Dukedom? Or does he have more to lose because his social status is already unstable?

Reputation is a family affair in this play. Supervacuo and Ambitioso feel like their reputations are affected by their mother's choices, just as Vindice and Hippolito feel that their sister's and mother's decisions affect them.