Appendix I. The Small Actor In Massinger's Plays
There are several passages in our author in which reference is made to the low stature of the actor of a female part.
Duke of Milan, II., 1, 108: Graccho, speaking of Mariana:
Of a little thing,
It is so full of gall!
II., 1, 156:
Marcelia. For you, puppet—
Mariana. What of me, pine-tree?
172:
Mariana. O that I could reach you,
The little one you scorn so.
177:
Graccho. Forty ducats
Upon the little hen.
181:
Marcelia. Where are you,
You modicum, you dwarf?
Mariana. Here, giantess, here.
188:
Mariana. Or right me on this monster (she's three foot
Too high for a woman).
Bondman, I., 2, 3: Cleon, speaking to Corisca:
Beauty invites temptations, and short heels
Are soon tripp'd up.
(This passage may have another interpretation.)
Renegado, I., 2, 9: Manto, speaking of Paulina:
And though low of stature,
Her well-proportion'd limbs invite affection.
II., 5, 159: Asambeg, of Paulina:
Such a spirit,
In such a small proportion, I ne'er read of.
V., 2, 62: Carazie, of Paulina:
I would he had sent me
To the gallies or the gallows, when he gave me
To this proud little devil.
V., 3, 174: Mustapha, of Paulina:
A terrible little tyranness!
Parliament of Love, V., 1, 86: Perigot, of Leonora:
A confident little pleader.
Roman Actor, IV., 1, 15: Domitilla, referring to Domitia:
Who no sooner absent.
But she calls Dwarf! (so in her scorn she styles me)
Put on my pantofles, fetch pen and paper.
V., 2, 5: Domitilla speaks:
Could I make my approaches, though my stature
Does promise little, I have a spirit as daring
As hers that can reach higher.
Picture, I., 1, 96: Corisca speaks:
Your hand, or if you please
To have me fight so high, I'll not be coy,
But stand a-tiptoe for't.
III., 2, 27: Ricardo to Corisca:
Pretty one, I descend
To take the height of your lip.
II., 2, 197: And Pallas, bound up in a little volume.
Emperor of the East, II., 1, 388: Theodosius to Athenais:
By thyself,
The magazine of felicity, in thy lowness
Our eastern queens, at their full height, bow to thee.
Maid of Honour, I., 2, 46: Sylli to Camiola:
Nor I, your little ladyship, till you have
Perform'd the covenants.
II., 2, 117: Fulgentio to Camiola:
Of a little thing
You are a pretty peat, indifferent fair too.
Maid of Honour, IV., 3, 83:
Bertoldo. Since she alone, in the abstract of herself,
That small but ravishing substance, comprehends
Whatever is, or can be wish'd, in the
Idea of a woman!
The Bashful Lover, I., 1, 116:
Hortensio. My little friend, good morrow.
(Cf. III., 1, 28, where “Ascanio” has to be carried.)
The part of Domitilla was taken by I. Hunniman; that of Paulina by Theo. Bourne; that of Corisca (in The Picture) by W. Trigge. It would appear, therefore, that these references are not all due to the stature of any one individual actor, but that Massinger took care to have actors of different height brought into juxtaposition in his plays. He may here be copying the well-known passages in Midsummer Night's Dream (III., 2, 288-298, 324, 329). Cf. also Antony and Cleopatra, II., 5, 118; III., 3, 13; Much Ado, I., 1, 172 and 216; As You Like It, I., 2, 284; Twelfth Night, I., 5, 219; II., 5, 16; King Lear, I., 1, 201. Cf. Bradley's Shakspearean Tragedy, p. 317, n. 1.
In Dekker's Honest Whore, Pt. 2. III., 1, the heroine, Bellafront, is “a little tiny woman.” So are Pretiosa in Middleton's Spanish Gipsy (I., 5), and Isabella in Women, beware Women (III., 2). Cf. also The Case is Altered (III., 3), “'Fore God, the taller is a gallant lady.” We find the same idea in The Fair Maid of the West, II., 3; III., 1, 2. Celestina, in Shirley's Lady of Pleasure (III., 2), is “a puppet.” Spaconia in A King and no King (III., 1) is “that little one”; Viola in The Coxcomb (V., 3) is “not high.” Cf. also The Prophetess (I., 3, 59), a play which bears many marks of Massinger's work:
Dioclesian. Thou know'st she is a prophetess.
Maximinian. A small one,
And as small profit to be hoped for by her.
The Spanish Curate (V., 1, 37), Jamie to Violante:
In stature you're a giantess: and your tailor
Takes measures of you with a Jacob's staff
Or he can never reach you: this by the way
For your large size.
Love's Cure (V., 3), Bobadillo to Lucio, speaking about Clara:
I put the longest weapon in your sister's hand, my lord, because she was the shortest lady.
The Sea Voyage (IV., 3): Morillat: “This little gentlewoman that was taken with us,” referring to Aminta. As Cleopatra in The False One (II., 3) arrives in a parcel, she must have been small. Margarita in Rule a Wife (III., 4) is “of a low stature.” Ismenia in The Maid of the Mill “was of the lowest stature” (I., 2); cf. also V., 2, 7. Evanthe in A Wife for a Month, IV., 3 is “this little fort.” Cf. also The Noble Gentleman, IV., 3.