The Venetian Twins - The Tragedy in this Comedy

It has been stated by many sources, including our very own Northrop Frye, that “first, that tragedy is really implicit or uncompleted comedy; second, that comedy contains a potential tragedy within itself.”  Despite having many of the traits of a tragedy, in reality The Venetian Twins is still, as the label claims, a comedy.  -

This is the case with The Venetian Twins.  All of the play’s characters seem to have fundamental flaws, mainly greed, and their actions in this pursuit lead to the deaths of Zanetto and Pancrazio, something very reminiscent of the tragic plot.  Despite these deaths, Tonino does not die, and so his brother Zanetto lives on through him.  Tonino is married to Beatrice, and his friend Florindo marries his cousin Rosaura.  This relief and prevention of further death, which is all thanks the suicide of the villain Pancrazio, makes this play more comedy than tragedy. 

Additionally, tragedies tend to reveal a flaw, and kill the characters who exemplify this trait.  Usually the tragic hero or heroine is the one that is punished, along with those who assisted them and sometimes those who didn’t really deserve to die.  While Pancrazio is not a hero, but rather a villain, his lust and his greed are his ultimate downfall at the end of the play, and the remediation that the other characters needed.  While Zanetto is dead, his death is quickly forgotten as Tonino lives on in his stead, and Zanetto’s girl finds a new lover.  The sins of the characters are forgiven and they live on, and so The Venetian Twins is a comedy, as the ending is light hearted and merry in spite of the dark events that occurred mere minutes before.