In contrast to The Revenger's Tragedy, both of John Webster's most famous plays manifest a clear interest in the problems involved in constructing a female subject. The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi approach those problems, however, from very different perspectives. The White Devil presents us with two opposite, mirroring images of woman, Isabella and Vittoria – both of whom are explicitly portrayed as speaking the language of men. Isabella, who can express her unconscious rage only in the process of repeating her husband's words and sacrificing herself for him (2.1), effectively self-immolates; and although Vittoria claims to be “too true a woman” (5.6.220), her characteristic activity is “personat[ing] masculine virtue to the point” (3.2.135).

In a series of insightful analyses, Jonathan Dollimore has termed the kind of imitation that Vittoria performs “transgressive reinscription” (and, in particular, “transgressive inversion”) and has argued persuasively for its extreme radical force.