The Fair Penitent appears earlier in "Don Quixote" by Cervantes. In this story Lothario is urged by his lifelong friend Anselmo to attempt to seduce his wife in order to test her faithfulness. At first most unwilling he eventually enters into the scheme with skill and success. This earlier Lothario is a successful seducer. Malcolm Goldstein edited "The Fair Penitent" for a modern edition in 1969. Critics, both traditional and modern, have debated whether Calista is actually "penitent" for her infidelity. The Fair Penitent The Fair Penitent is Nicholas Rowe's stage adaptation of the tragedy "The Fatal Dowry," the Philip Massinger and Nathan
The Fair Maid of the Exchange modest bashfulnesse, / And that I dread a base contentious name, / I would not be a by-word to th'Exchange, / For every one to say (my selfe going by) / Yon goes a vassal to authoritie." In addition to giving importance to the characters themselves, eponyms in the play also inform the audience of the characters' personalities or purposes, as shown in the "key terms" below. APTRONYM: It is worth noting that there are 'personae' in the play who never appear but whose names likewise carry meaning: LEGERDEMAIN: The Fair Maid of the Exchange The Fair Maid of the