Isabelle de Pantalone

Know this, my good lord Ardiuno - that it is not an easy task being the daughter of a rich and powerful man. All these necklaces and rings of gold put a terrible strain on my milk-white skin and it is no mean feat carrying a dress of purest Alamut silk. It is as heavy as a breastplate but a thousand times more valuable and delicate as a flower. And all these parties and dances, they really wear down a girl's health. And I haven't even begun telling you about the pains of fame and flattery! The servants are better off, they just have to obey and need not worry about those boring diplomatic meetings that I can't make any sense of at all. No, politics is nothing for a young girl, and it is very bad for the skin. But I humbly shoulder my burden. If my sisters had been alive, god bless their souls, they could have taken care of all these deals and decisions. Yes, they are dead. All four of them. In terrible, deadly accidents. One was felled by a stray hunting bullet, another by an infected pin-prick, the next was strangled by an unreliable lover and the third fell from a view-tower - I was there with her myself. Not to mention my three former husbands. All dead. So now I must shoulder the entire family burden, especially as my father is losing his strength. All power, all responsibility rest in these hands. So tell me, my dear Arduino, faithful fresco-painter and decorator, will you relieve my burden a tiny bit by helping me with a small favour. You will find my gratitude deep. And warm. And long-lasting, I hope. To the point; a certain wholesaler has neglected to fulfil his economical obligations to the family. Not a big deal in itself. He has also bragged about how he's managed to swindle us. This is unforgivable. He needs a reminder that the Pantalone family tolerates no slander. All you need to do is empty this vial in one of his cellared wine caskets. As a decorator it should be easy enough to get in, no? Honour? Nobility? I am a woman - what do I know of such stupid things?

Theme: Power

Passion: Controlling all of Vendora

Origin of passion: As the youngest daughter in a litter of five Isabelle saw her sisters being wed to powerful men, gaining influence and wealth. Mr Pantalone saw her as his little treasure and wouldn't even think about putting her on the marriage-market. Isabelle swore to God and Devil to outshine all her sisters and become the ruler of Vendora and sealed her pact with sibling-murder. Now, four sisters and three husbands later, the goal is in sight.

Foible: Power hunger. Isabelle takes the straight and simple path rather than planning ahead. If Isabelle is tempted by a chance to gain more power she will give in to the temptation.

Virtue: Conviction

Needs:
1. Finding a man who can give her access to the throne.
2. Getting rid of her enemies
3. Building a personal army.

Activities:
1. Ensuring the loyalty of her pawns.
2. Manipulating men with her sexuality.
3. Acting innocent to get close to her prey.
4. Gathering information by idle gossip.

The term Femme Fatale was coined to describe women like Isabelle de Pantalone. She may seem vulnerable, vain, inviting and shallow as it suits her, but deep inside beats a heart of ice and stone.

The Pantalones have always had money, even if the master of the hose has always acted as if they were on the brink of poverty. Calling Mr Pantalone greedy is not empty slander. Isabelle has thus had to fight hard for the luxury and power she craves so dearly. The struggle has hardened her. Isabelle, the youngest daughter, was always Mr Pantalones little favourite. While the other four daughters were wed to powerful men Isabelle stayed at the palace with her father. The sisters told grand stories about a world far grander than anything little Isabelle had imagined. They told her about the influence and power they wrought through their husbands, the power to mould the world after their desires. Envy boiled in her small body and finally grew stronger than everything Isabelle had learned about right and wrong. At a pheasant hunt she arranged her oldest sisters death. The same night Isabelle swore an oath to God and Devil not to let anything come between her and absolute power over all Vendora. The other sisters lost their lives one by one to her hand. Slowly but surely Isabelle took power in the Pantalone family. When she alone remained as heir she was finally put on the marriage market. But none of the men chosen for her were good enough and one by one they succumbed to Isabelles plots and lost their lives. A rough German Markgraf, a weak French Marquis and a Turkish Prince have all been consumed by the industrious Isabelle. Their properties have been added to the families own. Murder and plot-making have proved to be profitable business for miss Pantalone. Only her father is completely safe from her schemes, the love between them is too strong for her to harm him. As only daughter Isabelle has lately taken over even more of the family business since Mr Pantalone is starting to feel the ravages of age. He is wholly blind to her wicked ways. It's important to Isabelle that her father does not suspect the magnitude of her deception.

Isabelle is a master manipulator without equal. Her basic demeanour is cultured and a trifle shallow. She uses a mask of naïveté to hide her true nature but she can turn into a smouldering temptress or ice cold negotiator at a moments notice. Her strength is her unbending will to achieve power, but this is also her weakness and makes it hard for her to see beyond her lust for immediate power. If she is given an opportunity to gain a short-term advantage, she will take it without much thought of consequences. Power-hungry is a good description.

Isabelle, cold as she is, still has a heart that may be set aflame by ruthless and cruel men and women who she consider her equals (this rules out most mortals). She has a large harem of Turkish lovers, but they are purely a status symbol and can't measure up to Isabelles demands.

Isabelle is officially just Chancellor Pantalone's daughter, but in practice she runs all the family businesses, from bookkeeping to deciding who's up next for a pike trough the knee-cap. Vendoras council now asks Isabelle rather than Mr Pantalone for advice. The heiress has proved herself especially capable when discussing military concerns.

Isabelle de Pantalone is a mask that did not appear in the historical Commedia, her contemporaries didn't talk about extraordinary women. But there is no doubt that women like her existed. Lucretia Borgia's position as ruler of the Papal throne at 23 years of age is the most extreme example. The manipulative and murderous beauty has since then become a powerful archetype - "le femme fatale" - a figure that is very rewarding to use as a Commedia character, a competent adversary for the boisterous and often ridiculous male characters.