Cyrus Hoy, in his wide-ranging survey of authorship problems in Fletcher's canon, provided this breakdown, which resembles the verdicts of earlier critics:[4] The authorship division is unsurprising for the two collaborators; it resembles their shares in The Spanish Curate, in which Massinger handled the main plot and Fletcher the subplot.
There is no distinct subplot in The Double Marriage; in this play, Fletcher took primary responsibility for the "underworld" elements about the pirates, and Massinger the "overworld" of the royal court of Naples, as is typical of him.
He relied on his co-workers for materials involving lower classes, the common people, the beau monde of fashion, and criminals and clowns and similar elements.
[5] The characters' names derive from The Historie of Philip De Commines, in Thomas Danett's English translation (1596/1601).
His wife Juliana questions him about his neglect of her; Virolet assures her that it is not lack of affection on his part, but his preoccupation with tyranny that keeps him from her bed.
Ferrant seems moved by her bravery, and offers the conspirators a pardon—on the condition that they, led by Virolet, battle the pirates plaguing his coast.
The pirates are commanded by the Duke of Sesse, a nobleman who has led a successful resistance against Ferrant for the past fourteen years.
Virolet is shown locked in the "bilboes" (shackles) with Ascanio, who turns out to be a noble and humane young man who has tried to moderate his uncle's rule, though without success.
But Sesse vows revenge on his turncoat daughter: "She runs hot like a whore...." Back in Naples, Ferrant welcomes Ascanio and appears to pardon Virolet as well.
Sesse and his crew come to Naples in pursuit of Martia; they disguise themselves as "Switzers" (Swiss mercenaries, common in Italy at the time) and take service under Ferrant and Ronvere.
Sesse and his crew launch a rebellion, and the discontented populace rise with them; Ferrant and his supporters retreat to the tower of his castle.
The Double Marriage contains some dramatic stage business: Juliana's torture on the rack is shown onstage, as is the fight between Sesse's and Virolet's ships in Act II.