The Dutchess of Malfi and friends…
Comments(4) The first thoughts that came into my head while reading the second half of The Dutchess of Malfi were the lyrics of Thom Yorke, “You’re just like an angel/ Your skin makes me cry…You float like a feather in a beautiful world / you’re so very special/ I wish I was special/ But I’m a creep/ I’m a weirdo/ what the hell am I doing here? / I don’t belong here…” You ask what does Radiohead have to do with the Dutchess of Malfi? The answer is nothing at all; however these lyrics draw a strong parallel to the pathetic, out of control and shameless behaviors of both Ferdinand and the easily manipulated Bosola.
We discover that Ferdinand has some serious issues at the very beginning of the play, as he lusts after his sister and goes into inexplicable fits of rage; however his craziness manifests to an absurd degree in Act 4 scene 2, when after plotting to have his sister killed, he weaves through an exaggerated vortex of remorse and guilt in which he chastises Bosola for executing the plot that Ferdinand himself meted out. A few scenes later, he performs ridiculous antics such as trying to restrain his shadow (this is no doubt a metaphor for his own conscience and guilt). The mental picture of a Duke going stark mad trying to catch his shadow like Peter Pan is really funny, but also a little sad. While Webster may have been trying to make the audience laugh (or confuse them), I believe that this display of his foolishness is a brilliantly satiric way of exposing Ferdinand’s bottom feeding character at the core, albeit contradictory to his title as Duke in the eyes of the public.
Then we come to Bosola whom in all honesty I really do feel bad for, even though his ruin is a cause of his own idiocy. The lyrics I mentioned above “I’m a creep… what the hell am I doing here, I don’t belong here” strike a chord with Bosola in a remarkable way. In the beginning of the play, Bosola is recently released from prison for committing a crime that the Cardinal ordered him to do and Bosola not only acknowledges this truth, but is bitter for it and wants to bring misery to those who have condemned him, namely “princes”. Did he learn from his mistake though? Of course not, this is a tragedy we’re talking about here. So Bosola is manipulated again not only by Ferdinand (to kill the Dutchess), but is also influenced by the Cardinal yet again (to kill Antonio). Bosola has not only regressed back to what got him in trouble in the first place, but he finds himself in an even worse position than before, hence “what the hell am I doing here?”. The reason he’s there is because of the very fact that he allows himself to be manipulated and doesn’t learn from his experiences. Particular passages are strewn about the play that would imply Bosola really wanted to do ‘good’; one instance of this appears in Act 5 scene 2, when the Cardinal is trying to persuade him to kill Antonio. Bosola finally puts up a fight, even to the point of rejecting the Cardinals offer of money. However, that hope is deflated when the mention of ‘honor’ appeals to Bosola’s less moral half.
Hence we are taken on a roller coaster of emotions: Ferdinand’s deteriorating sanity, Bosola’s constant inner battle, The Duchesses’ brief yet dramatic resurrection after being killed and then dying again and let’s not forget the random episode displaying Julia’s (I’ll be nice) promiscuity. All are perfect ingredients in creating such a delicious bouillabaisse of tragedy. Although the beginning of the play was a bit challenging for me I actually enjoyed this play very much in the end; I was fortunate to have chosen to write a blog on it and was definitely pleasantly surprised. (I even cried a little bit at the end, I must admit it) 🙂
The perplexity of Bosola’s character makes the modern reader go through an array of feelings and emotions. The back and forth of the his actions makes the reader question his true personality and self. Until the end, I have no idea of his true intentions; he is a difficult character to decipher. He makes end of the play and the deaths of the Duchess and Antonio into a great confusion. At times, he would admire the Duchess and want to comfort and help her and at others would change into a different man, driven my money to perform these plots to kill different people. Of course, we are told from the beginning that he has been serving time for crimes that he has done and this changes our perception him as a whole. Is he able change for good or because of the path that he taken there is not turning back?
There are definitely many attempts by Bosola to change but he just cannot. He fights with himself throughout the play and the harsh ways of life has made him lose faith in himself and his master. He has no choice but to follow his orders even if he refuses the money, he is unable to reject the tasks that are given to him or suffer the consequences of defying him.
His inability to defend himself from the corrupt and headstrong master has made him in a way victim to tyranny by those with power and money. He is forced to perform these gruesome acts with a combination of duty as a servant, confusion and just something that had to happen.
The same question keeps on playing in my mind. Is he really changed or it is just too late for him to turn back?
This play was very emotional for me. I really felt for the Duchess and Antonio. They’re love was very realistic and it made me root for them, hoping there would be some way it would work out for them. Unfortunately, it is a tragedy, and the one thing I hated about this play was that Ferdinand killed the children.
While on the topic of Ferdinand, one thing we didn’t really mention that had some references in the play was the “shadows”. Ferdinand believes his shadow is a person trying to kill him, after he’s killed the duchess. He actually tries to attack his own shadow. Then, later on in the play, Bosola thinks the Duchess is haunting him- but realizes it’s just his own shadow (or is it?) I believe the “shadows” are symbolizing the devil, and how their consciences are taking over for the terrible acts they’ve committed.
At first I hated Bosola, why would he listen to Ferdinand? After all, he killed a duchess, a noble innocent woman, and her two children. Although he does feel remorse afterward, is it enough? I find myself feeling sorry for him, as he accidentally kills Antonio to try and revenge the Duchess. The play really is sad, especially when Bosola tells antonio that his lover, his wife, is dead. If only he had listened to her voice (the echoes) in the cave!
I must say that this has been a play of torture and revenge on the theatrical audience. You may ask me, why? The reason why I say this is because not only is the duchess being tortured by her brother but the audience as well. First, we get tricked into thinking that Antonio and the duchess will somehow end up living happily ever after in secret. However, we are forced to watch the duchess tell her love for Antonio to her brother without realizing it, while all we can do is sit and scream “Nooo! Behind you!” and we know deep inside there is nothing that we can do about it. The next torture that we get to participate in is the death of Antonio and the duchess. They each get killed multiple times. After the duchess is killed, Bosola sees her breathing again, and immediately a sense of hope comes to the audience that she will survive, and then she dies. Same happens to Antonio, at first we see his dead wax body, and we are thinking that he is dead. We come to see Antonio alive and joy fills our hearts. However, in the dark Bosola kills Antonio, again for the audience. This play has been an emotional rollercoaster and I enjoyed every twist and turn.
It wasn’t until the middle of the play that I got a good sense of Bosola’s character. It made me wonder if Bosoloa was a murderer or a good servant. I came to the conclusion that Bolosa’s character was simply a lost soul that believed by being a good servant will somehow free him from poverty. I also wonder if Bosola had a change of heart because Ferdinand deceived him after he was asked to kill the Duchess and Ferdinand blamed him for it; or because he genuinely wanted to change. I have a hard time believing it was the latter of the two. Maybe during the Renaissance days it was considered a sign of repentance but I’m not buying it. I believe Bosola never had any intentions of being good.