Category Archives: Tragedy

Paulina’s Guise (The Winter’s Tale, Act III Scene II)

Posted on December 3, 2013 by kl131219

(The following post contains spoilers to the end of The Winter’s Tale)

While Paulina’s account of Hermione’s death may seem shocking and quite feverish in its delivery, with the later ‘reanimation’ of the Queen in mind, it is possible to read her delivery as a kind of act to disguise the truth of Hermione’s death.  Even before Paulina has left and returned to announce the Queen’s death, she hints at the potential fatality, she states, “This news is mortal to the Queen–look down / And see what death is doing.” This foreboding warning to Leontes cannot be mere happenstance. Perhaps Paulina and Hermione have decided to take advantage of her sons death in order to escape from the rampaging madness and rashness of the king. This would also allow Hermione to live a (relatively) free life, until the events of the play would allow for her return.

Paulina’s sudden hysterical reaction to Hermione’s death can easily be interpreted as an expression of grief for her departed mistress. Yet, Paulina’s previous behaviour in the play depicts her as an observant and persistent person. Even when she playfully calls Leontes a tyrant when she attempts to present his new born child to him, she remains witty and logical in her banter and advice/condemnation. To suddenly turn so explosive, so explicitly brutal in her tone and speech, is a auspicious turn of character for Paulina.

“What studied torments, tyrant, hast for me? / What wheels, racks, fires? What flaying, boiling / In lead or oils?.”

Later when questioned about her explosive behaviour  by one of the gentlemen at court, Paulina rationalizes her actions as “the rashness of a woman.” This posture of Paulina’s could further indicate her pretense of Hermione’s death. Paulina understands the benefits that this performance affords her.  Socially, her role as a woman excuses her irrational behaviour, and by fulfilling that expected role of the over-emotional grief stricken woman, by conceding to these conventions (and hiding her normally rational behaviour–thus allowing Paulina to overcome this particular branch of madness, implying perhaps another win for the distaff sphere) Paulina can successfully hide the death of the Queen and convince the court of her sincerity.

Posted in Comedy, Life vs. Death, Love relationships, Power struggles, Psychological detail, Tragedy | Comments Off on Paulina’s Guise (The Winter’s Tale, Act III Scene II)

Judgement of Females in Literature

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Lyaman

Recently I read an article, Do We Judge Female Characters More Harshly Than Male Characters?  It brought up an interesting point about gender perception and the work done by social psychologists that “has repeatedly demonstrated that women are perceived and evaluated on a different criteria than men. Some traits seen as positive in one is seen as negative in the other ..such as assertiveness is seen as a positive trait in a male and in a female it is seen as pushiness, or a lack of warmth is acceptable in men but in women it can be a deadly (in terms of perception by others).” The discussion followed by how it translates to literature as well and how the female characters are evaluated against a different scale than their male counterparts.

It made me think about the character of Beatrice Joanna in The Changeling. There is no doubt that she is a villain, but the characteristics she exhibited are very similar to those we have seen in the “new men” in the different plays we have read this semester. And yet, as a female she is giving the harsher judgment, which as the ending of the play reaffirms shows it holds true….because it is De Flores who confesses the full extent of their crimes and kills her and himself.

While I am in no way trying to defend her as a character, there are some points that should be considered. And one of those points is the fact that in any other situation, and through our modern eyes, De Flores was basically stalking and sexually harassing Beatrice Joanna. Yes she was mean to him, but it wasn’t completely unprovoked. She also had very little choice and control over her own life, as many women of that time, as it was her father who would decide who she would marry….even if she did not want to.

But putting aside Beatrice Joanna, that double standard of character evaluation holds true even when applied to other characters. We praise Isabella for her virtuousness to her bastard of a husband, Celia for her goodness…and even with the Duchess and Julia there is the ingrained comparison of the moral virtuousness of the female character.

It does cause me as a reader to reevaluate, if not precisely how I evaluate what I read and judge characters, then at least how those judgements differ between genders and if the judgment would be the same if the gender was taken out of context.

Posted in The Changeling, The Duchess of Malfi, Tragedy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Shades of Mephistopheles in Bosola

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Lyaman

During my reading of The Duchess of Malfi, the character of Bosola at times kept reminding me of Mephistopheles from Doctor Faustus. To me they seem to be an extension of the same archetype, not to say they are particularly similar but rather they seem to be part of the same string extending in different directions.

Mephistopheles is the fallen angel who makes the bargain with the Faustus to serve him for 24 years in return for Faustus’s soul. Throughout the play Mephistopheles keeps urging and helping Faustus to damn himself and waste his time, but at the same time he shows striking signs of trying to make Faustus believe in G-d and heaven, as well as showing signs of regret for his fall and banishment from heaven. Mephistopheles says, “I am a servant to great Lucifer/And may not follow thee without his leave. No more than he commands must we perform” (1.3.41-3) and then he follows it up with, “Why this is hell, nor am I am out of it. Think’st thou that I, who saw the face of God/ And tasted the eternal joys of heave, / Am not tormented with ten thousand hells/ In being deprived of the ever lasting bliss?”(1.3.78-82).  He  later repeats his knowledge of hell and thus heaven by saying, “For I am damned and am now in hell” (2.1.138). The quotes show that not only is Mephistopheles bound and subservient to Lucifer (and Faustus, but that’s besides the point) but he shows self-awareness of what he is and what he has lost.

We meet Mephistopheles already damned, and in the middle there are small instances of him trying to (futilely) dissuade Faustus from condemning his soul, thus doing a good deed. However, when that fails, Mephistopheles reverts to his prime directive as a servant of Lucifer, which is pushing Faustus into abandoning G-d and thus gaining Faustus’s soul.

It seems to somewhat mirror Bosola’s path. Just like Mephistopheles made a bad decision that damned him in following Lucifer to turn against G-d and heaven, so has Bosola made a bad decision in killing for the Cardinal (the first time).  We meet Bosola when he is already damned, having effectively sold his soul to the devil (the Cardinal), because as seen as the play unfolds, once fallen into the Cardinal’s clutches there is no escaping.  It is that first deed that leads Bosola to further irretrievably damn himself, as he falls into the life of spying on the Duchess. Bosola makes the comparison to Mephistopheles himself when he says to Ferdinand on his new job, “Why a very quaint invisible devil, in flesh:/An intelligencer” (1.1.261-2).  Just as Bosola is Ferdinand’s and Cardinal’s “creature” (1.1.289), so is Mephistopheles Lucifer’s creature. And as Bosola says, “Sometimes the devil doth preach” (1.1.293), both he and Mephistopheles preach a cautionary tale.

There are other similarities between the two characters like the disguises they take on, Bosola because he can’t bear to appear as himself to the Duchess and Mephistopheles because Faustus commands it and because he needs to disguise his true nature. As Mephistopheles plays a deceptive confidant to Faustus, so is Bosola to the Duchess.

The difference between the two characters emerges in in the closing of Doctor Faustus. Mephistopheles embraces his damned fate and his servitude to Lucifer. Bosola, on the other hand, repents his role in the death of the Duchess (as for the motives, there is a healthy mix of its wrongness and once again being cheated by the Duchess’s brothers).  The Duchess takes on the role of a deity to him. Bosola says, “am angry with myself, now that I wake” (4.2.326-8) and then, “What would I do, were this to do again? / I would not change my peace of conscience / For all the wealth of Europe.  …. Return, fair soul, from darkness, and lead mine/ out of this sensible hell! ” (4.2.340-50)

Like the theme in Doctor Faustus, penitence plays a large part in The Duchess of Malfi and in both cases all the characters fail to achieve it. When Bosola says, “I’ll be my own example” and “O, penitence let me truly taste thy cup that thrown men down only to raise them up” (5.2.366-67), it is his attempt to save himself, to make some sort of amends in saving Antonio. But much like Mephistopheles attempts to stop Faustus from making the bargain had the oppose reaction, so did Bosola’s actions – killing Antonio.  What Bosola says about himself, “That we cannot be suffered to do good when we have a mind to it” (4.2.364), relates to Mephistopheles too. Both these characters are damned because of their initial alliance.

The final difference between them is that Bosola is able to tear the string that ties him to his Lucifer figure , the Cardinal, when he kills him. And though that act is not enough to salvage him, it does at least just make him a damned soul, rather than one of the devils.

Posted in Doctor Faustus, Power struggles, The Duchess of Malfi, Tragedy | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Bosola: Good or Evil?

Posted on April 24, 2013 by thomash

The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster is an unpredictable tragedy that holds some very pure characters as well as some very wretched characters. Antonio is characterized as a loyal and loving husband who cares deeply for his wife, the Duchess, and their children. The Duchess, who is the heroine of the play, is of equally good character. She defies the wills of her brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal, to marry Antonio and attempt to live happily with her husband and children in secrecy.  She loves Antonio dearly, as we can see in act 3.2 when they playfully tease one another, and lives for her family as she begs to be killed when she believes that they have also been killed in act 4.1. However, the purity of these two characters is met with the rotten souls of Ferdinand and the Cardinal. Throughout the play these two men are guilty of conniving against others, holding their sister prisoner, and committing murder. There is one character that is initially perceived as a rotten character but may in fact have a soul in search of redemption. Bosola represents the struggle of good and evil in this play, and even though he commits vile acts, he shows flashes of repentance and regret for the deeds that he has committed, much like Dr. Faustus of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.

 This play opens with a conversation between the Cardinal and Bosola in which Bosola reveals that he has served a prison sentence in the galleys for a murder that he committed at the demand of the Cardinal. This initial meeting of Bosola gives the audience a mindset that labels Bosola as an immoral character. This immoral image is added to when Bosola assists in the strangling of the Duchess at the command of Ferdinand. Bosola also kills Antonio, but this was due to pure mistake and cannot be blamed on his will. Whenever anyone is rampantly murdering people, it is difficult to say that they may not necessarily be a completely rotten individual, but in this case it can be justified that Bosola may have a heart after all.

After strangling the Duchess and her children, Bosola speaks with Ferdinand about his payment. During this conversation Bosola questions why Ferdinand does not have pity for the children and criticizes the brother for having empty hearts, ending the statement with, “I am angry with myself, now that I wake” (4.2.328). It can be argued that Bosola only criticizes Ferdinand and the Cardinal because he never received his payment, but it seems that Bosola truly regrets what he has done and is determined to redeem himself. After the Cardinal tells Bosola to also kill Anotnio in order to gain his reward, Bosola agrees but after leaving reveals his true plans to protect Anotnio and help him avenge the death of the Duchess. Bosola eventually kills both Ferdinand and the Cardinal to attempt to right his wrongs, but also dies as well after Ferdinand stabs him.

Bosola was a conflicted character. He was influenced by others to carry out heinous deeds with promises of payment as motivation, but he shows that he does in fact feel sorrow for the things that he has done. This is why he felt that he had to protect Antonio and avenge the Duchess’ death. He also gave Antonio and the Duchess’ oldest son a life free of living in fear of his uncles.

Posted in Power struggles, Psychological detail, The Duchess of Malfi, Tragedy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Bosola; An Almost-Hero is realized?

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Sabrina Esclavon

During Monday’s class, we had a discussion about the terms ‘hero’ and ‘dramatic hero’.  We went on to question who the dramatic heroes are in The Duchess of Malfi.  After doing a bit of research, my better understanding of a tragic hero is that of someone who evokes a sense of pity in the audience, and is also made to endure undeserved misfortunes.  That being said, it is clear that The Duchess is this play’s foremost dramatic hero.  In Act 4, Scene 2, the Duchess is wrongfully fooled into believing that her husband and children have been murdered, thus taking with them her own will to live.  This was orchestrated by the Duchess’ brothers, and carried out by Bosola in an attempt to receive his fair due in the form of an advancement after continually doing the brother’s dirty work.

However, after he has done so and reported back to Ferdinand, he is once again let down.  Now this isn’t meant to evoke any kind of pity in the audience for Bosola, as he seemingly has no moral compass in regards to what he is willing to do for his advancement.  This is also not the first time he has murdered someone, and it is not the first time he has not been given his promised reward.  Having said that, Bosola plays a very important role in the last few scenes in the play.  Although he has multiple motives (revenge, his sense of betrayal), Bosola does perhaps the most valiant action in the play.  He takes it upon himself to confront the Cardinal, bringing death to both him and Ferdinand, while in the process being mortally wounded.  When Antonio spoke of Bosola not reaching his full potential earlier in the play, this final act of boldness comes quite close to what I believe Bosola would have been had he not chosen a darker path.

Posted in Revenge, The Duchess of Malfi, Tragedy | 1 Comment

Death and Its Release

Posted on April 22, 2013 by pw134848

Given the setting of the drama and the attitudes during the time it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that death was a release for the Duchess and the ones truly close to her. Instead of being bound by the rules and laws that are present she is able to escape all that. Death does not represent to her an end but rather a beginning. For in the next world she would be able to live freely and as she wishes (granted this would mean that there is a life after death but…this is not the time to argue on that matter). Granted at the time she thought that Antonio and her children were dead, so this furthered her belief that death would enable her to reunite with them. While we as the audience know that this is not the case at the moment, it allows her to face her impending execution with courage  and defiance.

Frankly I’m glad that the Duchess was killed. Had she remained alive it would’ve been for no other reason then for Ferdinand to gloat over the so-called power he has over her. With her execution Ferdinand kinda lost what he was trying so hard to keep in the first place. I could imagine the Duchess smiling down from whatever astral plane she is on and remarking on how she won in the end. True her death could have been avoided and maybe something could have happened that might have resulted in a happier ending, but given the circumstances it played out quite well.

 

 

 

Posted in Life vs. Death, Love relationships, Power struggles, The Duchess of Malfi, Tragedy | 3 Comments

A Strong Female Force

Posted on April 22, 2013 by bk145564

The Duchess of Malfi is a tragedy  that clearly depicts female social issues. Since this play illustrates the Duchess going against the male figures in her life, it is ironic to realize females were still not allowed to act on stage. When the Duchess chose to marry Antonio, she put her desire before what her brothers wanted. This showed her using power to make her own decisions.

Both Ferdinand and the Cardinal tried to control the Duchess. They prove to have no boundaries and even go to the extent of murdering at an attempt to regain their power. The brothers keep Bosola under their control until he realizes once again payment isn’t guaranteed. At the end, the character they used to destroy others (Bosola) ends up destroying them. Furthermore, the more they tried to control the Duchess the more everything spun out of control.

Even though it may seem the play ended on a bitter note for the Duchess and female empowerment, there was still hope. The eldest son of Antonio and the Duchess shows their actions were not all in vein. The Duchess still maintained control of her estate by having it left to her child from the husband she chose. This play depicts women to have a great deal of power by showing the danger of trying to trap in a strong, independent, female character.

Posted in Power struggles, Psychological detail, The Duchess of Malfi, Tragedy | 1 Comment