Category Archives: The Duchess of Malfi

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

Incest and Sororicide

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Yevgeniy Kharonov

As a biologist I know that human children that are raised together are averse to having sex with each other because of a complex network of genes that have evolved in order to prevent these sorts of relationships from yielding offspring. The offspring of closely related family members typically inherit all the recessive or abnormal genetic traits. In the Anthology’s introduction to Tis Pity She’s a Whore by John Ford (not assigned reading), the authors discuss the theme of incest. They tell us that dramatists stage incest because it is a matter that the audience pays serious attention to. Most times incest is associated with the villains. In the The Duchess of Malfi, incest was not discussed directly, but rather through Ferdinand’s obsession with his sister’s sex life. Ferdinand’s suppressed sexual desire of his sister morphed into a desire to see her dead. From incest to sororicide, the descent is quite rapid and as a member of the audience, I am riveted. I look forward to seeing how “Ford makes the incestuous lovers central and… rather ordinary” (p1905) in Tis Pity.

ASIDE: I also recommend A Song Of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin and the spin off Game of Throne on HBO for the dramatization of incest and sororicide on Middle Earth (which is strangely like Renaissance England).

Posted in Generic types, Love relationships, Psychological detail, The Duchess of Malfi | 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

The Hypocrisy and the Selfishness of the Brothers

Posted on April 24, 2013 by dc135125

The brothers of the Duchess were nothing but hypocrites. They forbid their sister to marry, but they were also not married at all. Normally one would secure their legacy by marrying and having children.  However that will not happen for the two males of the royal family. They, unlike their sister, only cared for themselves, and that would prove their downfall in the end. Selfish people would get their judgment in due time, but the good would need to suffer first.

In the case of Ferdinland, why does he hate his sister so much, especially if they were twins? He was a terrible and wicked brother who seemed to be too obsessed with his sister and wants her for herself. When the Duchess lives, Ferdinand wants her to be single so he could inherit all of her money. However, he got his wish, but his sanity was gone, and his other half (the Duchess) was torn away from him. He became a like a werewolf and died a horrible death. A hypocrite to the end, his fate was well deserved, since he caused Bosola to murder his sister, her children, the maid Cariola, and others.

However, the Cardinal is even worse. He values reputation, but his sister has the reputation he needed. There was no love, mercy, or any type of selfless aspect from the Cardinal. He only cares for himself and would abandon his own brother, the one who plotted with him in the end. However, the Cardinal deserved a far worse death than the attack from Bosola because of his wicked plans, wicked deeds, and a stable mind. He was the real mastermind and deserved to be tortured like his sister before he dies. However, that was not to happen, and in the end, all the reputation the Cardinal wanted was gone and he wished himself to be forgotten, since his family name became tarnished.

Posted in Power struggles, The Duchess of Malfi | 2 Comments

Ferdinand’s OCD

Posted on April 24, 2013 by J Gritz

Ferdinand’s obsession with the Duchess is one of confusion in this play. Seeing the death of the Duchess’s children brings no remorse to Ferdinand. Yet seeing the Duchess barely moving and presumed dead (though she dies later on), he can barely look upon her dead body, saying, “Cover her face. Mine eyes dazzle; she died young” (4.2.262). He then berates Bosola for not defending her from Ferdinand’s orders. What was most peculiar during his berating of Bosola was his explanation of how he wished his sister would not have married and instead her inheritance would be given to him upon her death. My immediate reaction was as if he was trying to excuse himself for feeling such remorse, trying to appear as if he was a tough man who did not care at all for his sister.

Whatever feelings he had for his sister would not be distinguished as family love, but possibly more incestuous in nature. He wants to control her, force her into submission. When he hands her the dagger to push her into killing herself, he wants to have complete control by forcing someone out of their own will into what he wishes them to do (3.2.73). Yet the Duchess is such a strong-minded character that she is able to realize what her brother is attempting to do. After she shows Antonio the dagger, who states matter-of-factly what Ferdinand wishes the Duchess would do with the dagger, she responds, “His action seemed to intend so much” (3.2.154-155). She is clearly aware of her brother’s intentions and may even be hinting towards his obsession over her life (and death). The Duchess is an immensely strong-willed character, while her brother proves himself to be a coward, unable to be fully satisfied with the forces out of his control.

Posted in The Duchess of Malfi | 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

“The Duchess of Malfi” Scene Study

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Lyaman

“The Duchess of Malfi” Scene Study Act 3 Scene 2

As mentioned in class, we had a bit of an adventure while trying to film the scene. Initially, we had a study room reserved in order to film the scene, however the library messed up the reservations and we ended up not having time to film the scene properly. This past Tuesday we decided not to take a chance on the library and instead met outside of school to film the scene.

As for the filming process, the scene could have been improved by better staging. An example would be me (as the Duchess) not turning my back to the camera in order to face my scene partners.

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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

The Intensity of Ferdinand

Posted on April 22, 2013 by wendy c

In the previous act, Ferdinand and the Cardinal both were adamant about not wanting the Duchess to remarry.  However, Ferdinand’s refusal is especially evident during Act II scene v, after reading the letter that the Duchess had given birth. Although the Cardinal and Ferdinand are angry upon hearing the news about the Duchess’ birth, when juxtaposed together, their reactions reveal insight into both of these characters. Both characters uses blood in their speech, the Cardinal indicates that the blood in the family is now tainted (2.5.21-22). However, Ferdinand emphasizes that the Duchess deserves to die in which one should “purge infect blood” (2.5.26) Ferdinand continues this in line 49 when he refers to the Duchess’ as “whore’s blood.” Ferdinand extreme reaction is revealing of his character as only he believes that the Duchess should be killed for her (whorish) ways, whereas the Cardinal is almost calm in comparison to Ferdinand.

Ferdinand’s obsession and extreme nature is further revealed as the Cardinal even asks Ferdinand if he has gone “stark mad” (2.5.68). It is ironic that Ferdinand continuously wants to punish the Duchess for her act; however, once the Duchess has been “punished” for her act, Ferdinand shows signs of repent and subsequently does go mad as the play progresses. Therefore, the character of Ferdinand is intriguing because he is a character that likes to pushes actions to the extreme, both mentally and physically.

Posted in Psychological detail, The Duchess of Malfi | 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