The Duchess of Malfi

John Webster
ca. 1613
 John Webster
 Writtencirca 1613;
performed 1614 by
King’s Men at
Blackfriars

 Looselybased on true
events in Italy
 Giovanna d’Aragona

 Websteris
contemporary of
Donne, Shakespeare
 Jacobean Era
 1603 Elizabeth I dies, James I assumes
the throne (Elizabeth’s cousin)
Enter the Jacobean Period (Jacob/James—
Hebrew)
James I is King of England but also James VI
of Scotland
Most notorious detail of his reign:
Gunpowder Plot
 Jacobean Tragedy
 Violence,
especially dismemberment
and mutilation—unusually violent

 Sex, especially deviant & destructive

sex

 Uses & abuses of power

 Pessimistic world view

 “Domestic Tragedies”
 Growing # of tragedies during reign of James I
revolving around marital & family relationships

 Causes:
 Greater value placed on private, domestic sphere
 Marriage is viewed as positive
 Marriage (“love”) is a battlefield (thanks Pat!)

 The family had become metaphor for state

 James I as absolute husband with England/isle as wife
 Versus Elizabeth as sought after by Arthur
 Kingship
 Antonio is defining kingship at beginning
1.1.4-28
Good kingship versus bad courtiers
Good king needs good courtiers

 How do we view the Cardinal & Duke as

princes?

 How do we see the Duchess as a prince?

Does anyone (including her) view her as a
prince? 1.2.89-112
 The Duchess of Malfi
 How does Antonio view the Duchess
as a saint?

 Howdoes her relationship progress?

What do we know about her
marriage?
1.3:
What is going on here?
What does Ferdinand hire Bosola to do?
 The Duchess of Malfi
 What do we learn about the Duchess and
about how she is perceived by others?
 She’s a widow w/young child
 She holds the dukedom her husband had
 Major concerns surround her sexuality
 Is there a gender stereotype here?
 Antonio views her as virtuous, chaste, holy
 Ferdinand, however, views her as a slut
 She marries Antonio—she pursues, marries, bears
his child

 Finally,
we view her as neither virgin nor
whore: she is the good Protestant: married
 The Female Sovereign
 Female sovereign is a major problem: Elizabeth
was constantly pressured to marry before her
reinvention as Virgin Queen

 Why might the concept of the female sovereign

be a problem?
Ifwe think back to the Faerie Queene, there is a fear
that the female sovereign will marry a foreigner,
thereby endangering the kingdom
Who is in charge? This is the question we posed
 The Problematic Female
Sovereign
 Female Queen is both wife & ruler

 Leads to Paradox
Husband as subject
Queen as wife

 Howdoes the Duchess exist as

sovereign & sexual female?
 Female Sovereign & Wife
 TheDuchess is the pursuer—takes on
the masculine role & tricks Antonio
Does he want this to occur?
Or is it Renaissance sexual harassment?

 Autonomy of widows: widows were free

in the Middle Ages (think the Wife of
Bath); they could marry for pleasure
Thisis a threat to patriarchal order
What does it suggest to the audience about
Antonio? And Ferdinand?
 Duchess’ Marriage
 Whatkind of marriage do the Duchess and
Antonio have?
Clandestine—contracted secretly

 Whydoes Bosola suspect she’s pregnant? What

does he do? How does she recover?
The pear incident as well as the note (2.3.55)

 Whatdoes Bosola find while snooping & what

does he know?
He does not yet know the father of the child
 Webster’s Courtiers
 Bosola: traditional servant to princes

 Antonio:
administrator, Renaissance
“New Man”
Does Antonio understand Spenser’s lessons
in Book I of the Faerie Queene?

 How is Bosola problematic as a courtier?

 Bosola as Courtier
 Bosola
promises to avenge death that he
caused of Duchess

 Bosola accidentally kills Antonio

 Bosolaadvances normally to his position

through military service

 How is Antonio problematic as courtier?

 Antonio as Courtier
 Webster celebrates Antonio as a “New
Man” but he’s very flawed

 Duchess has some roles he should have

 Antonio lives courtier’s dream: he is

married to the sovereign
 Only to discover it’s a nightmare!

 Is there no way to succeed for Webster?

 The Duchess’ Keepers
 How do we view the Cardinal &
Ferdinand?

 Whatis their relationship with the

Duchess like?
 The End
 What happens at the end of the play?

 Howdoes the end correspond to the

characteristics of Jacobean tragedy?