Characters in Duchess of Malfi - Cariola

Overview

- Cariola is the Duchess's maid and loyal confidant

- Though a minor character, she plays a crucial role in:

- Protecting the Duchess's secrets

- Highlighting the cost of loyalty in a corrupt society

- Her fate reinforces the play's bleak treatment of virtue without power

Loyalty and Trust

- Cariola is a trusted witness to:

- The Duchess's secret marriage to Antonio

- She remains loyal throughout the play:

- Never betrays the Duchess

- Keeps her secrets despite personal risk

- This loyalty contrasts sharply with:

- Bosola's betrayal

- The self-interest of powerful men

Victim of Circumstance

- Cariola gains no reward for her faithfulness

- She is punished not for wrongdoing, but for:

- Proximity to power

- Association with the Duchess

- Her death emphasises:

- The indiscriminate cruelty of the brothers

- How innocent individuals are destroyed by corrupt authority

Power, Class and Gender

- As a maid, Cariola occupies:

- A low social position

- A vulnerable gendered role

- Her lack of status leaves her:

- Defenceless

- Easily silenced

- Webster uses Cariola to show:

- How lower-class women suffer most under patriarchy

Relationship with the Duchess

- At times, the Duchess is:

- Dismissive

- Insulting towards Cariola

- Despite this:

- Cariola attempts to save her own life

- She never betrays the Duchess

- This highlights:

- The imbalance of power even within female relationships

- Cariola's moral strength

Death and Tragic Significance

- Cariola's murder is:

- Brutal

- Unjustified

- It reinforces the tragedy by showing:

- Loyalty offers no protection

- Innocence is expendable in corrupt systems

Cariola's Functions in the Play

- Cariola represents:

- Faithful service

- Silent suffering

- She intensifies Webster's critique of:

- Power

- Patriarchy

- Social hierarchy

- Her death underscores:

- The cost of virtue without agency

Exam tip

Link Cariola to:

- Innocent victims

- Gender and class

- Loyalty vs survival

- Corruption of power