Duchess of Malfi Context

Marriage (5)

• Webster himself had a child with his wife before marriage, suggesting he had relaxed views towards marriage.

• Upon marriage, women would give up all her rights and property to their husband. They effectively ‘owned’ her.

• In upper classes, marriage was rarely a love match and was used to secure or extend family’s property/status

• The Church believed marriage was to be until death

• Per verba de presenti - The Duchess and Antonio’s marriage is fully legal and recognised.

Widows (3)

• Enjoyed more freedom than other women. Not under the power of their father or husband, potentially even having an inheritance to support them.

• They were a threat to patriarchal standards because they had sexual knowledge. The Brothers allude to a common caricature of widows being lusty and sexually predatory.

• The Church urged widows to be chaste and not give into lust

Religion (4)

• England had been Protestant since Henry VIII and Catholics were presented as ritualistic idol-worshippers who were politically and morally corrupt (helped by the Gunpowder plot that threatened James I’s life)

• The Church was inextricably linked to politics

• Despite heavy Christian teachings, witchcraft, astrology and omens were still heavily believed, such as Antonio’s nosebleed.

• Christianity teaches that revenge should not be taken for himself as it is up to God. Ferdinand and the Cardinal go against this teaching and are punished.

Role of Women

• Patriarchy. Dependent on family emotionally and financially.

• Women were expected to be subordinate to men thanks to the myth of Adam and Eve

Status/reputation (2)

• The Great Chain of Being - A philosophical and religious construct that stresses that all things in nature have a designated place. This makes the Duchess’ love for Antonio all the more controversial.

• Class divides in medieval England started to become less rigid, and more flexible. Anxiety had started at the idea of lower class characters becoming wealthy and joining the upper class. This makes Antonio all the more threatening to the way of things.

Corruption/Power (3)

• Niccolo Machiavelli was a controversial Italian politician who prioritised power over morals and religion. Believed in anything that would allow one to gain and maintain power (force and fraud, lying, appearance over substance) Detested in Britain

• James I’s court was filled with favouritism and sycophants.

• Body Politic vs Body Natural - The Duchess’ gender is a threat to Italian politics as it is believed her desire to be a mother and any bodily emotions is a weak point that can be exploited by enemies. Her sexuality makes her weak.

Source Material

• Duchess Giovanna D’Aragona who married Antonio in Beccadelli in secret and had 3 children was murdered by her brothers.

• Arabella Stuart - Married William Seymour in secret without James I’s permission. Both imprisoned in the tower, where she later died.

Literary Context

• Revenge tragedy - A common Jacobean genre that takes inspo from classic tragedy. Has themes of corruption, power struggles and violence. Includes court settings, murder, madness and exploration of religion. Jacobeans loved violence, often attending public executions.

Different roles

• The Duchess as the Tragic Hero - Complicated. A person of emmenence (likeable, but not wholly good) Their death should encourage feelings of pity, compassion and fear. Should include a ‘hamartia.’

• The Cardinal as the Machiavellian

• Bosola as the Malcontent - Cynical and nihilistic views. Rallies against the unfairness of society. Webster uses him as the main mouthpiece for his cynicism of James I’s corrupt courts.

Setting (5)

• Being set in Italy allows for Webster to comment on British politics and monarchy as it creates a distance between the two worlds. Hides parallels as censorship was strong. Italian politics was also corrupt.

• Italy was seen as an exotic location, with its crime making it more glamorous than London.

• Heavy cultural prestige thanks to the Renaissance.

• Italy was also heavily Catholic, something that would have been viewed with suspicion by the British Protestant audience.

• Also seen as a sexual location - a trading place with lots of sailors and brothels.

The Four Humours

Used as an explanation for human behaviour by doctors

• Ferdinand - Choleric, excess of yellow bile, angry and deceitful intentions

• Duchess - Sanguine, excess of blood, full of life, courage and amorousness

• Cardinal - Phlegmatic, excess of phlegm, lack of emotion

• Bosola - Melancholic, excess of black bile, cynical

Court Masques

• A mixture of singing, dancing, lavish costumes and masks.

• Performed for noblemen in courts and introduced in plays like The Tempest.

• Webster’s ‘Dumb Show’ is an iteration of this. It is used to convey action as economically as possible, but also builds an impression of theatricality to the Cardinal’s power.

Madness and Ars Moriendi

• Believed to be caused by immorality e.g lust, ambition, greed etc.

• ‘The Art of Dying’ - Book that expresses the idea there is a right and noble way for a Christian to die. Almost none fit this ideal as they die from excessive sin/greed/lust etc. Except the Duchess.

Aristotlean tragedy

• Hamartia - Fatal flaw.

• Peripiteia - The moment fortune reverses. When Ferdinand enters the Duchess’ room

• Agnorisis - A recognition of a characters mistakes. Seems to happen to almost all characters before they die.

• Hubris - Excessive pride. Seen in the Cardinal

• Pathos - Moment that evokes immense emotion and sympathy from the audience. Seen in the Duchess’ death.

Date

Written 17th Century