DOM Critics

(Rene Weis) DOM 'been written by someone with a sadistic streak

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(Archer) barbarous violence

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How is this reflected in Maria Aberg’s 2018 production.

...and an unmitigated 💘 of violence and gore' - goes on to debunk this argument

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Stocked up on 3000 litres 🩸to keep things gory throughout its run.

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😵 & disease

(T.S. Elliot)

...saw the 💀 beneath the skin' in his abiding morbidity & unflinching forensics.

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DOM gives us a social autopsy into familial, religious & emotional corruption.

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*Like diamonds, we are cut in our own dust’* - our downfall = result of our own actions

😵 & disease nature of nobility

(Andrew Marr) 2014 Dominic Dromgoole production

Soft, candlelit gloom indoor theatre metaphorically repres. gloom 🌍 of shadows that is play’s moral univ., dark w/jealousy, mistrust & revenge.

* The play is shot through with all the melancholy of the age.
* What’s this flesh? A little crudded milk, fantastical puff-paste. Our bodies are weaker than those paper-prisons boy use to keep flies in.;
* Story of jealousy, deceit & murder.
* There’s something seriously unhealthy & possessive in his obsession w/his sister + his jealousy is a fuse waiting to be lit.
* Through horrors of her torture, D grows in stature. Suffering turns her ← romantic widow → tragic heroine. She seems able to take everything the brothers throw at her.
* Ferdinand holds D’s hand tentatively as if pursuing a romance.
* Whilst Ferdinand bribes B, C prays in room behind them.
* When D gets Cariola out ← arras, squeals - besties + happy & blithe D
* D wears ruffle dress with pearls → modesty & purity
* F manhandles D & spits on her - shouts lines + pins & her down & aggressively kisses her cheek
* Showcase C’s transition → military commander by donning him in armour during D’s exile ← Ancona scene
* Show A as warm father by having him carry his son piggyback
* dark scene - A’s heavy breathing connotes sexual assault



Duchess



sitting on the floor



* he sits 1st to shw that she is higher than him
* childlike
* intimate position (he is holding her hand) - disturbing
* makes them a reflection of each other (twins)



importance of glass & mirrors - she sees Ferdinand through a mirror



Duchess sat higher than Bosola who kneels down to her. she is morally (& status) higher than him (he will betray her secret to her brothers).



Duchess wears plain white shift when she dies - innocence & purity = tragic heroine - in contrast to black wore by Ferdinand



* christ-like figure (I forgive you)



unusual for character to be killed onstage - shows Ferdinand's brutality



takes longer for Duchess to be killed than Cariola



Ferdinand crawls around on stage - madness.



Interview w. Gemma Arterton imperfect sexual woman --> more refined becomes so delicate toward the end, like a feather yet strong & dignified



small stage - nowhere to hide; surveillance



tension created - aud. staring @ each other



oppression; being boxed in & caged; espionage; everyone observing one another; light & dark (candlelight - Duchess = light; world around her = dark)



'I am Duchess of Malfi still' = punishment; title & status stopping her living a full, beautiful life & leading to her death --> proud

(Rupert Brooke) 'The end is a maze of...

...😵 and madness'

😵 & disease

(Travis Bogard) The ultimate tragedy of W's 🌍 is not the 😵 of any individual but...

...the presence of evil and decay which drags all mankind to 😵

😵 & disease
corruption & deceit

(Michael Neill) 'the discovery of 😵' plague...

threatened to 'make nobody of everybody'

😵 & disease
nature of nobility
meritocracy

(Stoll) B has 'a morbid aversion to...

life and 😵 alike'

😵 & disease

(Rupert Brooke) 'He adopts the romantic convention that men are, in the second of 😵...

...most essentially and significantly themselves'

😵 & disease
flattery
appearance v reality

(P. Spinra) 'Like the \______ \____ figures... at once a \______ of, a \________ to, and a \_______ of the \_____; but unlike the \______ \____ , he is \__________ of his own \____'

'Like the Dreary 😵 figures... at once a warner of, a summoner to, and a 🛍 of the ; but unlike the Dreary 😵, he is frightened of his own role'

😵 & disease
nature of nobility

C.V Boyer's reasoning as to why B's 😵 fails to move audience (1914)

'his previous conduct has been too wicked for us to lament his fall as that of a morally good 👨'

revenge
corruption & deceit
😵 & disease

(White) W's villains meet their 😵s...

...in ways which satisfy poetic justice.'

revenge
😵 & disease
social equality

(Bergeron) The madmen could be an outward manifestation of the...

...inner ordeal D is undergoing.

(Irving Ribner) 'The ghastly \_______ of her \_______ are a symbolic \________ of the \____ of the whole human \_________... the \_______ of \______ is itself a \___________ for 😵'

'Man's awareness of the insignificance...

'The ghastly horrors of her torture are a symbolic portrait of the pain of the whole human condition... the process of living is itself a preparation for 😵'

...of his pain may help him to rise above it'

😵 & disease
fate & destiny
happiness v duty

Bettie-Anne Doebler on Webster's structuring of 😵 scenes:

(Todd Borlik) 'in glorifying the heroic resolve of characters that confront their morality with...

(Curtis Perry + Melissa Walter) As a heroic wife, D replaces the punishment for F's perverse sexuality...

'uses elements from the old ars moriendi tradition to structure the 😵 scenes.'

...magnanimous poise, Ws senecan-inflicted tragedy itself becomes a secular ars moriendi.'

...with a willing self-sacrifice.

nature of nobility
religion
fate & destiny
💘, lust & sexual desire
😵 & disease

(R.S. White) 'Tragedy of a virtuous 😵...

(Jankowski) 'Nobility of her...

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How is this reflected in 1995 Greenwich Production

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(Schieberle) In this way, the murder of the D =…

...who achieves heroism through her 😵'

😵.'

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When being strangled, D's arms held out as if she is in fact being crucified.

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…a nec. evil that reveals her true nobility"





😵 & disease nature of nobility

(1972 James MacTaggart 🎬) What does D do in execution scene?

Wears white nightgown
Smiles when 😵 mentioned to her

😵 & disease
happiness v duty
role of 👩

(William Hazlitt) D's 😵...

...'exceeds the just bounds of tragedy'.

😵 & disease

(David Cecil) What is the theme of the play?

'the act of sin and its consequences.'

corruption & deceit
religion

(Leah Marcus) '[F] takes on subhuman attributes that Reformation Prot...'

...culture associated with RC spiritual predation.'

religion
😵 & disease

(Todd Borlik) 'The real quarry of W's invective appears to be...

'Even faithful RCs would be critical...

'The C comes across as a hypocritical Machiavellian...

...a corrupt RC ism and ostentatious ceremonialism, not ceremonialism per se.'

... of the crude histrionics of some RC worship.' (W could \= RC & satirical)

...rather than an agent of divine retribution.'

corruption & deceit
appearance v reality
religion

(Charles Forker) '[Ferdinand is a] narcissist...

....and a sadist'

role of 👩
💘, lust & sexual desire
flattery

(Brian Gibbons) 'each brother is driven by a different obsession;....

...F's is sexual, the C's is social rank.'

💘, lust & sexual desire
corruption and deceit

(Rupert Brooke) 'inhabited by people driven like animals, & perhaps...

'human beings are writhing grubs...

(Charles Spencer) DOM 'chillingly captures the...

...like men, only by their instincts.'

...in an immense night.'

moral wasteland of the human soul.'

💘, lust & sexual desire
corruption and deceit

(Rene Weiss) 'resonates with love, fruitful sexuality and a glimmer of hope for humankind...

...not least in B's remorse and fear of damnation.'

the self
corruption & deceit
💘, lust & sexual desire

(Leah Marcus) 'The D's ⚭ would have been considered illegal...

'the ⚭ is proved legitimate by...

...but not necessarily for that reason invalid.'

...the D' son succeeding.'

(Brian Gibbons) W 'makes a point about...

(T.S. Elliot) DOM is 'written for the theatre by a...

(Philip Prowse) 'Always his concern is to make his stage a metaphor for...

...the deceptive illusionism of theatre.'

...👨 with a very acute sense of the theatre.'

...the inner lives of his characters.'

metatheatre —\> appearance v reality

(Middleton) 'it is not only her 😵 that...(Middleton) 'it is not only her 😵 that...

...inspired universal pity; it was also her life'

role of 👩

(Frank Whingham) 'friction bet. the dominant social order

...emergent pressures towards social change.'

Interested in how the subject matter of the play relates to a changing world, in which old aristocratic and new bourgeois values are in conflict with each other.

(Andrea Henderson) DOM anticipates tumultuous events later in C - partic. 1642 closing theatres.

D represents emergent bourgeois values. F & C represent aristocratic values of decadent self-display.

In this sense, D represents not just private sphere as arena of family affections but also realm beyond theatrical representation - partic. closed-off domestic sphere of family withheld from public gaze.

DOM \= 🛍 ideological transition; change: 🌍 court --\> that of family, that despite itself predicts demise drama altogether.

social equality

(Lisa Jardine) 'she acts as if [her status] gave her real power....

...in this she is proved pathetically wrong.'

role of 👩

(Dympna Callaghan) DOM ab. 'parlous fragility of...

💘 and innocence.'

💘, lust and sexual desire

(Gunnar Bokland) 'What governs events is...

(R.S. White) W is directed towards...

...nothing but chance'

...chaos.'

fate and destiny

2010 Charing Cross

F cuddles D when she 😵 - like a doll.

role of 👩 - objectification & control
💘 , lust and sexual desire

1919 Lyric Theatre

The successive murders appeared explicitly comic - especially that of F, who 😵 'standing on his head'.

1995 London Production

When F enters D's (Anastasia Hille's) 🛏️room and gives her a poniard, D threatens him with his own dagger and casually pours herself a drink.

role of 👩 + role reversal

1972 James MacTaggart 🎬

When Ferdinand promises Bosola 'There's gold', he noisily drops a handful of s on the table, showing the unsubtlety of corruption at the time.

corruption and deceit

1971 Royal Court Production

Madmen kill D - denying her a noble 😵

happiness v duty - despite all trials & tribulations she has overcome, isn't even afforded dignity in 😵

2014 Dominic Dromgoogle production @ Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

F lays a trembling ✋ on D's' dead thigh after B has had her strangled.

💘, lust and sexual desire

1972 BBC Production

B shorter than the others.

C wearing , A plain ⬛.

(Grace Windsor) 'When confronted with 👩 power and sexual desire, 👨 characters...

react with extreme violence'

(Oakes) A

W 'Presents the D as choosing well'
A is 'morally superior'

(P.B. Murray) 'A is modelled on...

...the ideal of Christian gentility'

(Genzlinger) 'The most compelling character in 'DOM... It's B,...

...the henchman with a conscience.'

(P. Spinrad) 'They wander ever deeper into...

darkness, madness and despair.'

(Dent) 'The D displays ↑...

courage than any of the 👨 characters'

(Koh) D is 'portrayed as the victim of...

...entrapment'

role of 👩

(Tennenhouse) '👩hood and sovereignty are...

...logically incompatible'

(Fort) '⚭... is also presented in...

confining and dangerous terms, as a trap'

(P.B. Murray) 'The radiant spirit of the D...

...cannot be killed'

Lisa Jardine

- "steps out of the path of duty and marries for lust."

Homilies

- "the goodly order of God, without the which, no house, no city, no commonwealth can continue and endure..."

(Dympna Callaghan) What was female desire seen as?

'disease and a monstrous abnormality.'

💕, lust and sexual desire

role of 👩

Lucas

- 'Bosola's cynicism rises to the sublime, as in four monosyllables he expresses the insignificance of human agony before the impassive universe'

Louise Powell

- 'her presence makes him feel inadequate'

Peter B. Murray

- 'the central part of the play, with its ghastly torments, is an epitome of hell in which the world is reduced to a dance of madmen' 'the nearer to the Church one gets, the father he is from God' 'suffering tests and defines a persons character'

J.W.Lever

- Allegorical nature of the play 'Antonio as a living reminder of possible regeneration and the virtuous influence of the Duchess' 'Neither villain nor hero, Bosola typifies the plight of the intellectual in the world of state, at once its agent and its victim'

Dr Todd Borlick

- 20th century read Webster as an atheist with 'nihilistic vision' anticipating existentialist view of 20th century. His drama is 'self consciously artistic-ornate' 'flamboyantly artificial aesthetic'

Dr Todd Borlick 'Webster has a fondness

- for really grotesque comparisons'

Dr Todd Borlick 'Webster's play is not a moral fable, but a tragedy-it glorifies

* Dr Todd Borlick 'Webster's play is not a moral fable, but a tragedy-it glorifies
* the transgressors, makes them martyrs for pushing against the ignorance of their age'

Kenneth Tynan 'Webster is not concerned with humanity.

- He is the poet of bile and brainstorm'

D.C. Gunby blood to the Cardinal

- 'is synonymous with rank or lineage; but to Ferdinand it is...literally his sister's blood'

The brothers embody "madness and damnation"

- Ribner

Ferdinand's words are "heavily laced with incestuous erotic tension"

- Shoveller

"Webster's play...is more Gothic than tragic - it depicts a world that simply isn't fair..."

- Shoveller

"Modern scholarship has established a strong relationship between Act IV and...witchcraft"

- Tricomi

"The prospect of the kiss upon the hand displays that part of Ferdinand's psyche that reaches out for reconcilement"

- Tricomi

"Throughout...the Duchess remains a site of contested moralities"

- Jankowski

"The dismembered hand with the ring is a symbol of the severing of the sacramental marriage bond"

- Jankowski

"Ferdinand's lyncathropia is a natural illness..."

- Hirsch

"The lyncanthropy of Ferdinand...is mere rage and bluster"

- Sarkar

"The Duchess...has been described as everything ranging from a medieval saint to a modern bitch"

- Spinrad

"Female sexuality does not inherently threaten the integrity of the body politic"

- Abusihab

"The Duchess of Malfi is entrapped as men catch birds"

- Koh

"Ferdinand, as much as he imprisons the Duchess...is also imprisoned by his anger..."

- Koh

"Webster's Duchess of Malfi is a powerful manifestation of this nostalgia" (for Queen Elizabeth / female leaders in general)

- Winston

"Webster's female characters... suggest the possibility of transcending patriarchal limitations"

- Stahl

When the Cardinal and Julia are in bed together, she is naked and he is fully clothed, symbolising his power over her

- 1972 James MacTaggart film

When Ferdinand protests that 'My sister, grown a notorious strumpet!' he roars and almost bursts into tears; the Cardinal appears embarrassed

- 1972 James MacTaggart film

The Cardinal encourages Julia to lick a poisoned Bible, showing the sexualisation and weaponsation of holy objects

- 1995 Cheek by Jowl production

Bosola 'speaks his mind whatever the circumstances'

- Sims

Bosola dies with a manic laugh

- 1980 Manchester production

'Misogyny is a part of the malcontent pathology'

- Callaghan

'The Cardinal's cool unemotional detachment is more terrifying than Ferdinand's impassioned raving'

- Bliss

'Ferdinand threatens the Duchess with his naked dagger, implying incestuous passion, not just naked desire'

- Gibbons

A contemporary critic dismissed the play as an attack on the Catholic faith -what was his name?

- Orazio Bussino

Cecil on evil

- Webster envisages evil in its most extreme form and he presents it [...] as far more powerful than good.

Watson

- Virtue in this disordered world is merely wasted, honour bears not issue, nobleness dies unto itself.

Hart

- The two brothers are not driven by any sense of possessive outrage, however warped, but by a delight in malice itself.

Dyce

- The suffering of the Duchess 'haunts the mind like painful realities.'

Mulryne

- When the Duchess choses to lie to her brothers, her choice involves 'an element of deceit or at best evasion.'

Whitman

- The Duchess cannot be seen as a 'model of goodness.'

Dusinberre

- Ferdinand has a 'dark web of lust' around his sister

Jardine

- The Duchess' strength lies in her fortitude in the face of doom that she has brought upon herself

Callaghan on transforming the state

- Female desire in the play is shown to have the capacity to undermine, and ultimately transform, the fabric of the state.

Irving Ribner

- "Bosola is the most important unifying element in 'The Duchess of Malfi'"

Aughterson on play’s ending

End w/young boys. They are symbols of rebirth and hope. But also could be politically naive and in the shadow of adult political figures.

Marxist critics on B

- Bosola is particularly vulnerable as an employee of the corrupt Duke. His work dehumanises him

Christopher Hart - Bosola

- "[Bosola is] a twisted misanthrope and cut-throat"