The Duchess Of Malfi

The Duchess of Malfi John Webster ca. 1613

John Webster  Written

circa 1613; performed 1614 by King’s Men at Blackfriars

 Loosely

based on true events in Italy  Giovanna d’Aragona

 Webster

is 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

 Uses

& abuses of power

sex

 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?

 How

does 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? If

we 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  Leads

Queen is both wife & ruler

to Paradox

Husband

as subject Queen as wife  How

does the Duchess exist as sovereign & sexual female?

Female Sovereign & Wife  The

Duchess 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 This

is a threat to patriarchal order What does it suggest to the audience about Antonio? And Ferdinand?

Duchess’ Marriage  What

kind of marriage do the Duchess and Antonio have? Clandestine—contracted

secretly

 Why

does Bosola suspect she’s pregnant? What does he do? How does she recover? The

pear incident as well as the note (2.3.55)

 What

does 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

 Bosola

advances 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

 Is

to discover it’s a nightmare!

there no way to succeed for Webster?

The Duchess’ Keepers  How

do we view the Cardinal & Ferdinand?

 What

is their relationship with the Duchess like?

The End  What  How

happens at the end of the play?

does the end correspond to the characteristics of Jacobean tragedy?