Introduction to The Duchess Of Malfi as a Jacobean Tragedy
The Duchess Of Malfi was written by
John Webster (c.1578 - c.1632) and published in
1623. Webster wrote many plays between about 1602 and 1625, but, along with
The White Devil,
The Duchess Of Malfi is by far the most famous of his dramas. Webster was the son of a prosperous London
coach maker and combined his career with his desire to be a playwright. There is very little
evidence about him, excepting that from the plays he published. Many of his works were
collaborations with other authors, but his best plays were
solo efforts.
The Duchess Of Malfi is a typical
Jacobean Tragedy in that it is characterised by a melodramatic sense of
impending doom, fatalistic spiritual despair and instability. In most tragedies, the
protagonist - always an outstanding figure - begins with an act of defiance against established laws and
conventions. The
protagonists are usually to blame for their actions through some
fatal flaw and, after coming to a state of greater understanding through mass-
suffering, the plays usually ended with their death. More specifically,
The Duchess Of Malfi is a
revenge tragedy in which the
villain's wrongdoing is eventually
avenged. The dramas' recurrent pattern is a moral ending in which
evil is its own undoing and, after defeating itself, is
purged.
The
malcontent is a frequent figure in
Jacobean Tragedy - a
disaffected servant who feels wronged and who is usually an instrument of treachery. There is often a
Machiavellian villain and the plays often reflect on court life. The main qualities of
Jacobean Tragedy are a powerfully oppressive sense of the passage of time and the transitory nature of things,
high profile imagery of death and decay and reflections upon mortality, the overturning of traditional relationships,
melancholy and the settling of
love affairs by the sword. Among
The Duchess Of Malfi's
themes are
darkness,
deception and
corruption and the
wheel of fortune. Central characters include the
Duchess, an intelligent but tragic heroine; the philosophising
feral villain Bosola; the Duchess' wicked two brothers, Ferdinand and the immoral Cardinal; as well as Antonio, a well-meaning commoner who falls short of being a hero and hence, commands our sympathy.
In the play, the
incestuous Ferdinand forbids his
widowed sister to marry again but, when he discovers that she is not only married, but has children, he is driven insane with fury. An overwhelming desire for
revenge takes over and the Duchess'
secret love unleashes violence which, due to the dreadfully powerful characters and
dark deeds, ends with the stage covered in
blood.
Credit is due to the Longman Literature edition The Duchess Of Malfi, ISBN 0-582-28731-6 which was a useful reference source.
A study of the opening two acts:
What are the standards and values by which the court of Malfi lives?
The values that govern character's decisions in
The Duchess of Malfi are diametrically opposed to the modern day
ethos by which we are accustomed to live. The play is set in a time and society where today's basic sociability, fairness and
freedom from
oppression were completely unheard of and
unprecedented. Those in power saw no point to their
authority if they did not take full advantage of their influence, nobody would lookout for anyone else and people's
livelihoods depended on kings'
fickle whims.
Corruption was rife, fuelled by the ruthless
backstabbing and
do-or-die attitude. In fact, the play starts by
amalgamating and spotlighting the
flaws with the court system by referring to Antonio's recent
excursion and comparing Malfi with the vastly different French court.
Antonio is clearly a newly-converted
Francophile and describes his experiences in glowing terms, emphasising its
superiority with a pithy, italicised
aphorism to show that the French head-of-state fully understands how his
decisions affect the people - should someone "poison't near the head,
Death and diseases through the whole land spread"
(I, i, l. 14-5). Coining a superb
simile in describing the court as "like a common fountain"
(I, i, l. 12), the French communal spirit and sharing lifestyle is drawn to the audience's attention. Unlike the Duke of Calabria, the King does not
punish freedom of speech and feels
duty-bound to
deracinate the inveterate "corruption of the times"
(I, i, l. 18).
Antonio is one of the most admirable characters and one of the few in the play's opening who displays an attractive side to their
personality. He clearly has positive values, as shown by his adulation of the progressive French régime, and heaps
encomia on aspects he respects while rightly deploring
contemptible behaviour. He has
perceptive vision and
cogently describes people he sees in precisely terse
thumbnail sketches. Perhaps most admirable, is the way he is able to condemn] characters without a hint of self-promotion,
arrogance or snatching at the moral high ground. Indeed, Antonio is a man of much
humility and
wisdom - his summing up is precise and he sees through to hidden aspects of people's
agendas. After Bosola leaves at the end of the first scene, Antonio
sapiently notes that "this foul
melancholy will poison all his goodness"
(I, i, l.77-8), and the reader has a sneaking
suspicion his
prophecy may just turn out to be realised. Antonio is usually honest and says what he thinks, unlike the other more conniving and
duplicitous courtiers.
The only other characters that attract a semblance of
esteem are Delio, for his kindly politeness, and non-
judgmental lack of
presumption; the Duchess; and Bosola, for his
mastery of language. Delio listens carefully to his friend's descriptions then comes to his own
conclusions of the people he sees. The "right noble Duchess"
(I, ii, l. 112) is a breath of fresh air - astute, witty, unintimidated and she speaks with such
wisdom one would think she has lived to twice her years. Antonio is so keen in his praise of her that Delio warns him that he has almost become like a "wire-drawer"
(I, ii, l. 131). Bosola is an
insightful realist with a good understanding of the use of analogies and
allusions as well as
astute judgement - saying of the Cardinal "
this fellow were able to possess the greatest devil, and make him worse"
(I, i, l. 47-8), he exhibits a rare
acumen.
The Cardinal is one of the story's most
despicable characters. He is morally repugnant and highly hypocritical. Holding a high position in the
church, he should be expected to be a positive example of
piousness and religious
reverence. Conversely, the Cardinal is dishonest and corrupt. He is a churchman involved in the vile
slave trade, with a seemingly
secular materialist trader's mind and no
conscience. He speaks of his "
galleys"
(I, ii, l. 73) laden with
emaciated ill-treated prisoners in an entirely offhand and
nonchalant manner and is acceptingly aware of his brother's incestuous
abuse of his sister, the Duchess. He displays
flagrant amorality, and lives a
frivolous life complete with
betting, "
dance, court ladies, and ... combats"
(I, ii, l. 80). His
celibacy and
vows instantly forgotten, the Cardinal goes further to
defile the Church's beliefs when his deception and bribery is made clear. Bosola has been cheated out of his salary for a certain anti
clerical "service" and other aspects of his life are not those usually expected from a clergyman - Antonio
shrewdly likens him to seemingly
transparent and clear pond water that has a
proliferation of unsightly toads hidden just beneath the
surface. The Cardinal is a man prone to jealousy, and is
wickedly scheming as he takes full advantage of his elevated position. His latent
insecurity means he "strews in his way flatterers"
(I, ii, l. 86-7), and it has been said that "they do flatter him most"
(I, ii, l. 109). The Cardinal has the most cold,
slyly cunning, ruthless and hypocritical rôle in the play. He tries to restrict the Duchesses' freedoms, restraining her with overly pious warnings, and there seems to be no end to his
hypocrisy and simultaneous high-mindedness when he says that only the "most
luxurious, will wed twice"
(I, ii, l. 221-2).
Mistreated by the Cardinal is Bosola. He is a very
bitter man obsessed with
eloquent death imagery who feels hard done by and left
bootless: "only the reward of doing well, is the doing of it!"
(I, i, l. 33) This
quotation also speaks to the
audience to show that he is a
cold-hearted and
sadistic person gaining
pleasure from the more questionable deeds and
jobs he has carried out. He resents the Cardinal's attitude to him and the debt owed, as well as being vengeful and highly unforgiving. Bosola's
ruthlessness and
determination leads him to desperately "
thrive some way"
(I, i, l. 38). We get the
impression that Bosola is a man who will do whatever it takes to get what he thinks he deserves and to advance in life. He is
hardy and somewhat
spiteful in his opinions of Ferdinand and the Duke, who are rich and powerful, but only manage to attract "
crows, 'pies and caterpillars"
(I, i, l. 52-3). He is cunning, and always aware of the
emotions around him. However, whenever he is
approached for work, Bosola
instinctively assumes he is wanted as a
hitman - "Whose throat must I cut?"
(I, ii, l. 173) he asks Ferdinand. Perhaps because he is always doing other people's dirty deeds (a fact he is only too aware of), he sees himself as almost
subhuman, accepting the employment offer with the words "I am your
creature"
(I, ii, l. 210). However, Bosola is not only a talented wordsmith with a firm grasp of
metaphor, as he often exhibits high intelligence (he was a highly regarded student of
philosophy) and makes his exit with the
gnomic apothegm, "Sometimes the devil doth preach"
(I, ii, l. 215).
Ferdinand is quite a
disgusting man. Lascivious,
lecherous and equally as fond of
ithyphallic innuendo as of his own sister, he makes very
suggestive and dirty remarks, prostituting the very language he speaks. From a
psychological point of view, Ferdinand clearly harbours strong insecurities. He surrounds himself with adoring and eager-to-please
sycophants who attend to his every
caprice and are constantly trying to gain favour by impressing him. They crack
opaquely moronic jokes to make him laugh, and uproariously
guffaw at the slightest hint from Ferdinand of poor
paronomasia. Ferdinand needs constant reassurance from his courtiers but is dishonest and cruel. Ferdinand tells them, "laugh when I laugh,"
(I, ii, l. 46) and, as well as his
assault of the Duchess, is described as an "ill man"
(I, ii, l. 199) and "the
devil"
(I, ii, l. 199) by Bosola - himself not the most
righteous character.
From just the first couple of scenes, the casual reader can easily discern which personal qualities are most important and how certain characters are successful.
Money is clearly a central aspect of life in the Italian courts and Bosola is "lur'd"
(I, ii, l. 155) to Ferdinand by his
promise that "there's
gold"
(I, ii, l. 170). Money is also equally important to the
aristocracy, as the Cardinal goes to extreme measures to avoid Bosola and the
debt he owes. The
overwhelming feeling is that, to be successful, one must be ruthless and as corrupt as possible. As a result,
power and status are also very important things to have on your side and Ferdinand assumes Bosola wants this too - he temptingly
hints, "thou mayst arrive at a higher place by't"
(I, ii, l. 186-7). We also find that it is beneficial to be a
pragmatic realist and adhere to the harsh, devious
Machiavellian model of maintaining
political power by underhand means with
deceit and without morality. People believed that, in ruling, the end justified whatever means were necessary and
knowledge meant power; hence people talked behind each other's backs and
gleaned as much useful information out of each other as possible.
Phoney civility could get
courtiers a long way if they pleased the higher classes
sufficiently, and several characters such as Rodgerigo and Castruchio seem to favour following this method. The Cardinal looks as though he has reached his elevated position only by extirpating himself from his conscience and things such as respect and position are clearly very important in court society. A moral character that would stick to
ethical beliefs would not last long in this world of
corruption and
mercilessness.
Right and wrong (only in respect to what is owed to you) is a vital issue and it is very important to learn to mix with the right people in order to rise to the highest
echelons of the court. Overall, the emphasis in the Italian court of Malfi seems to rest on material worldly goodness such as money, appearance and status rather than aspects some would consider more important -
spiritual well-being, conscience and
morals.
All quotations of the text are courtesy of John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi (Longman, 1996). This work has been confirmed to be in the public domain free from copyright, and is availible on Project Gutenberg at http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext00/malfi10.txt
--
CST Approved.