The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster (Analysis)

 

The Duchess of Malfi

by John Webster

(Analysis)

 

The Duchess, a woman of true-blue blood and a widow to boot, falls in love with a man far below her station. This is resented by her brothers who fear they will lose her patrimony if she marries. They find an agent in a hardened criminal whom they put in her service. Eventually she and her children are eliminated.

Analysis:

Act 1, Scene 1 introduces most of the characters in the play. The setting is the Duchess’s presence chamber, or royal receiving room, but the Duchess herself is an “absent presence” for the first scene. The Duchess’ absence here presages her powerlessness that will follow for the rest of the play. However, the fact that it is her palace and her presence-chamber (and “her” play, since it is named after her) also underscores her centrality to the action.

Antonio’s importance is immediately indicated by the fact that he appears on the first page and has the most to say. Delio, his honest and loyal friend, serves to explain how Antonio stands apart from the other courtiers (he has been in France, acquiring grand ideas about how noblemen should behave) and to elicit Antonio’s opinion of the other main characters. An expository device like this is less artificial than a formal narration by an otherwise uninvolved character would be, and it also gives the audience/reader a chance to like Antonio for his honesty and goodness. The relationship between Antonio and Delio is reminiscent of that between Hamlet and his faithful friend Horatio in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. One large difference is that Antonio does not struggle with conscience and reluctance to act as Hamlet does (of course, Antonio doesn’t have his father’s ghost urging him to take revenge by committing murder!).

With Antonio’s introduction in mind, the audience is immediately ready to distrust and dislike Bosola upon his entrance. It soon becomes clear that the Cardinal has instigated whatever crimes Bosola has committed, and that he has reneged on whatever promise of reward he has made Bosola.

The old saying, “There is no honor among thieves,” springs to mind as the initial exchange between the long-suffering Bosola and the long-exploiting Cardinal plays out. Antonio again presages the action when he tells Delio that Bosola is actually a good man, but that being denied recompense for the shady favors he has done the Cardinal will poison his remaining goodness and breed further unhappiness in his heart.

Ferdinand’s entrance shows him to be a man interested in sport and action, and also someone who leaps from subject to subject as it suits him. Ferdinand banters jocularly with all the men at court, but he controls the conversation and immediately chides his underlings if their behavior does not match his expectations. The man is impressed by Antonio’s response to his question about horsemanship, as he knows it shows that Antonio is an honorable and noble man despite his lowborn status. Ferdinand thinks Antonio would have made a better choice than Bosola as a spy in the Duchess’s household, but the Cardinal correctly surmises that Antonio is too honest and would not have accepted the offer (indeed, if Ferdinand had made such an offer to Antonio rather than Bosola, this would be a very different play). The Duchess reveals her complete ignorance of her brothers’ true natures when she grants Bosola the provisor ship of the horse upon nothing but Ferdinand’s recommendation.

Antonio continues his function as unwitting forecaster of plot twists to come when he goes on at length to Delio about how wonderful the Duchess is. Bosola also participates in the foreshadowing when he accepts Ferdinand’s offer and says it seems the duke is making him one of his “familiars”; later (in Act 5, Scene 4), when Bosola suddenly kills Antonio, it seems he has indeed acted entirely apart from his own will. Here in the beginning, it seems Bosola is simply out to improve his lot in life.

In Act 1, Scene 2, the brothers rehearsed lecture to their sister about not marrying or being carried away by silver-tongued suitors indicates that they do not trust her. There is no indication how long she has been a widow, but perhaps she has recently put off her mourning attire and seemed too happy for her brothers’ comfort. The sexual innuendo of the duke’s admonition about the “part which, like the lamprey, / Hath never a bone in ‘t,” shows what low esteem he holds his sister in, as no decent man of 1504 would talk to his noble sister so suggestively. The fact that she takes it as a sexual innuendo, rather than as the “sweet talking” comment Ferdinand says he meant, reveals a hint of her secret intention to marry.

Antonio’s astonishment at the Duchess’s declaration of love and proposal of marriage is genuine; he has lived a virtuous life and never expected such a great reward. When he asks what her brothers will think, the Duchess assures him, essentially, that time heals all wounds, and if they should discover the marriage, they will get over it. Antonio accepts this, saying he should have been the one to offer bravery in the face of their opposition. The happiness of the loving couple is overshadowed by Cariola’s comment about pitying the Duchess for what is either great spirit or great folly; in this instance, Cariola serves as the forecaster of impending doom.

Act 2, Scene 1: Presumably, about nine months have passed since the secret marriage. Bosola is ensconced in his provisor ship of the horse and continues his antagonistic ways, as illustrated by his exchange with the old lady and Castruchio. Antonio’s interpretation of Bosola’s ill humor is, unfortunately for Antonio and the Duchess in scenes to come, short of the mark; he believes Bosola’s bluster is all an elaborate cover so that people will not think he is feeling superior about his position in the Duchess’s household. Antonio does not know about Bosola’s appointment as household spy by Ferdinand, and so he misses the truth in Bosola’s comments about common passions motivating high and low alike.

Bosola’s “trick” with the apricots is far-fetched if we are to believe eating them actually causes the Duchess to go into labor (after all, she is already short of breath, and therefore, we assume, very close to the end of her pregnancy). A more sensible reading is that she happens to go into labor after eating the fruit, and everyone accepts the superstitious conclusion about the cause. It is the early 1500s, after all, and much about pregnancy and childbirth is not understood (even in the early 1600s, when the play was written, such things were still largely mysterious). Indeed, even when the quick-thinking Delio helps Antonio devise a plausible cover-up for the Duchess’s withdrawal to her chamber to give birth, Antonio can only respond that he is “lost in amazement.”

Act 2, Scene 2: Paranoia is running high, with the servants hearing rumors from servants about a Swiss man caught red-handed in the Duchess’s quarters. The reference to a “French plot” hints that Antonio’s secret marriage to the Duchess may be known-but Bosola dismisses the rumor as soon as Antonio orders the lockdown, so it is apparent the rumor is not very strong if it has not reached the ears of a diligent household spy; and apparently the “French connection” with Antonio (who had spent lots of time at the French court before the play began) does not occur to Bosola. After all, but Delio and Antonio exit, Delio sensibly assures Antonio that his fears are nothing but superstition, and not anything to truly worry about. Cariola’s announcement of Antonio’s new son seems to echo Delio’s reassurances.

Act 2, Scene 3: This scene establishes Antonio’s mistrust of Bosola. Antonio’s nosebleed recalls Delio’s assurances about taking such occurrences as omens; indeed, Antonio must talk himself out of believing it means anything. However, in a clever bit of foreshadowing, the blood from the nosebleed makes illegible “Two letters, that are wrought here for my name,” presumably on the document Antonio carries that describes his son’s birth and astrological forecast. When Bosola finds this paper which Antonio carelessly drops (a difficult plot contrivance to believe, given Antonio’s now clear suspicion of Bosola), he interprets it to mean that Antonio is the Duchess’s bawd-that is, the facilitator of her illicit relationship with the baby’s father. It does not occur to Bosola that Antonio’s agitation strongly suggests much more than merely faithful service to the Duchess and her unknown paramour. Bosola is still blinded by his own determination to make something of himself by spying for Ferdinand, and the news of the Duchess’s newborn and apparently bastard son is enough of a plum for him to report.

Act 2, Scene 4: The conversation between the Cardinal and Julia reveals that they are lovers, but she wants assurances of his love and he insists that the pleasure and escape from her dreary husband that he has provided should be enough. The Cardinal seems to enjoy toying with her emotions. Delio’s offer to Julia of gold to become his mistress seems quite out of character for someone who otherwise proves to be true and noble-minded. The inclusion of this brief interlude can be read as an attempt to make Delio more believable, as no one is perfect. Presumably, Julia is attractive, or the power and status-hungry Cardinal would not have wanted her; conceivably, Delio is also drawn to her simply because she is attractive. The scene may also be read simply as a means to get Delio in the room, where he can overhear the servant’s announcement about the letter that has upset Ferdinand so much.

Act 2, Scene 5: Here we see the first hints of Ferdinand’s coming madness. Ferdinand lets his anger get away from him and grow into rage, while the Cardinal continually counsels him to get control of himself. The contrast between the brothers is well illustrated here: Ferdinand is ready to fly into a murderous frenzy as he wildly imagines the Duchess having relations with some of the lowliest servants; the Cardinal is all chilling self-control, biding his time and storing up his anger for future action after careful consideration. Finally, Ferdinand agrees to do nothing until he knows who the Duchess’s lover is-but he is still fixed on bloody revenge. Having so adamantly warned their sister against remarrying, either openly or in secret, it should come as no surprise to them that she would (apparently) take a lover. In refusing to allow her the possibility of marrying, they have left her no choice but to act illicitly. This does not occur to them; all they see is that she has disobeyed and shamed them-a terrible crime for a woman in this era.

Act 3, Scene 1: Delio has apparently been serving Ferdinand in Ferdinand’s palace, and has returned to the Duchess’s court now that Ferdinand has returned. However, his ignorance of Ferdinand’s behavior and apparent opinion of the Duchess seems to indicate that he has not worked closely with Ferdinand. (This is quite possible; a duke such as Ferdinand would have had dozens, if not hundreds, of courtiers, most of whom he would not have known nor had much contact with.) Antonio, serving the Duchess closely even before he became her secret husband, would have more direct contact with the royals and would therefore have more insight into their behavior, so he is able to provide Delio with a report.

Ferdinand’s behavior is, again, rather bizarre. After drifting into the room in a sleepy daze, he seems to give the Duchess a sort of moral blanket immunity, telling her to rest secure in her innocence (this can be read as sarcasm, of course). As soon as she is out of the room, he comments on her guilt and demands a spy report from Bosola. Bosola’s opinion that the Duchess has been bewitched strikes Ferdinand as ridiculous; he angrily insists that free will alone accounts for the Duchess’s immoral behavior. Ferdinand’s hibernating anger is clearly waking up, as he thanks Bosola for both his obnoxiousness and his service, and hints that he is going to do something drastic with the key Bosola has procured for him.

Act 3, Scene 2: The confrontation between the Duchess and Ferdinand is all about semantics. The Duchess believes she has not soiled her reputation because she and Antonio are married; Ferdinand believes her reputation is ruined because no one knows she is married. To the Duchess, the truth (however hidden) is what matters; to Ferdinand, perception (no matter how far off the mark) is all that counts. For this time period, Ferdinand’s interpretation is actually the more accurate; and indeed, the Duchess is staking her reputation on a marriage undertaken secretly, without the blessing of the very powerful Church, legal only by virtue of the presence of one witness (Cariola-whose station in life lessens her worth as a witness, regardless of the fact that she is one of the most truthful and reliable people in the play). The Duchess is staking her reputation on technicalities, while Ferdinand is insisting on both propriety and the blatant appearance of propriety. In giving her the dagger, he is telling her to do the right thing-to kill herself out of remorse (or at least the appearance of remorse) for her sins and thus salvage her reputation. Of course, what Ferdinand is really interested in is salvaging his own reputation; it is disgraceful for him and his brother the Cardinal to have a “strumpet” for a sister.

This scene is a turning point in the play. The Duchess again chooses deception rather than honest defense of her choices. The Duchess believes it is unfair that she “must” engage in lies and deceptions, but she does not even consider any other course of action. The woman is indeed the Duchess of Malfi-the name conjures “malfeasance” as well as the Latin mala fides, “bad faith”-though she is sympathetic to our modern sensibilities. The layers of paranoia and mistrust continue to build. In addition to the Duchess’s inability to see any alternative but dissembling, Bosola immediately suspects the Duchess’s claim that Antonio has dealt falsely with the accounts, and Antonio momentarily suspects Cariola of betraying him and the Duchess. Bosola is smart enough to fool the Duchess into believing he supports Antonio, thus using her own deception against her and gaining her confession that Antonio is her husband and the father of her children. Bosola also suggests yet another layer of deception-that of pretending a pilgrimage to Loretto which the Duchess immediately agrees to. Cariola’s warning against using religion as a ruse quietly sounds the bell of foreshadowing again; and with Bosola’s parting soliloquy, we know no good will come of the Duchess’s numerous bad choices.

Act 3, Scene 3: It is interesting that in this scene, Delio is clearly working quite close to Ferdinand. Delio and Silvio together pick apart Malatesta’s character for Ferdinand’s benefit (and possibly amusement). Delio also provides a short character summary on Bosola for Silvio and Pescara-though his assessment is limited to the sort of dismissive opinion Antonio held about Bosola early on. Silvio, Delio, and Pescara share unflattering thoughts about the Duchess’s two brothers-but with an air of respectful remove that shows they know their places in the hierarchy. However, just because they serve Ferdinand does not mean they must admire and emulate him. Bosola, in appearing and sharing the whole of his newly-gained intelligence with the Cardinal and Ferdinand, has made his first irreversible and fateful choice for evil. Like the Duchess, he does not consider any alternative actions, but immediately shares the damning information with the evil and powerful brothers he continues to hope will reward him for his dark and faithful service. For their parts, the Cardinal and Ferdinand continue to differ in their approach to the embarrassing problem of their sister. The Cardinal says he will work to have the Duchess, Antonio, and their children banished; Ferdinand essentially declares war on them, ordering Bosola to gather an army.

Act 3, Scene 4: Here the two pilgrims and various churchmen serve as a sort of Greek chorus, commenting as impartial outsiders on the mounting action of the play. The men do not comment on the Cardinal’s abandonment of his powerful church post in favor of a soldier’s position (which is very strange, as he would have enormous power as a cardinal), except to sing solemn wishes of victory and protection. The pilgrims observe the strangeness of the Duchess’s choice of Antonio for a husband-and indeed, it would have been widely known as scandalous for the Duchess to marry so far “beneath” her position but counter that with an observation of the Cardinal’s severe overreaction in having the Duchess and her family banished from Ancona. The final word from the pilgrims intones Antonio’s impending doom.

Act 3, Scene 5: Bosola walks a fine line in this scene. Antonio has previously mistrusted him, yet the Duchess has entrusted Bosola with her secrets and apparently still believes he is protecting them. Bosola has brought a letter from Ferdinand, but it has somehow escaped the Duchess’s notice that Bosola is the likeliest suspect for the betrayal of her confidences. After she sends Antonio and the oldest boy away to Milan, Bosola returns with a guard to force the Duchess to return to her palace, which will serve as a prison. Bosola reveals his true allegiance at this time, turning his previous arguments in favor of Antonio’s birth-defying merit into more conventional statements of Antonio’s worthlessness because of his low birth. Finally, the Duchess sees Bosola’s true colors, vowing that she would beat the two-faced Bosola if she were a man. Now that all her deceptions have failed, the Duchess has no choice but to bear up as bravely as possible as she is compelled to submit to her brothers’ control.

Act 4, Scene 1: Some time seems to have passed since the Duchess was forced to return to Malfi, where she is essentially being held prisoner by Ferdinand. Bosola has begun his slow transformation to a man with a conscience, telling Ferdinand that the Duchess is being brave and strong and noble. Ferdinand still has a loose grip on sanity, but the dead hand incident-along with the wax figures showing the supposedly dead Antonio and children-illustrates his extreme cruelty. The Duchess, believing all her beloved ones dead, wishes she herself were dead, and she curses her brothers for their long, drawn-out cruelty in place of quick and decisive murder. Bosola’s transformation continues when he pleads with Ferdinand to stop torturing the Duchess. Bosola refuses to go to the Duchess again as himself, knowing that he has lost all her trust and respect things he now values as he never did before. Ferdinand dismisses Bosola’s newfound pity for the Duchess and moves right along to his nefarious plans for Antonio, in which he will entangle Bosola. The audience begins to see that this entanglement will be at least partly against Bosola’s will.

Act 4, Scene 2: Although we saw Bosola make tentative steps toward behaving as if he had a conscience in the last scene, here he again has thrown his fate into the brothers’ powers-a risky wager, given their cruelty and obvious penchant for betraying or using anyone and everyone if it suits their purposes. The madmen serve as a distraction from the heavy action of the play-rather like Hamlet in the gravediggers’ scene in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Duchess takes the opportunity to muse on her situation and enjoy some rather prescient gallows humor. Ironically, the madmen lift her spirits somewhat, reassuring her that she is not yet made herself and giving her a bit of extra gumption with which to face Bosola when he returns, now disguised as an old man. The madmen have also served to put the Duchess off her guard somewhat, so that when the “old man” appears, she assumes he is another intended annoyance from Ferdinand. Their conversation about her impending death and burial is almost light at times, full of witty banter. When the executioners enter, the Duchess realizes the disguised Bosola is in earnest, but she has already embraced her own coming death and shows no fear-only concern for her children (a bit inconsistent, since she clearly believed them dead when Ferdinand showed her the wax figures). While the Duchess has given up the possibility of fighting for her life, Cariola still rebels with spirit, refusing to submit peaceably to being murdered.

Ferdinand comes on the scene again with his twisted logic. Although he is mad in the sense that his actions are beyond the pale for cruelty, he is clearly still capable of self-preserving scheming as he refuses to acknowledge Bosola’s faithful service as his instrument of murder and torture, leaving Bosola with the sudden understanding that he has been left to twist in the wind. Bosola’s conscience finally fully wakes up as he realizes that being a faithful servant to evil brings only more evil as its reward. In the Duchess’s last moment of life, Bosola gives her the gift of knowing her loved ones are alive. Bosola also tells her Antonio and her brothers are reconciled through the Pope’s action, but we will see in the next scene that this is not really true; if Bosola knows the reconciliation is false, his statement may be merely an attempt to give a wronged woman some comfort as she dies. Bosola’s promise to give her body into the care of some good women is further evidence that he is finally figuring out how to be honorable rather than merely seek the appearance of honorability.

Act 5, Scene 1: It is rather remarkable that Delio is still serving as Antonio’s loyal friend and protector-actually, as his spy, as he counsels Antonio based on intelligence against the powerful brothers he works forbut someone truly honest must remain after all the bloodshed to resurrect the fallen royal house. Julia reprises her role as the Cardinal’s strumpet, reminding us of the double standard the brothers imposed on their sister. The Cardinal, a man of the Church, has a mistress, but the Duchess is not even allowed to marry. Antonio’s decision to sneak into the Cardinal’s room and try to frighten him into reconciliation seals his doom; for we know, as he does not, that the Duchess and the two youngest children are dead.

Act 5, Scene 2: All the scheming and plots are coming to a head in this scene. The witless Julia, who apparently believes herself impervious to harm because she is the Cardinal’s lover, nevertheless schemes against him; she has set her sights on Bosola-bizarrely so, since he is so far beneath the Cardinal and even Julia herself (who is married to the courtier Castruchio, about whom we hear very little). The Cardinal has apparently foreseen the possibility of needing to kill someone by having that person kiss a poisoned book cover, as he has one on hand to dispatch Julia with. Bosola’s attempt to become a man of conscience continues. Now he schemes against the schemers, hoping to foil them at their own game. The cautions to himself to step carefully foreshadow the general doom we know is coming. Bosola’s prayer of penitence seems, finally, genuine. Julia proves herself a true strumpet (providing quite a contrast to the Duchess, who was only perceived as such) by throwing herself at Bosola and agreeing to extract the information Bosola needs from the Cardinal.

Act 5, Scene 3: The Echo in this scene can be read as a contrived device to reinforce Delio’s wise counsel to Antonio not to go to the Cardinal’s chamber that night. Alternatively, it can be read as Bosola’s anonymous attempt to protect Antonio, especially since in the immediately preceding scene, Bosola has vowed to help Antonio avenge the deaths of the Duchess and their children. Unfortunately, Antonio has determined to stare down his fate-although he seems to know this will go badly-rather than continue living in hiding and fear. Although he has advised Antonio not to act rashly, he nevertheless immediately promises his loyalty and support once Antonio has made his decision. Delio even holds out some hope that the Cardinal may still have some human compassion in his soul, saying that the sight of his young nephew might persuade him to peaceful reconciliation. This may simply be an attempt to buoy up Antonio, however, as the Cardinal has shown plenty of evidence to this point that he is evil to the core.

Act 5, Scene 4: The Cardinal finally schemes himself into a corner in this scene. The man cannot risk being seen as he disposes of Julia’s body (or rather, has Bosola dispose of it), but he unwittingly seals his own fate by ensuring that no one will come to his rescue if he yells for help. The Cardinal has not counted on Bosola’s counter scheming against him. Unfortunately, Bosola’s apparent growth of a conscience has not been equaled by any growth of good judgment on the spur of the moment. There is no textual explanation for the terrible mistake Bosola makes in killing Antonio, except for Bosola’s “O direful misprision!”

Act 5, Scene 5: The Cardinal’s struggle with his conscience is too little, too late, especially since he peevishly takes issue with the book’s author’s ideas about hell, rather than genuinely confronting his own culpability for so many crimes. It has not occurred to the Cardinal that the people he has used might turn around and betray him, but Bosola does exactly that. The Cardinal’s last-ditch effort to bribe Bosola is pathetic. Besides, Bosola is too angry-and knows he himself is much too far past redemption-to consider doing anything but killing the Cardinal. Ferdinand enters at the Cardinal’s cries, apparently as a rescuer, but it immediately becomes apparent that he has lost almost the last of his wits. In the final moment before he dies, he proclaims that the Duchess is the cause of everything that has happened. That is debatable; it would be more accurate to say that the brothers’ overreaction to their sister’s poor choices has wrought all the death and destruction. The downfall and death of all the wicked characters hearkens back to Antonio’s opening lines about the corruption of yes-men and schemers at court. Delio enters with the hope of resurrection in Antonio’s son, rather like Horatio arriving at the end of Hamlet to tell the truth about all that has transpired; the young son stands in for Hamlet’s Fortinbras, the one who will transform ruin into renewed glory. Delio’s invitation to those present to rise above the evil and help the boy become a good leader brings the play full circle, back to Antonio’s shining optimism about the nobility and integrity of true men.