Duchess context and critical quotes Flashcards
Bosola’s position as malcontent
Whigham calls Bosola both a ‘distanced moralist’ and ‘envious parasite’.
Duchess’ decision to marry Antonio
‘the tones are martial, not erotic’ – Whigham on the Duchess’ decision to marry Antonio
cyclical decay
‘what happens after death or what death means is the play’s ultimate secret.’ – Dolan
What is the Duchess?
Woodbridge calls the Duchess ‘a champion of desire’.
Ecocritical view
‘Ferdinand’s drive to discover his sister’s secrets…invokes the natural philosophical goal of uncovering nature’s secrets.’ – Floyd Wilson, ecocritic
Bosola is exploited
‘imposed their ghoulish amorality on everyone around them’ – Kaleba, feminist director on the brothers (cast Bosola as a woman)
Feminist reading
Lewis Theobald adapted the play in 1735 rewriting it so that Antonio, The Duchess and Bosola survive, to please the ‘female Judges’, as in a female audience.
The play’s finale
‘a kind of farcical re-enactment of its earlier action’ – Perry and Walter
What is the Duchess’ goal?
‘her struggle…to live a life true to her feelings’ – Gunby
Why might Webster be a proto-feminist?
John Webster wrote the Duchess of Malfi for King’s Men, his previous contribution being ‘The Malcontent’. He married his younger wife (between 9-11 years younger) in 1606, and they had a son two months into marriage. He wrote his first female-centric play in 1612, The White Devil.
Why are the courts so ugly?
Webster wrote an elegy following the sudden death of Prince Henry, heir to the throne, disdaining sycophantic flattery, saying they were in pursuit of ‘rotten vapours’ and uses similar imagery to describe him as he does the Duchess.
What are the dangers of secrets?
In 17th century, secrets were thought to corrupt the bodies of those that kept them, dissolving people from within. Webster employs this imagery with several characters, suggesting that the secrets turn them into beasts, or just poison them.
The real Duchess?
Matteo Bandello’s ‘Novelle’ is an account of the real Duchess’ story, compassionate and focusing on the cruelty of her brothers, was apparently Antonio’s friend in his exile. The other versions, Belleforest and Painter, show the couple as selfish.
Ferdinand’s illness
Webster drew heavily from religious reformer Calvin, who suggested that a lack of religious faith led one to be fearful of their own shadow and the believe they are surrounded by wolves, as hardened sinners would have a vision of God’s punishment and be driven mad. Calvin’s blind sinners are those that refuse to acknowledge their sins or repent.
Stubbe Peter was a German lycanthrope who was driven by lust for his sister.
