The Duchess of Malfi: Critical Quotes

Question 1

Callagher:

Answer 1

‘Ferdinand and The Cardinal’s misogynistic attitudes towards the Duchess’s sexuality reflects the misogynistic discourse of the period’.

Question 2

Nanci Roider:

Answer 2

‘The Duchess’s life mirrors the plight of real seventeenth century women cannot be ignored, thus she serves not only as a role model, but also as a tragic reminder of the world in which she had to function’.

Question 3

P. B. Murray:

Answer 3

‘The radiant spirit of the Duchess cannot be killed.’

Question 4

Helen Mirren:

Answer 4

‘It is essentially a feminist play about a woman who is fighting for her autonomy’.

Question 5

David Charles Gunby: (On Bosola)

Answer 5

‘Bosola is generally recognised as a man divided against himself’.

Question 6

Kenneth Tyan:

Answer 6

‘Webster’s characters die superbly, asserting their selfhood to the last breath’

Question 7

David Cecil:

Answer 7

‘The world as seen by [Webster] is, of its nature incurably corrupt’