The Duchess of Malfi (originally published as The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy) is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, then later to a larger audience at The Globe, in 1613–1614.
Published in 1623, the play is loosely based on events that occurred between 1508 and 1513 surrounding Giovanna d'Aragona, Duchess of Amalfi (d. 1511), whose father, Enrico d'Aragona, Marquis of Gerace, was an illegitimate son of Ferdinand I of Naples. As in the play, she secretly married Antonio Beccadelli di Bologna after the death of her first husband Alfonso I Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi.
The play begins as a love story, when the Duchess marries beneath her class, and ends as a nightmarish tragedy as her two brothers undertake their revenge, destroying themselves in the process. Jacobean drama continued the trend of stage violence and horror set by Elizabethan tragedy, under the influence of Seneca.Jack, Ian. "The Case of John Webster." Scrutiny XVI (1949): 43. The complexity of some of the play's characters, particularly Bosola and the Duchess, and Webster's poetic language, have led many critics to consider The Duchess of Malfi among the greatest tragedies of English renaissance drama.
Characters The Duchess – The protagonist, sister to Ferdinand and the Cardinal. At the beginning she is a widow whose brothers take every precaution to keep her from marriage, though later she secretly marries Antonio, and for this her brothers arrange to have her strangled. She is described as having a sweet countenance and noble virtue, unlike her brothers. She is also witty and clever, helping her keep up with her brothers' banter, and has a tenderness and warmth which they lack. She has three children, two sons and a daughter by Antonio. (There is an inconsistency surrounding earlier children by her deceased husband, put down to a careless mistake by Webster.) Based on Giovanna d'Aragona, Duchess of Amalfi Antonio Bologna – Antonio returned from France, full of scorn for the Italian courtiers, whom he sees as more corrupt than the French. Antonio is the steward of the Duchess of Malfi's palace. His honesty and good judgment of character are traits well known to the other characters. He accepts the Duchess' proposal of marriage because of her disposition rather than her beauty. Her marrying beneath her status is a problem, however, and their marriage has to remain a secret, as Antonio shares neither her title nor her money. Delio – A courtier, who tries to woo Julia. Based on Matteo Bandello's self-depiction under this name, his purpose is to be the sounding board for his friend Antonio. Because he asks so many pertinent questions, he serves as a source of important information to the audience, and is privy to the secrets of Antonio's marriage and children. Daniel de Bosola – A former servant of the Cardinal, now returned from a sentence in the galleys for murder. Publicly rejected by his previous employer the Cardinal, he is sent by Ferdinand to spy on the Duchess as her Provisor of Horse.Equestrian steward; one who had the care of providing for her stables. (Ferdinand hopes to keep her away from marriage.) Bosola is involved in the murder of the Duchess, her children, Cariola, Antonio, the Cardinal, Ferdinand, and a servant. Witnessing the nobility of the Duchess and Antonio facing their deaths, he finally feels guilty, and seeks to avenge them. This change of heart makes him the play's most complex character. A malcontent and cynic, he makes numerous critical comments on the nature of Renaissance society. (He is based on the historical Daniele de Bozolo, about whom little is known.) The Cardinal – The brother to the Duchess and Ferdinand. A corrupt, icy cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who keeps a mistress. He has arranged a spy (Bosola) to spy upon his sister – all this on the quiet, however, leaving others ignorant of his plotting. Of remorse, love, loyalty, or even greed, he knows nothing, and his reasons for hating his sister are a mystery. (Historically, his name was Luigi d'Aragona.) Ferdinand – The Duke of Calabria and twin brother of the Duchess. Unlike his rational brother the Cardinal, Ferdinand has rages and violent outbursts disproportionate to the perceived offence. As a result of his regret for hiring Bosola to kill the Duchess, he gradually loses his sanity—he believes he is a wolf and digs up graves (lycanthropia). (In reality, his name was Carlo, Marquis of Gerace.) Castruchio (Castruccio) – An old lord. His name plays on the word "castrated", suggesting impotence. He is a stock character, an elderly man with a young, unfaithful wife (Julia). He is genial and easygoing, attempting to stay on good terms with all. Roderigo – A courtier Grisolan – A courtier Silvio – A courtier Pescara – A marquis, possibly Fernando d'Avalos Cariola – The Duchess's waiting-woman who is privy to her secrets. She witnesses the Duchess's wedding and delivers her children. She dies tragically by strangulation following the murder of the Duchess and the youngest children. Her name plays on the Italian carriolo, meaning "trundle-bed", where personal servants would have slept. Julia – Castruchio's wife and the Cardinal's mistress. She dies at the Cardinal's hands from a poisoned Bible. Malateste – A hanger-on at the Cardinal's court. The name means 'headache'. Referred to as a "mere stick of sugar candy" by the Duchess, he is yet another interchangeable courtier serving the sycophantic court. Doctor – Sent for to diagnose Ferdinand's madness and his supposed "lycanthropia".
There are also minor roles including courtiers, servants, officers, a mistress, the Duchess's children, executioners, etc.
Synopsis The play is set in the court of Malfi (Amalfi), Italy, from 1504 to 1510. The recently widowed Duchess falls in love with Antonio, a lowly steward. Her brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal, forbid her from remarrying, seeking to defend their inheritance and desperate to avoid a degrading association with a social inferior. Suspicious of her, they hire Bosola to spy on her. Over the next few years, she elopes with Antonio and bears him three children secretly. During the first pregnancy, Bosola discovers - through way of a dropped horoscope - that the Duchess is pregnant, but is unable to find out who the father is. Bosola informs the Cardinal and Ferdinand, both of whom are enraged by the news. However, both brothers decide to wait until Bosola finds out who the father is before acting and confronting the Duchess.
Years later, Ferdinand - upon being informed by Bosola that the Duchess has had two further children - confronts, threatens and disowns the Duchess in her bedchamber. In an attempt to escape, she and Antonio concoct a story that Antonio has swindled her out of her fortune and must flee into exile. The Duchess takes Bosola into her confidence, unaware that he is Ferdinand's spy, and arranges for him to deliver her jewellery to Antonio at his hiding-place in Ancona. She will join them later, while pretending to make a pilgrimage to a nearby town. The Cardinal hears of the plan from Bosola, instructing him to banish the two lovers, and sends soldiers to capture them. Antonio escapes with their eldest son, but the Duchess, her maid, and her two younger children are returned to Malfi and die at the hands of Bosola's executioners, who are under Ferdinand's orders. This experience leads Bosola to turn against the brothers, and he decides to take up the cause of "revenge for the Duchess of Malfi" (5.2). Overcome by apparent guilt for the murders, Ferdinand dissolves into madness and is diagnosed with lycanthropia.
The Cardinal confesses his part in the killing of the Duchess to his mistress, Julia, then murders her with a poisoned Bible after she can't promise to keep his confession a secret. Bosola overhears the Cardinal plotting to kill him from a hiding place, so he visits the darkened chapel to kill the Cardinal at his prayers. Instead, he mistakenly kills Antonio, who has just returned to Malfi to attempt a reconciliation with the Cardinal. The Cardinal and Ferdinand then enter; in the brawl which follows, Bosola manages to wound the Cardinal, and a maddened Ferdinand stabs both of them before being killed by Bosola. The Cardinal and Bosola die from their injuries as the surviving characters arrive on the scene.
Antonio's elder son by the Duchess appears in the final scene and takes his place as the heir to the Malfi fortune. The son's decision is in spite of his father's explicit wish that he "fly the court of princes", a corrupt and increasingly deadly environment.
The conclusion is controversial for some readers because they find reason to believe the inheriting son is not the rightful heir of the Duchess. The play briefly mentions a son who is the product of her first marriage and would therefore have a stronger claim to the duchy. Other scholars believe the mention of a prior son is just a careless error in the text.
Plot
Act 1
Scene 1—The Duchess's palace in Malfi: Antonio and Delio are discussing the former's return from France, and discussing how the French king runs his court, comparing it to an easily poisoned fountain. They are interrupted by the entry of Bosola and the Cardinal. Antonio and Delio hold their conversation, stepping to the background to watch as Bosola angrily tries to gain the Cardinal's pardon, speaking of the time he has spent in the galleys in penal servitude, and in the service of the Cardinal. Bosola declares that he is surely done with service, but the Cardinal is not interested in Bosola's new merit and takes his leave. Bosola compares himself to Tantalus, never able to acquire the thing he most desires, like an injured soldier who can only depend on his crutches for support of any kind. When he leaves, Antonio and Delio comment on his past offence, and how he will surely come to no good if he is kept in neglect. Ferdinand comes into the palace, talking to his courtiers about a tournament that Antonio has just won. When the Cardinal, Duchess, and Cariola enter to speak with Ferdinand, Antonio and Delio have a moment to themselves to discuss the Cardinal's character; he is found to be a very dishonest, disagreeable person, as is his brother, Ferdinand. Only their sister, the Duchess, earns the approval of everyone, a very pleasant and gracious woman. After the two gentlemen leave, Ferdinand petitions his sister to make Bosola the manager of her horses; when everyone else leaves, Ferdinand and the Cardinal reveal that it is because Bosola is to spy on their sister. When Bosola is brought in and made aware of this plan, he at first refuses, but ultimately is given no choice. The Cardinal and Ferdinand then turn their attention to their sister, urging her not to marry again, now that she is a widow, going so far as to threaten her with death, in Ferdinand's case. She refuses to be bullied, and once her brothers are out of sight, she proposes to Antonio by giving him her wedding ring. Having Cariola, the Duchess's maid, as their witness, this private ceremony is legally binding and the Duchess and Antonio become husband and wife.
Act 2