Duchess of Malfi Context:

The Real Duchess:
1. Real Duchess of Malfi = Giovanna d'Aragona.
2. Her father's death left her under the authority of her two brothers.
3. Widowed 1489, making her the Duchess of Amalfi in her own right.
4. Historical events of Webster's play = 1508-13. He sets them 1504.
5. Defied her brothers and social expectations by secretly marrying her servant.
Painter's Duchess:
1. Main influence for Webster.
2. Found in Painter's morality tales "The Palace of Pleasure."
3. Selectively adapted by Webster.
4. Condemns his Duchess for her sexual desire.
Characterisation of Duchess:
1. Tragic heroine destroyed by her brothers.
  1. Champions personal merit over privilege.
2. Sympathetic portrayal - sanitises the Duchess' expression of her sexual desire.
3. Webster affirms the Duchess' right to control key aspects of her life due to the choice to make Antonio's eldest son the heir of Malfi.
4. Duchess and Bosola's betrayal are symbolic of Jesus and Judas.
Societal Context:
1. Duchess seen to have transgressed the Great Chain of Being - sacrilegious action.
2. Class divisions = sacrosanct because the social order had been fixed by God with the King firmly at the top.
Proto-feminism:
1. Webster handles the Duchess sympathetically.
  1. Play wasn't printed until 1623 - suggests it was a comment on Arbella Stuart in her favour.
2. Depicts society as clearly patriarchal and misogynist.

Resource summary

	Created by Katie Humphreys about 5 years ago