The Duchess of Malfi - Character Summary :: English Literature

The Duchess of Malfi - Character SummaryThe birds that live i th fieldOn the wild benefit of nature, liveHappier than we for they whitethorn choose their mates,And carol their sweet pleasures to the spring.The Duchess of Malfi (3.5.18-21)The Duchess of Malfi Character SummaryA widow, the duchess rules her duchy alone. Lonely and in love, shesecretly marries her steward Antonio. This is done in a hand-fast unification witnessed by Cariola, the Duchess hand-maiden. By choosingto draw Antonio in secret, the Duchess neglects her duty to herpeople. When she begins getting pregnant and giving birth, her peopledenounce her as a strumpet. They then lose their esteem for theirleader. The pilgrims in Act 4 (when the Duchess and her family are inLoreto at the religous shrine) are the only disinterested parties inthe play. They are also the only disinterested commoners. tail end to top.Thats the greatest torture souls feel in hell,In hell that they must live, and cannot die.The Duchess of Malf i (4.1.70-71)Wo manpower as RulersWomen rulers and the circumstances they deal with are very much unlikemen rulers and their situations. The women must worry about societyspropensities, their own feelings, and the welfare of their people. Itis much more difficult to be a woman in power than to be a man inpower. The choices women rulers make cannot be only for themselves,and one wrong decision can spell disaster. Interested in womenscourtly power and form?A count Hes a mere stick of sugar-candy,You may look quite through him. When I chooseA husband, I will marry for your honor.The Duchess of Malfi (3.1.43-45)The Real-life Duchess of Malfi Queen ElizabethQueen Elizabeth I ruled over England alone. She never married,choosing to claim instead that she was married to her country. Bydoing this, Elizabeth retained her authority and she was not forgotten buttocks the name of a man. In spite of this, though, or perhaps becauseof it, she endeared herself to her people. The Duchess, choosing love,chooses her downfall. The Queen Elizabeth, choosing duty (her throne),chooses the path to immortality.I am acquainted with sad misery,As the tan galley-slave is with his oar.Necessity makes me suffer constantly,And custom makes it easy.The Duchess of Malfi (4.2.27-30)The Duchess and FerdinandIncest, as a motive, was used extensively in various Elizabethan/Jacobean plays including Hamlet, A King & No King, and Tis pityShes a Whore. Incest is merely implied in The Duchess of Malfibecause the queer nature of the play does not allow it to become anabsolute.