Duchess of Malfi Context:

Duchess of Malfi Context:

1. The Real Duchess:

   • Real Duchess of Malfi = Giovanna d'Aragona.
   • Her father's death left her under the authority of her two brothers.
   • Widowed 1489, making her the Duchess of Amalfi in her own right.
   • Historical events of Webster's play = 1508-13. He sets them 1504.
   • Defied her brothers and social expectations by secretly marrying her servant.

2. Painter's Duchess:

   • Main influence for Webster.
   • Found in Painter's morality tales "The Palace of Pleasure."
   • Selectively adapted by Webster.
   • Condemns his Duchess for her sexual desire.

3. Characterisation of Duchess:

   • Tragic heroine destroyed by her brothers.
     • Champions personal merit over privilege.
   • Sympathetic portrayal - sanitises the Duchess' expression of her sexual desire.
   • 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.
   • Duchess and Bosola's betrayal are symbolic of Jesus and Judas.

4. Societal Context:

   • Duchess seen to have transgressed the Great Chain of Being - sacrilegious action.
   • Class divisions = sacrosanct because the social order had been fixed by God with the King firmly at the top.

5. Proto-feminism:

   • Webster handles the Duchess sympathetically.
     • Play wasn't printed until 1623 - suggests it was a comment on Arbella Stuart in her favour.
   • Depicts society as clearly patriarchal and misogynist.