The Duchess of Malfi - Character Summary

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The Duchess of Malfi - Character Summary

"The birds that live i' th' field

On the wild benefit of nature, live

Happier than we; for they may choose their mates,

And carol their sweet pleasures to the spring."

The Duchess of Malfi (3.5.18-21)

The Duchess of Malfi: Character Summary

A widow, the duchess rules her duchy alone. Lonely and in love, she

secretly marries her steward Antonio. This is done in a hand-fast

marriage witnessed by Cariola, the Duchess' hand-maiden. By choosing

to marry Antonio in secret, the Duchess neglects her duty to her

people. When she begins getting pregnant and giving birth, her people

denounce her as a strumpet. They then lose their respect for their

leader. The pilgrims in Act 4 (when the Duchess and her family are in

Loreto at the religous shrine) are the only disinterested parties in

the play. They are also the only disinterested commoners.

back to top.

"That's the greatest torture souls feel in hell,

In hell: that they must live, and cannot die."

The Duchess of Malfi (4.1.70-71)

Women as Rulers

Women rulers and the circumstances they deal with are very much unlike

men rulers and their situations. The women must worry about society's

propensities, their own feelings, and the welfare of their people. It

is much more difficult to be a woman in power than to be a man in

power. The choices women rulers make cannot be only for themselves,

and one wrong decision can spell disaster. Interested in women's

courtly power and influence?

"A count! He's a mere stick of sugar-candy,

You may look quite through him. When I choose

A husband, I will marry for your honor."

The Duchess of Malfi (3.1.43-45)

The Real-life Duchess of Malfi: Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth I ruled over England alone. She never married,

choosing to claim instead that she was married to her country. By

doing this, Elizabeth retained her authority and she was not forgotten

behind the name of a man. In spite of this, though, or perhaps because

of 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 tanned 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 Ferdinand

Incest, as a motive, was used extensively in various Elizabethan

/Jacobean plays including Hamlet, A King & No King, and 'Tis Pity

She's a Whore. Incest is merely implied in The Duchess of Malfi

because the queer nature of the play does not allow it to become an

absolute.

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