The Duchess of Malfi: A Fighter Against Evil

The Duchess of Malfi, the central character and protagonist of the tragedy “The Duchess of Malfi” is a symbol of protest against the patriarchal oppression, political and moral corruption, hypocrisy of religious authority, faithlessness of subordinates, state and social evils of the Jacobean period and the atrocities of her two brothers. John Webster’s melodrama “The Duchess of Malfi” is a testimony of stand against the existing malpractices of social law, grabbing female property by the male members, oppressive attitude towards widows, class distinction, selfishness, fratricidal violence and moral corruption. His another two plays “The White Devil” and “The Devils Law Case” also reflect the irregularities of the Jacobean period (1603–1625). In “The White Devil”, Vittoria, the white devil, represents the character of the cunning and cheating women of that time. Here, she uses her brother Flamineo as her tool to execute her plan as Volpone uses Mosca in “Volpone”. She abuses her beauty to infatuate others. The story of the Duchess of Malfi is taken from William Painter’s “ The Palace of Pleasure” based on the life history of the Italian noblewoman Giovanna d’ Aragona (1478-1510). She was married at 12, widowed at 20, and secretly married her steward when she was around 22-24 years old. She was murdered at the age of 31 or 32. Webster has further borrowed the characteristics of the Duchess from Sidney’s “Arcadia”, particularly of Queen Erona of Lydia. In the captive episode of Sidney’s Arcadia, Book-III, the physical torture of the imprisoned princesses Pamela and Philoclea are retold here by Webster. The Duchess of Malfi in Webster’s play fights against her own brothers and their allies till the last breath of her life. This study analyses the drama “The Duchess of Malfi” to represent the true lady-the Duchess of Malfi as a revolutionist and fighter against the family, social and state evils of seventeenth century Italian society.