SOCIO-POLITICAL OPINIONS IN ACT 3 SCENE 2, DUCHESS OF MALFI (DOWNLOAD TO SCORE A)

SOCIO-POLITICAL OPINIONS IN ACT 3 SCENE 2, DUCHESS OF MALFI In act 3 scene 2, of the Duchess of Malfi, there is dramatic and intense shift of moods within the characters. The scene take place in Ma lfi, where the duchess, Antonio and Cariola are inside Duchess’s bedroom. Antonio and the Duchess are flirting with each other, and they then proceed to talk about marriage and sex. Antonio and Cariola goes into hiding leaving the duchess talking to herself, and then Ferdinand enters. Ferdinand gives her knife to kill herself, because she decided to get married, to a man that Ferdinand does not even know. In their hiding Cariola and Antonio hear the conversation and they become aware of the trouble they are in. From the events of taking place, it is evident that Antonio is not noble enough to marry the duchess, however, they have managed to hide their marriage and they even have children together. To protect Antonio, the duchess lie that Antonio has stolen from her and she decided to dismiss him, “Antonio, the master of our household, Hath dealt so falsely with me in’s accounts.” When the duchess asks an opinion about Antonio from the soldiers and Bosola, she is shocked by the response she gets about him. Bosola gives praise to Antonio saying that he is the best servant that he has managed to work so far. Even after responding saying that Antonio stole from her, the Bosola argues that Antonio was very faithful and honest, “He was an excellent Courtier, and most faithful”. Bosola laments that Antonio deserved better fortune because he was virtuous. On the other hand, the officers do not have good things to say about Antonio solely because they feel like they should not be siding with Antonio. They argue that he was proud and could not be trusted, “How scurvy proud he would look, when the treasury was full! well, let him go.” From the scene, Bosola is genuine about his feelings towards the character of Antonio, and he does not discredit him. The opinions of the officers and Bosola are very social political because their views are both social and political. The Duchess is a figure of power and therefore the officers are expected to be loyal to her no matter what. The officers’ choice of answer towards the duchess about Antonio is political. If they take Antonio side, the duchess might doubt their loyalty towards her and this could affect their positions as the duchess’s officers in the future. They are also playing the safety card, because since the duchess has already accused Antonio of theft, they cannot disagree as they would be questioning the duchess authority. However, the answer that Bosola gives the duchess is influenced by social factors. Bosola genuinely knows about the character of Antonio. He has nothing to lose by defending Antonio’s name because of his position. Therefore, it is clear that people are influenced to make decision in this society based on the effects their answers could cost them. Relations of class and social beliefs influence a lot of decisions that are made in this society. Show Less