‘The Duchess of Malfi’ Critical Interpretations
Individual Critics
• C V. Boyer (1914) – ‘Bosola’s previous conduct has been too wicked for us to lament his
fall as that of a morally good man’
• Lord David Cecil (1927):
o ‘The world as seen by Webster is of its nature incurably corrupt’
o ‘The theme, as always with Webster, is the act of sin and its consequence’
• C. G. Thayer (1957) – ‘The character of Bosola is unquestionably one of the most complex
and elusive of the major Jacobean drama’
• P. B. Murray (1969) – ‘The radiant spirit of the Duchess cannot be killed’
• Nicholas Brooke (1979)) – ‘The brothers assert male familiar rights over her widowhood’
• Helen Mirren (1981) – ‘It is essentially a feminist play about a woman who is fighting for
her autonomy’
• Lee Bliss (1983):
o ‘The Cardinal’s cool, unemotional detachment is more terrifying than Ferdinand’s
impassioned ravings’
o ‘The Duchess seeks private happiness at the expense of public stability. As a ruler she can
no more be lauded for the example she sets than her brothers’
• Stephen Greenblatt (1990) – ‘An aspect of the Renaissance is the possibility of self-
fashioning: the Duchess displays this with her marriage, dress sense and beliefs of the court
and church’
• Judith Haber (1997) – ‘The Duchess effectively positions herself (and Antonio) both as
subject and object, both as penetrator and penetrated’
• Charles Spencer (2010) – ‘The play chillingly captures the moral wasteland of the human
soul’
• Peter Morisson (2016) – ‘Love, marriage, and relationships portrayed in the Duchess of
Malfi can be viewed as a critique of Jacobean society’
• Gillian Bridge (2018):
o ‘The Duchess’ crime is to marry for love – the couple are rebels in all contexts: sexual,
social, and most especially hierarchical’
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, o ‘It is the woman’s title, not her name that appears on the frontispiece of the pay’
o ‘The play is familiar territory of the corruption of the flesh, poison, death, and disease’
o ‘The Duchess’ crime will ultimately deprive her of, firstly her identity, then her sanity, and
finally her life’
• Lisa Hopkins (2020) – ‘Women’s bad behaviour can be seen as being as much a response to
male policing mechanisms as a cause of them’
• Susan C. Baker – ‘A static protagonist is one who has found something for which he must
stand’
• James P. Driscoll – ‘The Duchess is an integrity figure whose life is an ever-present
reminder of the moral bankruptcy of those who live without integrity’
• Theodora Jankowski:
o ‘The Duchess abandons her duties of ‘body politic’ for those of her ‘body natural’ and for
this she has to die’
o ‘In this double position of wife and ruler, the Duchess becomes an uneasy and threatening
figure’
• David Gunby – ‘Bosola is a character divided within himself’
• Irving Ribner – ‘The Duchess, not her brothers, stand for ordinary humanity, love, and the
continuity of life through children’
• Christopher Hart – ‘The two brothers are not driven by any sense of possessive outrage,
however warped, but by a delight in malice itself, a motiveless malignity even against their
own flesh and blood’
• Christina Luckyj – ‘The Duchess is a catalyst for social transformation and tragic
recognition’
• Marliss Densens – ‘Major female characters repeat historic transgressions of Eve, but their
transgression does not bring the downfall of humanity. Rather, it exposes the limits of moral
and social codes
• Orazio Busino – ‘The play is in condemnation of the grandeur of the Catholic Church’
• Philip Prowse – ‘As always, Webster’s concern is to make his stage a metaphor for the
inner lives of his characters’
• T S. Eliot – ‘Webster saw the skull beneath the skin’
• Alexander Leggatt – ‘She is by turns natural, unorthodox, courageous, and in need of
ordinary reassurance’
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Individual Critics
• C V. Boyer (1914) – ‘Bosola’s previous conduct has been too wicked for us to lament his
fall as that of a morally good man’
• Lord David Cecil (1927):
o ‘The world as seen by Webster is of its nature incurably corrupt’
o ‘The theme, as always with Webster, is the act of sin and its consequence’
• C. G. Thayer (1957) – ‘The character of Bosola is unquestionably one of the most complex
and elusive of the major Jacobean drama’
• P. B. Murray (1969) – ‘The radiant spirit of the Duchess cannot be killed’
• Nicholas Brooke (1979)) – ‘The brothers assert male familiar rights over her widowhood’
• Helen Mirren (1981) – ‘It is essentially a feminist play about a woman who is fighting for
her autonomy’
• Lee Bliss (1983):
o ‘The Cardinal’s cool, unemotional detachment is more terrifying than Ferdinand’s
impassioned ravings’
o ‘The Duchess seeks private happiness at the expense of public stability. As a ruler she can
no more be lauded for the example she sets than her brothers’
• Stephen Greenblatt (1990) – ‘An aspect of the Renaissance is the possibility of self-
fashioning: the Duchess displays this with her marriage, dress sense and beliefs of the court
and church’
• Judith Haber (1997) – ‘The Duchess effectively positions herself (and Antonio) both as
subject and object, both as penetrator and penetrated’
• Charles Spencer (2010) – ‘The play chillingly captures the moral wasteland of the human
soul’
• Peter Morisson (2016) – ‘Love, marriage, and relationships portrayed in the Duchess of
Malfi can be viewed as a critique of Jacobean society’
• Gillian Bridge (2018):
o ‘The Duchess’ crime is to marry for love – the couple are rebels in all contexts: sexual,
social, and most especially hierarchical’
36
, o ‘It is the woman’s title, not her name that appears on the frontispiece of the pay’
o ‘The play is familiar territory of the corruption of the flesh, poison, death, and disease’
o ‘The Duchess’ crime will ultimately deprive her of, firstly her identity, then her sanity, and
finally her life’
• Lisa Hopkins (2020) – ‘Women’s bad behaviour can be seen as being as much a response to
male policing mechanisms as a cause of them’
• Susan C. Baker – ‘A static protagonist is one who has found something for which he must
stand’
• James P. Driscoll – ‘The Duchess is an integrity figure whose life is an ever-present
reminder of the moral bankruptcy of those who live without integrity’
• Theodora Jankowski:
o ‘The Duchess abandons her duties of ‘body politic’ for those of her ‘body natural’ and for
this she has to die’
o ‘In this double position of wife and ruler, the Duchess becomes an uneasy and threatening
figure’
• David Gunby – ‘Bosola is a character divided within himself’
• Irving Ribner – ‘The Duchess, not her brothers, stand for ordinary humanity, love, and the
continuity of life through children’
• Christopher Hart – ‘The two brothers are not driven by any sense of possessive outrage,
however warped, but by a delight in malice itself, a motiveless malignity even against their
own flesh and blood’
• Christina Luckyj – ‘The Duchess is a catalyst for social transformation and tragic
recognition’
• Marliss Densens – ‘Major female characters repeat historic transgressions of Eve, but their
transgression does not bring the downfall of humanity. Rather, it exposes the limits of moral
and social codes
• Orazio Busino – ‘The play is in condemnation of the grandeur of the Catholic Church’
• Philip Prowse – ‘As always, Webster’s concern is to make his stage a metaphor for the
inner lives of his characters’
• T S. Eliot – ‘Webster saw the skull beneath the skin’
• Alexander Leggatt – ‘She is by turns natural, unorthodox, courageous, and in need of
ordinary reassurance’
37
