Duchess of Malfi, John Webster - An A-Z post

Picture courtesy of www.amazon.it

The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster was the second set text of study, following the theme of love and death in the Renaissance.

A tragedy play, it has the unusual factor of the hero being a woman, the Duchess of the title. She is a widow, which has granted her power which she would not have otherwise gained, having been under the influence of her father, brothers and then husband.
Now that she is free, as it were, from all of these dominating male figures, she should be able to live her life how she wishes.

As in tales such as this though, it is never as simple as that. She has wishes to marry again, but her brothers are concerned that she will marry beneath her and dilute their pure bloodline. They make it clear that she is not to undertake such a decision, but she does anyway in secret.

Inevitably, the tale ends badly for many involved, with the death count seeming to rocket.

This play is studied alongside Shakespeare's Othello, of which you will have to wait to hear about in a later post!



 
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This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge. To get involved and check out other blogs taking part just click here. You won't be disappointed!


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