Antonio and Delio seem uneasy under Bosola’s power of protest. He complains about the corruption of the Cardinal and his brother, accusing them of encouraging flatterers and panders and misusing their wealth, in a series of extravagant and vivid images. He is clearly an irritant to the smooth world of courtesy in which his hearers exist. On his exit, we see Delio immediately breaking into malicious gossip, as though to downgrade Bosola’s comments: ‘I knew this fellow seven years in the galleys for a notorious murder…’ and Antonio similarly suggests that Bosola’s anger stems not from a sense of honour, but from his envy of the court.
‘ I observe his railing
Is not for simple love of piety:
Indeed he rails at those things which he wants;
Would be as lecherous, covetous, or proud,
Bloody, or envious, as any man,
If he had means to be so.’
Bosola, in other words, cannot be a true critic of the society of The Duchess of Malfi, at least as far as Antonio and Delio are concerned, because he criticises out of jealousy, not detachment. Antonio is concerned about this and concerned, it would seem, about the whole fashion of being a malcontent, of resisting the current of society and embracing melancholy.
Although Antonio criticises the court at times and contrasts it with the perfection of the French court that he has lately left he does so from a position of strength. He does not wish to destroy the court, or to gain his revenge upon it; he merely wishes to improve it. He resists melancholy, and disapproves of it in others, because it seems for him to run counter to that life of virtuous action that is his ideal. He speaks of his own melancholy, during his absence from Italy, as a negative and unappealing thing. Bosola is very important to the court system, as it is him who represents the malcontent- a man clearly embittered by his social status. This introduces the theme of hierarchy as well as revenge. A contemporary audience could easily relate to Bosala and grasp his way of thinking as in everyday society we see inequality and elitism.
Hierarchy is shown through each character and there position in the court. We see how the people at the top of the social chain influence the people at the bottom, which was typical of the 16th century. ‘That a Prince’s court. Is like a common fountain, whence should flow pure sliver drops in general. But if’t chance near the head’ this divide between the rich and poor would come as no surprise to any audience analysing the court. We see that in the court each character has a position within the social hierarchy and it is this position that causes conflict within the play. There is great Irony within the social system of Malfi. The Cardinal and Ferdinand are both lower status to the Duchess but yet the try to oppress and control her. Ferdinand refers to the Duchess as ‘lusty widow’ showing his dominating, patronizing incestuous tone.
Religion is a fundamental theme of the part play and court. It is religion that has the power and dominance over the people of Malfi. The Cardinal represents religion a man who has earned respect and dominance through his corrupt ways. The cardinal represents religion in Malfi. 16th century England was largely dominated by the protestant faith. The Italian court is represented through the catholic faith; a contemporary audience would be suspicious of the Cardinal from the start of the play. We learn that the Cardinal got to the top through deviant and corrupt ways. ‘He should have been Pope: but instead of coming to it by primitive decency of the church, he bestow bribes’ this shows the hypocrisy of the 16th century. A contemporary audience would have viewed religious figures of great power as pure, holy people but in Malfi the Cardinal is the complete opposite. He is a man that associates himself with morally corrupt people that do not fit the conventional ways of religion. He commits unlawful acts such as murders, gambling and sexual ill practice. Through this he is linked to deception, therefore showing that in Malfi nothing is what it seems. Contemporary audience would be shocked to learn about the Cardinals views of religion but in Jacobean times this would have been seen as a true portrait of Catholicism. The Cardinal represents the fact that religion can be both liberating and destructive.
It is important to notice that the Duchess rejects religion and it is this rejection of faith that causes great controversy. She is not the typical stereotypical 16th century woman as she strives for happiness and tries to defeat all obstacles that stand in her way. This strive for love and happiness makes a contrast to corruption and deceit that we see in the court as the love between Antonio and the Duchess is pure and strong. ‘Here upon your lips I sign my Quietus est.’ The Duchess herself is seen as a problematic figure within the court. She is open to contemporary charges of subverting conventional social values by marrying beneath herself and leading a secret (and therefore morally dubious) life with her husband Antonio. However, to a modern audience she is more often represented as the dignified ideal of a woman seeking private happiness while facing outrageous patriarchal oppression from her brothers, the Cardinal and Ferdinand. The latter’s possibly incestuous motivation is only one of the play’s more lurid suspicions of a corrupt court and of the corrupting power of wealth, while the character of the Cardinal marks a fashionable interest in the flatters and sycophants. Incestuous relationships would have been commended in Jacobean times although in our day it is seen as quite improper.
The idea of entrapment and confinement is represented throughout the play and within the court. The patriarchal oppression confines and cocoons her despite her defiance.
By hiring Bosola to spy on the Duchess, the Cardinal and Ferdinand set a trap to ensnare the Duchess as men set traps to capture wild creatures in order to kill them. The Duchess is warned that if she being caught, would be killed, thus Ferdinand's warning to her that 'your darkest actions, nay, your privatest thoughts will come to light'. The Cardinal's comment 'the marriage night is the entrance to some prison' are not prophecies, but threats. Bosola's task is therefore set out, to first entrap the Duchess and then to secure her in her imprisonment.
Even though Bosola's intelligence takes years to produce the results required by the brothers, their threats have an immediate fulfilment in the life of the Duchess: their determined wills and the atmosphere of her own poisoned court limit her activities. Her marriage ceremony is literally confined within the walls of her chamber. In this sense, her marriage night is indeed, 'the entrance to some prison'. Like a prisoner, her movements and emotions are restricted. Even the imagery in her words to Antonio convey the idea of imprisonment 'this lowly roof of yours is too low built' and her speaking of not being 'the figure cut in alabaster, kneels at my husband's tomb'.
Indeed, one sees the Duchess as one not only imprisoned physically by her brothers, but also one trapped in her role 'we are forced to woo because none dare woo us'. The imagery of the wooing scene suggests, prophetically, not only restraint, but also madness and violent death. Nevertheless, a happier instance of the image of confinement occurs in the Duchess's reply to Antonio's question about her brothers 'Do not think of them, all discord without circumference, is only to be pitied, and not feared' This may be interpreted as a reference to the wedding ring that she has given to Antonio, or to the confinement of the wife's arms as she embraces her husband. We see how the court influences the rise and downfall of each of the characters.
