Critical opinion about the ways Webster presents the Duchess is divided. Some critics blame her for being irresponsible, bold and too passionate. Others praise her for her courage in fighting against tyrannical authority.

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Critical opinion about the ways Webster presents the Duchess is divided. Some critics blame her for being irresponsible, bold and too passionate.  Others praise her for her courage in fighting against tyrannical authority.

Consider these two opinions in the light of your study of the play.  What do you think of Webster’s Duchess?

        In good pieces of literature such as Webster’s Duchess of Malfi, an intriguing and captivating character should always have two sides, and with such a complex character critical opinion will always be divided.  In this essay I will assess ways in which the character of the Duchess causes conflict in opinion, and show my opinion as to whether she is courageous or perhaps irresponsible.

        During the course of the play, the Duchess can be seen to commit a lot of irresponsible actions, ones, some might say eventually cause her own downfall and some what tragically, her death.  It could be argued that the Duchess asking Antonio to marry her was an irresponsible action, she knew the society they lived in would not allow someone of her status to marry a man beneath her like Antonio, therefore some critics would argue she brought on her death herself by being irresponsible and also too passionate.                At the beginning of the play, Antonio is describing how a good court should be run and sets up a contrast early on between the corrupt Italian court the play is based in and the model French court, “Quits first his royal palace of flatt’ring sycophants.”  Antonio explains how an honest court makes a successful court, and shows the Duchess as irresponsible as it is her who starts the deceit and lies which lead to the court becoming a shambles.

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        Critics describing her as ‘bold’ seem to be using it in a negative manner, however in the play she is bold in a number of different ways, and not all portray her character in a negative light.  At her death the Duchess is extremely bold, proclaiming “I am the Duchess of Malfi still.”  She could have broken down distraught, however her boldness allows her to accept her death with humility.  However in Act 3, Scene 2 her boldness is shown to aggravate Ferdinand and it can be seen as a weakness in her character.  When Ferdinand enters her chamber, the ...

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