Christian perspective in Webster Essay

By close consideration of two extracts of your choice, assess the importance of the Christian perspective in Webster’s presentation of the Duchess.†Ã‚  There has been much debate over whether the Duchess of Malfi is a character who is essentially a victim of her brothers’ tyranny and the corruption of her court, and whose downfall is caused by such, or is responsible for her own negligent and selfish actions by marrying a man she loved but in doing so abandoning her princely duties. Certainly, Webster’s borrowings saw the Duchess as little more than a whore or a strumpet (much like Julia in Webster’s version), but modern audiences, with modern sympathies, have preferred to see the Duchess as a heroine who is sacrificed for love. The two passages I have chosen to consider neatly contrast each other in showing how the Duchess is susceptible to religious corruption (III.ii.305-320), but equally, how she dies a Christian, almost a martyr (IV.ii.210-239).  In I.i, Antonio, the Duchess’ future husband, recounts a description of the French court, the King of which has ‘quitted’ â€Å"his royal palace | Of flatt’ring sycophants, of dissolute, | And infamous persons† (ll.7-9). This depiction acts as a yardstick by which we compare the court of Malfi. In fact, the entire presentation could be taken as an abstract concept presented visually, rather than any actual occurrence – however, the effect is the same either way. Unfortunately, we soon learn what becomes of the King – in III.iii, the corrupt Cardinal tells us that ‘the famous Lannoy’ had â€Å"had the honour | Of taking the French King prisoner†. This shows us just how powerful corrupt courts are. It strikes an ominous note, not filling us with the most hope for the Duchess ‘stars’ or fate. Against this backdrop of sleaze and rottenness, the Duchess hardly stands a chance – and so we come to our first passage (III.ii.305-320). In III.ii.305-320, we witness the Duchess, having confided in Bosola not only that she is married to Antonio, her household steward, but that she has several children by him, is persuaded by Bosola to â€Å"feign a pilgrimage | To our Lady of Loretto† (ll.306-7), under the (clearly ironic) pretence that she  Ã¢â‚¬Å"may†¦ depart  [her] country with more honour, and [her] flight  Will seem a princely progress, retaining  [Her] usual train about [her]† (ll.308-311). In fact, we know that, on arriving in Loretto, where the Cardinal, by design, awaits her, she is shamefully stripped of her princedom, as is Antonio of his lands (III.iv.5ff esp. Stage Directions), and her train, bar a faithfully minority (a sign of hope for us all, displaying the moral rectitude of the few), desert her in her disgrace (III.v.2-3), for reasons of politics, fear, and uncertainty. Clearly, the pilgrims who witness the banishment do not judge either Antonio or the Duchess harshly – rather they sympathise with them (ll.32-43), so perhaps we are meant to too. Having said that, however, they have not seen what we have seen previously – the wise though portentous warning from Cariola, ignored by the Duchess, that â€Å"if you will believe me, | I do not like this jesting with religion, | this feigned pilgrimage† (III.iii.315-18). The Duchess is, by any means, not faultless – to suggest that she ‘defies the evil in her court and her brothers’ hearts’ is too generous – indeed, despite good intentions, good receptions from onlookers, and indeed, sympathy from the audience, especially the modern one, she is not able to over come the evil in her court and in her brothers’ heart in this instance – she falls at their mercenary, Bosola, and, of course unknowingly, gives in to the ‘evil’ – she allows herself, in her own words, to be ‘led by the hand’ at ‘his direction’ (ll.311-2). The Duchess is after all a tragic heroine – her personality is therefore susceptible to the genre which dictated that she should be realistic, like any other human being. The root of ‘the tragedy’ can be traced back as far as Aristotle’s Poetics, which sees it as a form of drama â€Å"in which a calamity is brought about through a flaw in the character of the hero or heroine, who through a flaw in the character of hero or heroine who, through suffering, achieves a dignity and self-knowledge previously lacking.† The audience feels they can identify closely with this character, which has human faults, and the audience is thus sympathetic – even empathetic – to their case – and should experience heights of emotion such as pity, even horror, at the Duchess’ death. They should emerge from the theatre in some way ‘purged’ by the experience. According to this theory, Tragedy is the great dramatic form which shows human nature as unchanging†¦ only increasing the tragedy of the Duchess’ life and story further, especially because we, as a modern audience, know it is based on a true- life story (recorded in Painter’s Palace of Pleasure). The Duchess is motivated by ‘seeking wisely to prevent future sorrows’, ‘lamenting those in the past’ (ll.319-320) – in other words, she has good intentions, but by themselves they are not enough to dispel the power of the corruption which surrounds and suffuses her.  While it may have been established that the Duchess doesn’t really defy the evil in her court and her brothers’ hearts, it is more possibly that ‘she makes a good end’. These are separate things – it is possible to fulfil one, but not the other – and evidence for the truth of the latter statement can be found in the second passage, IV.ii.210-239.