The Duchess of Malfi: Plot Summary (OCR A Level English Literature)

The Duchess of Malfi: Plot Summary

One of the most important things you can do in preparation for the exam is to “know” the plot of The Duchess of Malfi thoroughly. When you are familiar with all of the key events, you can then link them to larger ideas. Having an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the text will also help you to gain confidence in finding the most relevant references to support your response.

Below you will find:

• a general overview of the whole play

• detailed summaries by act

Overview

The Duchess of Malfi, a revenge tragedy in five acts, was written by John Webster, a playwright for The King’s Men, a theatre company with which Shakespeare was closely involved. The play is based on a real Duchess who married in secret and was murdered by her brothers, one of whom was a cardinal. First performed in 1612 to Jacobean audiences, The Duchess of Malfi’s setting, Roman Catholic Italy, would have contributed to the play’s predominant theme, which is corruption within the church. 

The Duchess, a young widow and ruler of the Italian town of Amalfi, is beautiful and childless, but her brothers, the Cardinal and Duke Ferdinand, do not want her to remarry. Their reasons for this are made evident throughout the play as they exert violent control over her purity as a guise for their true desire for her inheritance. Antonio, a lowly steward, highlights the corrupt and false nature of the Cardinal and the Duke and marries the Duchess in secret, thus acting as a foil to the conniving and superficial high-ranking leaders of the town. 

The Duchess of Malfi portrays brutal acts of oppression towards the female protagonist, as any status and power gained by her title ultimately serve to limit her autonomy. When the Duchess reneges on her duties she is relentlessly hounded, shamed and eventually killed for her defiant sexuality and desire for a family. The play’s dark depiction of the Cardinal and Ferdinand’s plot against the Duchess, whose children are seen as a “disease” and a “plague” on the bloodline, challenges religious ideals regarding marriage as well as highlighting Machiavellian attitudes within a society dominated by reputation and powerful status. 

The play takes place over a number of years in order to exemplify the doomed relationship between the Duchess and Antonio. Although they attempt to escape and the Duchess relinquishes her title, they are unable to find peace. Webster interweaves the theme of their fated love throughout the play to parallel ideas related to destiny and personal autonomy within a corrupt system. The character of Bosola, in particular, represents an individual who, despite his noble nature, is exploited, restricted and debased by his leaders.   

The play’s tragic resolution stresses the importance of honesty as Delio, one of the only surviving characters, laments the destruction that comes as a result of deceit. The Duchess of Malfi depicts the inescapable doom of any individual who cannot remain true or anyone who trusts those who are false. 

Act-By-Act Plot Summary

Act I

• The play begins with Antonio, the Duchess of Amalfi’s steward, discussing the French King: 

  • Antonio says he is not corrupt or narcissistic

• Antonio comments to Delio that Bosola, a former employee of the Cardinal, is a murderer who despises the court only because he is poor and powerless

• The Cardinal arrives and Bosola tries to speak with him about his sentence in the “galleys” (jail):

  • He hints that he was arrested for a murder committed under the Cardinal’s orders

• Bosola complains about the corruption of the court and the mistreatment of loyal soldiers and exits in disdain

• Antonio and Delio, alone on stage, discuss Bosola’s noble nature, which they believe is marred by his cynical attitude

• Duke Ferdinand, the Cardinal and the Duchess enter stage and Antonio (in an aside to Delio) says that the Cardinal is jealous, paranoid and weak:

  • However, he describes the Duchess as noble, beautiful and virtuous

• Ferdinand tells the Duchess that he wants her to hire Bosola to help her with the horses

• Duke Ferdinand hires Bosola to spy on the Duchess:

  • Bosola expresses his doubt, believing this would be immoral and sinful, but Ferdinand convinces him

• The Cardinal and Ferdinand instruct the Duchess not to remarry and taint the family’s pure lineage

• Alone with her maid, Cariola, the Duchess expresses her plans to marry regardless of her family duty

• The Duchess flirts with her steward, Antonio, and offers him a ring:

  • She reveals it is her wedding ring, destined for her second husband

  • Antonio notes their difference in class and says that he would sully her reputation

Act II

• Act II opens nine months later 

• Bosola, in an aside, ponders the Duchess's recent sickness and loose clothing:

  • Bosola offers the Duchess apricots (known for their labour-inducing properties), which make her sick

• Alone on stage, Antonio relays his fear to Delio that the Duchess is about to give birth to their baby in Amalfi before they have been able to escape

• Antonio instructs the guards to shut the doors and lock everyone in their rooms as the Duchess has been robbed (this is a cover for the birth of her son)

• After everyone else exits, Cariola enters to inform Antonio that he has had a son:

  • Antonio mourns his new son’s horoscope, believing it a bad omen 

• Bosola is found outside of his room and Antonio challenges him on this before leaving with a nosebleed (which he believes is another bad omen)

• Bosola finds a note that Antonio has dropped detailing the new baby’s horoscope

• He asks Castruccio to take the letter to Ferdinand and the Cardinal in Rome as proof of the Duchess's misdeeds

• The Cardinal is in Rome with his mistress, Julia (who is Castruccio’s wife) 

• Ferdinand and the Cardinal enter with the letter from Bosola:

  • Ferdinand is outraged and threatens a number of brutal punishments 

  • He tells the Cardinal of his plans to destroy the Duchess and any illegitimate offspring

• The Cardinal admits his own anger at his sister’s corruption but advises a calmer approach

Act III 

• Years later, in Amalfi, Antonio tells Delio that he and the Duchess have had two more children

• The Duchess asks Ferdinand if he believes the rumours that are circulating about her, to which he replies that he would forgive her even if they were true

• Later, however, Ferdinand hands the Duchess a knife, suggesting she kill herself for her sins:

  • She explains that the children are not illegitimate and that she is married

  • He is furious and leaves, insisting he will never see her again

• The Duchess instructs Antonio to go to Ancona, where she will join him soon

• Bosola arrives with officers and the Duchess pretends to accuse Antonio of stealing:

  • She asks the officers not to arrest him as she wishes to fire him

• Alone, the Duchess asks Bosola what he thinks of Antonio, and after Bosola praises his character she reveals he is her husband:

  • Trusting his good nature, she asks Bosola to follow Antonio to Ancona

• In Rome, Bosola reveals to the Cardinal that Antonio is the Duchess's new husband

• The Duchess, pretending to be on a religious pilgrimage to Ancona, arrives at a shrine to ‘pay her respects’

• The Cardinal, dressed as a soldier, removes the Duchess's wedding ring and banishes her and her family from the town

• Later, Antonio, the Duchess, their children and Cariola are approached by Bosola, who informs Antonio that he is to meet Ferdinand for a reconciliation

• Bosola takes the Duchess back to her brothers

Act IV 

• In Amalfi, Ferdinand asks Bosola how the Duchess is doing in prison:

  • Bosola seems to pity her but Ferdinand says her life is still too comfortable

• Bosola tells the Duchess that Ferdinand is going to visit her at night (as he promised he would never see her again):

  • When Ferdinand visits, he will kiss her hand and they will make peace

• Ferdinand enters (in darkness) and insults her and her family

• As he exits he turns on the lights to reveal a shadowy silhouette of Antonio and their children, who appear dead

• Bosola tells her that mourning what she has lost is of no use, but the Duchess is inconsolable

• Bosola urges Ferdinand to show compassion:

  • Ferdinand refuses and instructs Bosola to place madmen near her cell so as to drive her mad

• The Duchess and Cariola discuss their desperate situation as they listen to the mad howling nearby

• Executioners enter and Bosola tells her she is going to die

• Before they strangle her, the Duchess asks the men to tell her brothers that death is the best gift that they can give her

• Cariola is brought back in and strangled to death

• When Bosola asks Ferdinand for payment, Ferdinand says his payment will be his pardon for murdering the Duchess 

• Bosola laments their treachery and his own corruption and decides to carry out her last will and take her body to the women 

Act V

• Seeking refuge in Milan, Antonio declares his plan to confront the Cardinal 

• In the palace in Milan, a doctor advises that Ferdinand is sick with a fever which induces hallucinations and madness:

  • Ferdinand behaves as if he is insane and the doctor suggests he is incurable

• The Cardinal says he has found a man for the Duchess to marry and Bosola must kill Antonio 

• Bosola notes that the Cardinal is distancing himself from the Duchess's murder

• Julia accuses Bosola of magic as she has instantly fallen for him

• He decides to manipulate her attraction and asks her to prove her love for him by spying on the Cardinal

• In his room, Julia asks the Cardinal what is bothering him and he tells her that the Duchess and two of her children have been strangled to death

• When Julia reveals she cannot keep this secret, the Cardinal tricks her by making her kiss a poisoned Bible

• Bosola emerges from hiding to save her but is too late

• He asks the Cardinal to compensate him for his services as Ferdinand is now too ill to pay him

• The Cardinal demands Bosola kill Antonio before he receives any money

• After the Cardinal exits, Bosola expresses his despair and guilt at his part in the Duchess's murder and decides to try to help Antonio

• Antonio and Delio, outside of the Cardinal’s room, hear echoed voices warning them to leave:

  • The voices come from the Duchess's grave, although Antonio does not know this

• Antonio decides to progress with his plan to confront the Cardinal and Delio offers to raise his children should he not survive

• In the Cardinal’s palace, Bosola overhears the Cardinal plot to hide Julia’s body and to kill Bosola once he has completed his tasks

• Antonio arrives in darkness and, believing him to be the Cardinal, Bosola stabs him

• Stricken by his error, Bosola takes Antonio’s body to the Cardinal’s room, kills the servant and stabs the Cardinal 

• Ferdinand enters and the Cardinal calls for his brother’s help

• The crazed Ferdinand mistakes him for the devil, and stabs both the Cardinal and Bosola

• While Ferdinand rants about his guilty conscience, the injured Bosola kills him

• The Marquis arrives and Bosola explains, before he, too, dies, that he has taken revenge for the Duchess, Antonio and himself

• Delio enters with Antonio’s eldest son and remarks that honesty and integrity are the only way to immortality