Malfi: lines 285 - 341 The brothers take their leave of the Duchess… What is the tone here? What is the emphasis they are making? Are they stereotyping her, warning her, controlling or berating her? Notice the use of the imperative mode – How will the audience react, given what we know of the brothers’ characters?

Ferdinand lists a series of qualities that will sway her “high blood” Ferdinand lists a series of qualities that will sway her “high blood”. In other words, seduce her. Her widowhood makes her vulnerable – to what according to Ferdinand? The language of the scene is so negative and dark that the impression we receive is hardly that of a happy family. The duo are leaving but their sinister influence will remain in the person of Bosola. Typical of “revenge tragedy”, the hyperbole and semantic field of death and sex is in direct contrast to Antonio’s description of the French court where the “fountain” i.e. the King is “silver drops”. What is Webster’s aim here? Is Antonio naïve or a good person who sees goodness in others?

The Duchess’s ripostes to her brothers are witty and apt, trying to lighten the tone. Does she manage to? The verbal battle becomes quite acrimonious and suggests paranoia on Ferdinand’s part, hypocrisy on the Duchess’s and warnings from the Cardinal who suggests that “the marriage night is the entrance to some prison”. The “prison” of a ill-matched marriage or a more literal one? Each has their own agenda…..

The metaphor of the diamond works two ways: The Duchess means that a jewel that has passed through many hands is very precious because it is sold on and really desired. Ferdinand returns to the sexual element of the discourse using shocking language to make his point. His aggression which leads on to the threat with the “poniard” is that of a man who is sexually jealous not just protective of a sister. Incest is another motif that recurs throughout tragedies of this period – actual or desired. Why might this keep recurring? Titillating, but what else? N B Incest is forbidden by the Christian church and in English law also.

Ferdinand also makes the point that all occasions can be turned to sexual opportunity – a masque i.e. acting a part in a court play – very popular in James and Charles I’s courts. Wearing a “visor” or mask for disguise and to whisper behind…. https://www.britannica.com/art/masque

When the brothers leave we realise how under attack the Duchess has been. Her language reflects her determination to continue on a course which we are only just beginning to get an Inkling of …. The “dangerous venture” shows that she knows what she is up against. She sees herself as aware of danger but this will merely spur her on.