Duchess of Malfi and Twelfth Night

During the seventeenth century there were a lot of themes that centralized around gender, social class, disguises, and reputation. As seen with William Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night there is a great use of the themes of disguises and social class throughout the whole play. Some that reflect similarities is John Webster’s tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi which has similar themes but one can argue the conclusion does not have the typical “happily ever after,” but instead has a very tragic ending. Both plays seem to deviate from the gender norms and have similar themes such as the use of disguises, social class, as well as the character personalities that essentially help further the plot of the plays.

For instance, the some of the female characters from both plays have shown to be very independent and make their own decisions. Such as, Olivia from Twelfth Night when she takes matters into her own hands and proposes not only to Sebastian who she thinks is the pageboy Cesario, but she makes sure that she does marry him. Her strong determination is shown when she declares her love to him and persuades him into marrying her: “Blame not this haste of mine. If you mean well, / Now go with me and with this holy man /  Into the chantry by.” (4.3.22-4). This shows her demanding character, in addition to her power in status showing she cannot be refused. Because of her rank, Olivia is able to propose to Sebastian and have the Priest complete their marriage without disruption.

This parallels the approach that the Duchess, from The Duchess of Malfi, has when she proposes her love to her steward Antonio and ends up marrying him in secret. She instigated the marriage very forcefully by setting up her servant, Cariola as a witness as well to make it legally binding. Before she makes the decision to marry, she demonstrated her strong willfulness after listening to her brother’s lectures of remaining a widow.  However, she goes against their wishes by saying, “So I through frights and threatening will assay / This dangerous venture. Let old wives report / I winked and chose a husband” (1.3.54-6). This shows her first rebellion towards her brothers, but also illustrates her independence and willfulness to get what she wants. Therefore, both of these plays use the theme of marriage and deviate away from the norm from marrying within the social class and show the strength of their female characters.

Moreover, the use of marriage has changed the stage of social class and whether you can move up on the socioeconomic ladder. As seen with the marriage of the Duchess and Antonio the steward;  he marries higher than his status and even the Duchess after marrying Antonio states, “So, now the ground’s broke, / You may discover what a wealthy mine / I make you lord of” (1.3.133-5). Basically, understanding their differences in status, but because of the marriage Antonio was able to rise on the socioeconomic ladder and is able to appreciate the wealth that comes with it. It is similar to the marriages in Twelfth Night where the majority of them are married within the social class or higher; such as, when the servant Maria marries Sir Toby above her status.

In addition to that, the use of disguises further illustrates the resonating theme within the seventeenth century. As seen in Twelfth Night there are several types of disguises such as Viola’s actual physical disguise as the pageboy Cesario to seek a job with Duke Orsino and fulfilling her goals. She states to her Capitain as she is about to change “Conceal me what I am, and be my aid / for such a disguise as haply shall become / the form of my intent” (1.3.51-3). She exclaims her goals in order to fulfill her task and hides her true self from reality. As well as literal disguises of Duke Orsino’s and Duchess Olivia’s melancholic and overdramatic love sickness. The theme of disguises is also illustrated in The Duchess of Malfi by the character Bosola as he becomes a spy for the Cardinal and Ferdinand, but disguises his true intentions when he follows the Duchess. Nevertheless, even Bosola understands the false nature of having to hide behind lies and deceit. He even states when taking to an old lady, “Man stands amazed to see his deformity / In any other creature but himself. / But in own flesh, though we bear diseases / Which have their true names only ta’en from beasts–”(2.1.45-8). Basically, he is reflecting on the disguises or the falseness that men partake in, and how bad it how bad it is to act as someone you are not. This demonstrates the dark side of disguises and the effects it can have on one’s life.

Overall, although one play is more tragic than the other, they both have similar themes that exemplify the themes of social class and disguises. Moreover, these plays demonstrated the typical gender and social norms of the seventeenth century. However, it also stood to contradict them because many of the women had a lot more independence and power within these plays. It gives the impression with these characters; society was making fun of the church and the typical norms of society. I do believe that The Duchess of Malfi takes a more realistic and depressing approach, in illustrating and condemning the social norms during the seventeenth century. Since it ends very tragically for the innocent characters The Duchess, Antonio, their family and friends, it makes the audience have a more critical approach towards the meaning of social class and especially the corruption of the church who had the most power during this time period.