They both don’t want that Duchess remarry ad so they urges Duchess not to remarry. Finally, he himself is … The Duchess of malfi become widow earlier.

In both cases, this is an act of disruption, as Cariola says of the Duchess wooing Antonio: Whether the spirit of greatness or of woman/ Reign most in her, I know not, but it shows/ A fearful madness. The Cardinal finds them, takes their wedding rings and banishes them. But the actual reason is that both brother don’t want any inheritance from duchess. In commenting to Delio about the French court, he remarks that politics function like a fountain that can be easily poisoned at the source.

In a larger sense, the play doesn't take place in one geographic location. The Cardinal finds them, takes their wedding rings and banishes them.


The main setting of the play is "at court."

In The Duchess of Malfi, we see aristocratic women who endeavour to exercise their independence, and move beyond the gender and social norms of their time. Malfi, Various Other Italian Places, The World.
In John Webster’s tragic play The Duchess of Malfi, the titular character is undoubtedly subjected to great degrees of suffering, both physical and mental.However, it is less clear whether or not she can be viewed simply as an innocent victim. In The Duchess of Malfi, the court is presented as a hotbed of corruption and injustice because it's the place where the lord-subject relationship (and all of the really nasty stuff that goes along with it) gets played out..

Finally, he himself is overtaken by insanity. Corruption is one of John Webster's most pervasive themes in The Duchess of Malfi, operating on at least three levels: political, moral, and physical (bodily). They think that it shows lustful nature of her and remarrying of Duchess will injure the pride and status of their family. The Duchess and her children meet Antonio in Ancona. Antonio Bologna introduces the theme in the opening lines of Act 1, Scene 1.

From the very beginning of the play, Webster stipulates the low standards that men held to women, even those of good social standing like the Duchess. He has two brothers Ferdinand and Cardinal. The Duchess forces Antonio to flee to Milan with their eldest son. The Duchess of Malfi's twin brother, cruel and tyrannical Ferdinand invests much of his energy trying to drive his sister mad. Corruption. The Duchess of Malfi (Webster, 2009) is particularly interesting in regards to gender, because it both subverts and reinforces the traditionally assigned roles of 17th Century Italy.