Theme Of Characters In The Duchess Of Malfi

The characters in this play, The Duchess of Malfi, all become very hectic and it is a very confusing play to follow at times. There are, however, certain characteristics that anyone can pick up on about the characters in this play. There are a few of them that are truly good people, but there are others who are not and are actually quite corrupt. This play is a tragedy though, so there must be villains in order for the story to flow smoothly to the end. In this discussion, I would like to focus on one of the characters that is not corrupt but is actually a very likable person. Throughout this play, the reader can really relate to and take the side of Antonio. Antonio is always seen as an honest character although other characters disagree. …show more content…
This is one slightly bad thing Antonio did in the play, but it is not even that bad. Keeping a secret like that though is bound to get out eventually, and of course it does. Not only does everyone find about, but they find out in a rather obvious way. The Duchess begins having children, so everyone begins to question who the father to all these children is. Bosola sent a letter to Ferdinand telling him that the Duchess was having children. Now all they had left to do was find out with whom she was having all of these children with. Once everyone starts to find out, they are furious. This initially frightens the Duchess and her now husband …show more content…
The two really had no choice because Ferdinand and Bosola had already tried to have Antonio murdered. When they flee, however, the two had to separate. The Duchess asked Antonio to take their eldest with him, and the two thought that they would never see each other again. The Duchess cannot flee and instead is psychologically tortured by Ferdinand and Bosola. They make her believe that her husband and children are dead by bringing in wax figures of her family. After finding out that her husband is, in fact alive, the Duchess dies. From here out everyone else begins to die because this play is a tragedy of course. You see the true colors of many of the characters throughout the play. You see how dark and evil Ferdinand and Bosola can be. You also see how kind-hearted Antonio and the Duchess are. In the end of this tragedy, you are heartbroken over the deaths of these two people. They were the only two in the play that had a real sense of character. The rest of the characters all seemed so evil and only out to hurt the Duchess and her new husband, although they seemed quite happy