Violence Towards Women In The Duchess Of Malfi By John Webster And Woyzeck

This drama study will define the conflict of male gender dominance and violence towards women in The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster and Woyzeck by Georg Buchner. In Webster’s play, the duchess is continually at the mercy of her brother, Ferdinand, because he does not want her to inherit their father’s money. The duchess has an illicit love affair with Antonio, which makes it possible for Ferdinand and the Cardinal to have her executed for an illicit love affair. This form of male gender violence is also seen in Buchner‘s main character, Woyzeck, as he murders his lover, Maria, for having an illicit affair with the drum major. In essence, these plays define the use of violence towards to women to preserve male gender dominance in The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster and Woyzeck by Georg Buchner. In The Duchess of Malfi, Ferdinand threatens the duchess by disavowing her illegitimate relationships with Antonio, which defines one example of the dominance of male figures in this play. More so, The Cardinal is a Christian authoritarian male figure that alienates the Duchess (for her illegitimate lover and her children), which results in her being captured by his soldiers. Eventually, the violent execution of the duchess, at Ferdinand’s command, defines an extreme use of violence towards women as an example of male gender …show more content…
In a similar way, Buchner’s play utilizes the alienation of the Roman Catholic Church to demonize illicit love affairs, especially when Woyzeck has children with Marie out of wedlock. Woyzeck is an example of the dominance of the male gender figures, since he is very similar to Webster’s depiction of men that control of women , such as Marie, through violence. After Marie has been found having an illicit affair with the Drum Major, Woyzeck becomes enrages and murders his wife with a knife by a