Representation Of Female Power In Shakespeare's The Duchess Of Malfi

Throughout the Renaissance, demarginalised groups of society were often neglected in favour of the elite, which mostly consisted of rich white men. For the most part, men resided over their wives and were the dominant members of the household and therefore society. Women were expected to be completely devoted towards their husbands and children; a role often seen in Shakespeare’s plays and many others during the Renaissance era. If their husband were to die, they certainly must not remarry and instead remain celibate. This attitude is reflected in The Duchess of Malfi, where the protagonist’s brothers shame her for expressing her desire to remarry after her husband dies. Even so, she possesses an extraordinary amount of power in the play that …show more content…
Throughout Duchess of Malfi, she struggles to maintain her power through the force of a male-dominated society. Her freedom is restrained by her brother Ferdinand, who orders Bosola to spy on the Duchess and to “note all the particulars of her haviour”. Ferdinand’s use of “all” in this scene indicates that he has so little trust in his sister that he wants her privacy to be completely violated. Although the Duchess has some of her power removed from her by marrying Antonio, this is entirely her choice to make their relationship equal due to their class divide. She unfortunately also gets punished for her autonomy as she is sent to her execution. This choice by Webster alludes to some critics that women will inevitably be punished for daring to possess sexual agency. Emily C. Bartels believes that while Renaissance plays are male-dominated, the female characters remain strong in spite of them, and writes, “though in part The Duchess of Malfi dramatizes what men can do to women, at its core is rather what women can do to men” . I, for one, agree with Bartels, as the men are ultimately shaped by the Duchess and her life decisions despite her tragic