An Identity Approach To The Tragedy Of The Main Characters In The Duchess Of Malfi

The Duchess of Malfi is a classic tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster. Numerous scholars and critics have made substantive studies into this work from different perspectives, focusing on the study of the theme and the tragic fate in the play, the analysis of the main characters, the interpretation of writing technique and art, and the discussion of the form and structure in this play. However, the researches on the causes of the tragedy in The Duchess of Malfi are rare. Therefore, this dissertation would focus on exploring the causes of the tragedy in The Duchess of Malfi.The basic question this dissertation explores is the root of the tragedy in The Duchess of Malfi. From the perspective of identity theory, this paper argues that the identity conflicts cause the tragedy of the main characters in their process of seeking for and realizing individual self. The dissertation would center on the identity analysis of the Duchess, Ferdinand and Bosola, the main characters in The Duchess of Malfi. And this dissertation would focus on analyzing the identity changing process and identity conflicts of the main characters in The Duchess of Malfi. On the basis of identity theory, the identity standards of the main characters would be analyzed in the first step. And then this dissertation would analyze the prominence in the main characters’ identity standards in the different settings and external influence of society exerted on multiple identities of each main character. Through analyzing the internal identity process of self-verification of the main characters and external influence imposed by social realities, this paper demonstrates that the insurmountable gap and contradiction between internal identity process of self-verification of the main characters and external social reality lead to irreconcilable identity conflicts of the main characters in The Duchess of Malfi. The irreconcilable conflicts within the identities of the main characters and inability to deal with conflicts cause the tragic destiny of the main characters in The Duchess of Malfi, which is different from the researches that regard blood or marriage as the main cause of the tragedy.