The Duchess' Resistance Against Patriarchy In The Duchess Of Malfi

John Webster is a seventeenth century English dramatist who is best known for his classic tragedy The Duchess of Malfi.Over the course of four centuries,The Duchess of Malfi written in 1612-1623 has attracted numerous scholars as well as critics at home and abroad to study the play's tragic plot from different perspectives.Some studies have examined the theme and structure in the play,while other researches have analyzed the main characters in the play,such as the Duchess,Ferdinand and Bosola.As the leading heroine,the Duchess often captures a large degree of attention as well as criticism from reviewers and scholars alike.Relatively speaking,few academic studies have sought to interpret the Duchess' remarriage as an act of defiance or a resistance against patriarchy.Therefore,by using the lens of feminist literary criticism,this thesis provides another perspective to study the Duchess' resistance against the domination,oppression,and exploitation of patriarchy.The basic purpose of this thesis is to explore the Duchess' pursuit of self-worth and self-realization,as actions taken against males' control and oppression.Guided by feminist literary criticism,this thesis argues that the Duchess' resistance,which is an expression of female consciousness,becomes her inner motivation to pursue the freedom of sex,marriage,and love.This thesis is made up of four parts.Part one is a review of the previous studies both at home and abroad about this tragedy.It can be found that most researches up until this point concentrate on dissecting the tragic fate of the Duchess but do little to recognize her social and personal triumphs.Part two is a brief introduction to feminist literary criticism and patriarchy.More comprehensive information regarding the patriarchal society of the British Renaissance is also given in this part.Part three and part four are the main components of this thesis.Part three analyzes Ferdinand's desires for control and Cardinal's obsession over family blood and honor which are the male perpetuated misogyny reflected in The Duchess of Malfi's plot.In turn,part four sheds new light on the Duchess' resistance to the different aspects of patriarchal injustice she encounters in the play.It presents a detailed analysis of her behaviors and mindset as she challenges the oppression and inequality she faces.Through the analysis of patriarchal control and the Duchess'resistance to the female subjugation in The Duchess of Malfi,the conclusion of this thesis sums up the scope and manifestations of the Duchess' resistance which is a motivation to discover her inner world and subjectivity.Despite the death of the Duchess in the end,The Duchess of Malfi is still a literary masterpiece that reveals a very active and progressive female consciousness within the seventeenth century.The interpretation of this play is very different from previous critiques that far too often define the Duchess' willful desires as a negative root causing her death.