Power and Tragedy in Hamlet and the Duchess of Malfi
Power and Tragedy in Hamlet and The Duchess of Malfi
Bethany Townsend and Taylor Cunningham Contents
Introduction
Chapter One: Power and Gender
Chapter Two: Tragedy and Mortality
Cover art: Magdalene with the Smoking Flame by Georges de La Touri
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Introduction
The themes of power and tragedy were ones that seemed to exist concurrently with one another in many early modern texts. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi both explore issues of power, gender, mortality and tragedy, reflecting the social climate of seventeenth century Britain.
Despite Hamlet being an Elizabethan play, and The Duchess of Malfi a Jacobean play, the influence of a female monarch on society combined the subjects of gender and power, influencing both plays to explore these themes. Despite this, tragedy often aligned itself with the issues of gender and power, with both playwrights exploring ideas of death and mortality, and its relation to their character’s actions in a period of intense religious conflict.
Our first chapter ‘Power and Gender’, will discuss the treatment of gender in the seventeenth century, and how the presentation of women varies between plays. The issues of gender and power are crucial in reflecting the doctrines of a highly patriarchal society, and its detrimental effects on women at the time. Yet, this emphasis on gender also highlights the changes happening with regards to women’s positions in society, in an era undergoing religious, political and philosophical change. A selection of Jacobean and Elizabethan plays that will be discussed explore the strength demonstrated by female characters as well as their discrimination, and questions the concept of masculinity in pieces of drama written by William Shakespeare and John Webster.
As a prolific Elizabethan playwright, Shakespeare threw himself into the Jacobean theatre by writing comedies with an underlying theme of violence. As modern day readers, we quickly learn that ‘like those other ‘manly’ women of the period, the learned lady and the female ruler, helped break down the patriarchal paradigm with its notions of inborn gender traits and naturally dictated gender roles’ii. These naturally dictated roles began to partially disintegrate, and this shall be discussed in the first chapter of this book, ‘Power and Gender’. The era of Jacobean theatre gave birth to the concept of capitalism, and people began to move away from the idea that male leaders were only capable of providing the country with security. Despite this, multiple aspects of society were still sexist and oppressive against women, as they were unable to act as their own gender on stage, with teenage boys playing female characters in Jacobean theatre. The roles were performed by
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professional actors, known then as the Players, and certain actors specialised in certain areas, for example tragic and comic roles. The absence of female actors until the mid‐1600s can be used as a way to monitor the changes in gender roles within the seventeenth century.
Renaissance theatre was available for all social classes to watch, meaning that lower class members of society were able to watch the same productions as upper class members, however, it was evident that class segregation still occurred due to the designated areas for different classes in the theatre. Those of a lower class had to stand for three hours in the groundlings, whereas the upper classes had the privilege of sitting in the galleries, with the benefits of seats and shelter.
The plays of Shakespeare, Marlowe and other contemporaries were performed primarily in public theatres. Renaissance drama became less religious, and it was typical for a Jacobean drama to see Christian ethics in a state of decay. The idea of a decline in the importance of religious ethics and morality will be later discussed in this book. In the first chapter of this book, ‘Power and Gender’, the ideas of class and gender discrimination in relation to early modern theatre shall be discussed, specifically focusing on William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra (1606), William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1599), and John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi (1612).
In our second chapter, ‘Tragedy and Mortality’ we shall move on to discuss the themes of death and religion, and how it reflects the social climate of the seventeenth century, as well as the influence it has on the characters in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi, and Shakespeare’s King Lear (1604). We shall also be exploring how the themes of tragedy and mortality relate and dismiss various religious ideas among a society experiencing heavy religious conflict.
According to Michael Neill, ‘Death is not something that can be imagined once and for all, but an idea that has to be constantly reimagined across cultures and through time’iii. This can be related to the state of Christianity and its beliefs in what happens after death after the effects of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. Various branches of Catholicism and Protestantism advocated for differing religious practices and beliefs, causing the emergence of multiple branches of Christianity, including Calvinism, Lutheranism, and The Church of
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England. Despite this division amongst varying denominations, and the ensuing differences in doctrine and belief, it could be argued that a homogenised view existed within Christendom of the importance of dying a good death. This is related to concepts and texts such as Ars Moriendi (The Art of Dying), and Momento Mori (Remember Death), and the religious importance of remembering death whilst living. With multiple books being published on how to prepare for death, such as George Strode’s The Antomie of Mortalitie (1632), it was evident that members of seventeenth century society believed in the importance of dying a good death, and this is presented in both Hamlet and The Duchess of Malfi.
I will be expanding on this concept of dying a good death, by analysing the character’s treatment of the afterlife and mortality. In particular, I will be exploring the idea of suicide in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and how it revokes ones right to a good death, leaving one disgraced in the eyes of the living, and damned in the eyes of God. By exploring Ophelia’s controversial death, I shall also be examining the treatment of women in death, comparing it to their treatment in life discussed in chapter one, ‘Gender and Power’.
By introducing Shakespeare’s King Lear, I will be analysing how fate is presented among Shakespeare and Webster’s plays, and how this could reject concepts such as The Art of Dying, replacing them with ideas of predestination. Contrasting The Duchess and Bosola’s fatalistic beliefs, with Hamlet’s obsession with the idea of good and bad deaths presents how different characters act in life, regarding their beliefs on what shall happen in death.
i Georges De La Tour, Magdalene With The Smoking Flame, 1638. ii Cissie C. Fairchilds, Women In Early Modern Europe (Pearson Education, 2007), p.390 iii Michael Neill, Issues Of Death (Clarendon Press, 1997), p. 2.
Bibliography De La Tour, Georges, Magdalene With The Smoking Flame, 1638 Fairchilds, Cissie C. ‐ Women In Early Modern Europe (Pearson Education, 2007). Neill, Michael ‐ Issues Of Death (Clarendon Press, 1997).
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Chapter One - Power and Gender
Taylor Cunningham
We will begin this book by focusing on the use of power through gender and hierarchy in early modern drama. In most early modern plays, it would be traditional to have signs of decline running throughout, however in the core text of this chapter that I will be focusing on, The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster, the main character doesn’t seem to have the biggest decline of the play. During the Jacobean era, the plays being performed and produced were becoming more exaggerated in the areas of violence and human beings ability to be selfish and its effects. One of the most prominent aspects of early modern drama that show a hierarchy relevant to society is the fact that there were no female actors on stage, all female characters were played by men. Now, despite women not being allowed on stage, they were still being portrayed as powerful through the production. Playwrights wanted to explore the nature of evil and test the boundaries with regards to extreme human behaviour, sex and violence in the Renaissance period. This is portrayed and completed in The Duchess of Malfi, alongside other plays by Thomas Middleton, William Rowley and Shakespeare. Some of these authors will be mentioned, explored and analysed throughout. It is evident through the way in which that the playwrights portray the characters that societies waters were being tested in ways in which were bound to cause uproar. Despite the plays that were being performed coming across as extremely controversial, the Jacobean era was a time in which Britain was free of conflict, and peace allowed the succession of theatre and literature. The use of gender in the plays that will be discussed, explore how society plays a part in the gender hierarchy that can be interpreted by the readers and audience each play and performance.
“ In the setting of the Renaissance, the thought of a woman engaging herself in politics was highly unusual, whereas the domestic household was widely considered the proper domain for a female”i The statement above summarises the typical Renaissance woman’s duties and what is expected of them. The characters that will be discussed from different early modern dramas
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LL516 such as Hamlet and Antony and Cleopatra will challenge this statement and support the fact that political female rulers had an equal influence, if not an either bigger impact on society due to the unfamiliar female taking over. It can be argued that women are highlighted as the superior gender in Webster’s The Duchess Of Malfi. Firstly and most obviously, the fact that the title includes a woman's status is something that differs to most novels and plays written in the Early Modern period, especially some of Shakespeare’s plays, for example, MacBeth and King Lear. The Duchess being named in the title of the play promptly places her as an important character with an abundance of authority that is proved through her relationship with her two brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal. These relationships can be seen as domestic, but are originally governed by the court. The Duchess inherited her political position from her father, the former Duke of Malfi, despite having male siblings who could of come to power and carry on a patriarchal rule. It is an ongoing debate that when the Duchess is considered as a ruler, people “seem to be more concerned with whether she should be labelled a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ ruler than with the broader political implications of the play and her place within it.”ii Despite her being of high power, people still fail to see her title as authoritative. Instead they determine whether or not she is a righteous leader. The Duchess is “presented not only as a woman but also as a way of making statements about the body politic”iii and this highlights the power that a woman can have once she is given the chance, like The Duchess of Malfi. Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra can also help to support this argument as Cleopatra can be seen as “one of Shakespeare's most effective manifestations of feminine humanity”iv and she uses her political status to show her power and use it to her advantage. It is evident she is the complete opposite to someone like Gertrude from Hamlet, and she is the “complete antithesis of Renaissance noble women, who were well known for their passive and subservient natures”v. This is made obvious to the reader by Cleopatra’s lack of hesitation on voicing her opinion unlike Ophelia who swears by silence and obedience towards her father. In Cleopatra, the readers can observe a “political power struggle between Cleopatra and the roman triumvirate”vi and with this in mind, it highlights the complex relationships when it comes to males and females with regards to politics.
With the Duchess taking over after her father's death, this could be Websters way of highlighting what could be referred to as a corrupt city. At the beginning of the play, a
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“judicious king”vii and Kingdom are mentioned that are not then referred to throughout the rest of the play. With this in mind, it can create and emphasize a model of power. The description of a male ruler contrasts the type of power that the playwright has then decided to portray throughout the rest of the play. Ferdinand and the Cardinals death can point the reader to the idea that power and position is not seen as important, and this can be supported with the duchess being named in the title which immediately reveals the importance of her role and character in the play. Both brothers have high political status, however at the end of the play, they’re controlling behaviour towards their sister leads to both of their death. The death of the two brothers can not only been seen as a consequence of the Duchess’ own decisions and actions, but a flaw in the political system and the patriarchal society. Throughout The Duchess of Malfi, the Duchess can be seen as deceitful as she constantly lies, hides secrets and breaks promises that have been made between her and her brothers. This would be seen as out of character for a female to do as they are expected to follow the rules rather than make their own choices. The audience can see the duchess’ deceit as the path to Ferdinand’s and the Cardinal’s deaths, because had she of been honest throughout the play, or followed the rule of society at the time, Ferdinand’s sanity and temper could of been kept at bay. This may make women readers question whether the Duchess can be seen as a powerful icon due to her chicanery about her marriage to Antonio and her children with him. However, we can also view the brothers deaths as a result of the patriarchal society. Death and mortality in both The Duchess of Malfi and Hamlet is explored further in the next chapter of this book. At the time in which The Duchess of Malfi was written, it began possible to gain status by earning it through bribery, merit or favour, rather than it being ascribed to you at birth. This can be seen as a weakness in the society due to women being able to boost themselves to a higher position than a male and this can lead to the death of male characters that previously would of been in a higher position. This normalises the idea and equalises men and women through the potential thought that both genders were able to receive an equal political status. It can be thought by the audience that “the Duchess reacts against this social construct of marriage by creating an entirely new concept of the estate, one in which men and women are companions, equal partners, friends and lovers”viii. With this being said, it allows the readers to insinuate a new hierarchy being built where masculinity is no longer unanimously associated with power and authority. The theme of masculinity running throughout this play
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LL516 is not only perceived through the male characters, but through the Duchess and her characteristics. For the Duchess’ to change the perception of males and females through the making of her own decisions shows her capability and dominance during the play. Masculinity can also be highlighted in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, when Claudius is discussing the death of Hamlet’s father. Claudius implies that Hamlet is not behaving in the masculine manner that would be expected of him, “tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet, to give these mourning duties to your father (...) but to persever in obstinate condolement is a course of impious stubbornness”ix. Hamlet mourning his father is being perceived as weak and he seems to be forced into painting a facade and made to suppress his feelings. This could be the reasoning behind Hamlet’s madness. It is seen as feminine trait to feel emotions and act upon them, however Hamlet shows the males and females are alike in more than one way.
The Duchess of Malfi portrays women as the stronger gender in many ways throughout Webster’s play. Firstly, her disobedience to her brothers is a sign of her committing to her own thoughts and feelings. This is something that would have been seen as discourteous and would not of been allowed, hence the ways in which Ferdinand acted towards his sister. We can see aspects of the Duchess in Ophelia from Shakespeare's Hamlet when she is conversing with her brother. Her brother tells her to “weigh what loss your honor may sustain If with too credent ear you list his songs, or lose your heart or your chaste treasure open”x meaning to keep her sexual desires to herself and not surrender to seductive talk. This is Laertes way of controlling his sister and creates a sense of discomfort for the readers when talking about her sexual desires. It also highlights his masculinity and how he thinks he has authority due to his gender. However, his comment to Ophelia backfires when she responds with “But, good my brother, do not, as some ungracious pastors do, show me the steep and thorny way to heaven Whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine, himself the primrose path of dalliance treads and recks not his own rede”xi. This comment may come as a shock to the reader, much like the characteristics that the Duchess holds, as Ophelia finds her own voice. Although she stands her ground towards her brother, when a higher status male comes in, she loses her voice and only responds with “I don’t know my lord, what I should think”xii. The reader can now see that Ophelia’s action are dependent on who she is talking to. Her father is someone who she respects and therefore keeps her sexual desires to
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The gender hierarchy can be seen to be taking a downfall and we can begin to see the two genders becoming equal, however this is only evident in the context in the play rather than coming to life in the outside concept of it. Despite there being a long way before both genders become equal, the plays that fall between the Renaissance period show that there is a possibility for female leaders to come to power and that masculinity and being male isn’t a source of power.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. J. Prioti, Sexuality of Female Royals in Renaissance Plays: Duchess of Malfi, Gertrude and Cleopatra, 2017. J. Webster, The Duchess of Malfi, 1614 M. Calbi, Approximate Bodies: Gender and Power in Early Modern Drama and Anatomy, 2001 T. A. Jankowski, Women in Power in the Early Modern Drama, 1992 W. Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1603.
i I. J. Prioti, Sexuality of Female Royals in Renaissance Plays: Duchess of Malfi, Gertrude and Cleopatra, 2017. ii T. A. Jankowski, Women in Power in the Early Modern Drama, 1992 iii M. Calbi, Approximate Bodies: Gender and Power in Early Modern Drama and Anatomy, 2001 iv I. J. Prioti, Sexuality of Female Royals in Renaissance Plays: Duchess of Malfi, Gertrude and Cleopatra, 2017. v I. J. Prioti, Sexuality of Female Royals in Renaissance Plays: Duchess of Malfi, Gertrude and Cleopatra, 2017 vi I. J. Prioti, Sexuality of Female Royals in Renaissance Plays: Duchess of Malfi, Gertrude and Cleopatra, 2017 vii J. Webster, The Duchess of Malfi, 1614 viii T. A. Jankowski, Women in Power in the Early Modern Drama, 1992 ix W. Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1603. x W. Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1603. xi W. Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1603. xii W. Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1603. xiii W. Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1603 xiv W. Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1603
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Bethany Townsend LL516 Chapter Two - Tragedy and Mortality
Bethany Townsend
According to Richard Wunderli and Gerald Broce, despite the religious turmoil of the Early Modern period, Catholics and Protestants shared a similar view on dying what was known as a good death. Although they differed on other death related subjects, such as funeral rites and the concept of purgatory, when it came to one’s very last moments before death, Catholics and Protestants believed that ‘the state of mind of a dying person at the final moment before death determined one’s salvation or damnation’i. This was also referred to as Ars Moriendi, meaning The Art of Dying. I will be mainly examining William Shakespeare’s Hamletii (1599), but also John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfiiii(1612) and William Shakespeare’s King Leariv (1604), and how they explore the idea of good and bad deaths in their plays. I will also be relating these texts to the concept of Memento Mori when approaching the subject of mortality. Memento Mori is defined as ‘remember you must die’, or simply ‘remember death’, and I will be analysing how the characters in both plays behave in regard to this concept. I will also be exploring the influence of religion and its effect on character’s actions in regard to life, mortality and death, at a time where conflicting religious ideas permeated society.
Eponymous protagonist Hamlet is a character fixated on the ideas of death and mortality, and his actions in the play are heavily influenced by the concept of Memento Mori. Hamlet contemplates the idea of suicide, yet the concept of Memento Mori reminds him that self-slaughter is a sin correlated with dying a bad death. This is present early on in the play, with Hamlet declaring:
“O, that this too too sullied flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God, God,
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!”v
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This presents the debate as to whether it is worth suffering in life to avoid the damnation of suicide, or whether life itself is Hell enough for those suffering. Hamlet deliberates between the humanistic idea of agency and control, and the religious idea of dying a good death. The language used in Hamlet’s speech draws allusions to religious imagery. The description of his “sullied flesh” presents his body as impure and tarnished by sin, and his wishes that his “flesh would melt”vi draw similarities to the flames of Hell, an image ingrained into society through pieces such as Dante’s ‘Inferno’ (1300). Hamlet’s self-proclamation of his sullied flesh could also be related to Saint Augustine’s views on Original Sin. Hamlet’s view that his body is tarnished with sin could relate to a statement from Saint Augustine, who believed ‘human beings are born evil as a result of the bond of original sin with God alone as their creator’vii. Augustine believed that ‘original sin in The Garden of Eden had permanently corrupted human nature’, and that it was ‘physically transmitted via sexual intercourse’viii. Hamlet’s view that his very flesh is inherently impure emphasises the link between Hamlet and religion, yet if Hamlet submits to “self-slaughter”ix, he knows he will be damned and forever remain in sin. Hamlet is tormented by his inclination to sin, yet according to Saint Augustine, he has to accept that the only way to be saved is through the mercy of God. This further iterates Hamlet’s belief in dying a good death and Memento Mori, and combined with the language he uses, presents him as a character influenced by religion rather than humanism. Hamlet forgoes taking his own life despite his intense temporal turmoil, in consideration of the eternal reprisal he believes he will face in the afterlife.
In regard to suicide, Nathan Montover states that ‘The property of the deceased was often confiscated, and the body of the suicide was publicly displayed and left to decompose without proper burial’x. This practice presents the extreme condemnation of suicide in early modern society, and explains Hamlet’s intense conflict over the subject. Yet Jeffrey Watt argues that ‘the early modern period was a watershed in the history of suicide’xi. He believed that suicide had become ‘decriminalised, secularised, and medicalised’, and claimed ‘the early modern period marked a shift in attitudes away from religious and spiritual responses to suicide’ focusing more on the factors of ‘physiological or political significance’xii. However, Shakespeare presents that this watershed had not happened yet for the characters in his play. This rejection of decriminalised attitudes to suicide is not only
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Ophelia’s death sparks debate over whether it was an accidental death, or suicide. In the gravedigger scene, one gravedigger declares:
‘Will you ha' the truth on 't? If this had not been
a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o'
Christian burial’xiii.
According to the gravedigger, if it were not for Ophelia’s wealth and status, her death would be deemed a suicide in society and she would therefore not have the right to a Christian burial. This is further emphasised in the Priest’s reluctance to give her a complete Christian burial, as he says:
‘No more be done.
We should profane the service of the dead
To sing a requiem and such rest to her
As to peace-parted souls’xiv.
As both the gravediggers and the priest view Ophelia as not possessing the right to a Christian burial, it seems that this removal of rights after suicide is commonplace in Shakespeare’s early modern play. Yet, Laertes will not accept this, claiming “A minist'ring angel shall my sister be”xv. Although Ophelia is spared the condemnation of suicide in society, it could be argued that in the afterlife she is still damned. A homogenized view of Protestant theologians was that ‘The treatment of the body at death matters not at all to the future fate of the soul’xvi, meaning that Ophelia’s Christian burial is only beneficial for the living, and for keeping up appearances. On Ophelia’s death, Barbara Smith states ‘Ophelia’s social status alone accords her interment in consecrated ground, but the privilege stops there’xvii. This presents the idea that Ophelia’s suicide is not pardoned because of secularisation or medicalisation, but because of wealth and status, which only benefit the living. Burial rites varied greatly between social classes, and according to Sarah Tarlow, ‘the dead body as a material object was at the centre of rites that reinforced relationships and
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Bethany Townsend LL516 position in society’, and comparatively, ‘At the bottom of the scale were criminals and suicides’xviii. This comparison emphasises the importance of burial rites in relation to social status, and presents how Ophelia’s treatment would be drastically different if it were not for her social status. Despite the play’s suggestion of Ophelia’s damaged mental state, brought about by her sexist treatment and gender discrimination, Oxford professor John Case stated that there was ‘no exception’ for suicide, even for ‘children, idiots or the insane’xix. In accordance with this early modern belief, Ophelia would not be spared in the afterlife, and Laertes’ wishes of his sister becoming an angel would not be granted. In society’s view, Ophelia’s death is not considered suicide, and therefore she is considered to have died a good death. Yet, in accordance with the idea that burial type does not affect the treatment of the soul in the afterlife, Ophelia’s choice to commit suicide means she has died a bad death, and will not be spared.
Ophelia’s death is presented from a different angle in Shakespeare’s play. Ophelia’s position as a woman in the early modern period means she is a victim of sexism and misogyny, and in Hamlet, it appears Ophelia is sexualised even in death. Refer back to Chapter One – ‘Power and Gender’ for examples of the gender discrimination Ophelia faces in life. The language used by Gertrude in her description of Ophelia’s body is heavily romanticised. The peaceful way in which Ophelia’s death is described detracts from the intense turmoil she must have felt at the misogynistic hands of Hamlet, Laertes, and Polonius. Ophelia’s death is described by Gertrude as:
“There on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds
Clamb'ring to hang, an envious sliver broke,
When down her weedy trophies and herself
Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide,
And mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up,
Which time she chanted snatches of old lauds,
As one incapable of her own distress
Or like a creature native and endued
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Unto that element. But long it could not be
Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,
Pull'd the poor wretch from her melodious lay
To muddy death”xx.
In the moments before her death, Ophelia is described as “mermaid-like”, with “her clothes spread wide”xxi. This description presents Ophelia’s death as beautiful and ethereal, and the comparison to a mythical creature suggests that even in death her beauty is otherworldly. Yet this description focuses only on her appearance at her time of death, suggesting that her sole purpose in life was to be visually appealing. This downplays the inner turmoil she must have felt as she chose to end her life, and raises the issue that the sexualisation of women continues even in death. Yet this comparison to a mermaid may have further connotations. Tara E. Pedersen argues that ‘the mermaid helps us reflect on how bodies that transgress social boundaries come to be identified in the early modern marketplace’xxii. She further states that ‘the fish as a Christian symbol may make the mermaid…an embodiment of the lost soul in need of salvation’xxiii. This view of the mermaid could be related to Ophelia’s choice to commit suicide. Due to the severe condemnation of suicide in early modern society, and in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it could be argued that Ophelia transgresses social boundaries by taking her own life, and that the damnation of this action means her soul is in need of salvation. This relates back to Saint Augustine’s idea of original sin, and the concept that only God’s mercy will save one’s soul. Yet according to the common belief of seventeenth century theologians, the decision to commit suicide means one’s soul cannot be saved, meaning Ophelia shall be eternally damned.
Ophelia, Sir John Everett Millais, 1851-1852, Oil on canvas.xxiv
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Another perspective of Ophelia’s comparison to a mermaid is that it draws allusions to fate. The fact that Ophelia is compared to a mermaid whilst in water suggests that she belongs there, meaning it was her fate to die this way. The concept of fate in relation to life and death is one which appears frequently in John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi. As well as this, both plays also explore power and status in regard to death, and the insignificance of affluence in the afterlife. The Duchess has a very pessimistic view of life and death, and believes it is her fate to live a life of tragedy, resulting in her death. She states,
“I am not mad yet, to my cause of sorrow.
Th'heaven o'er my head seems made of molten brass,
The earth of flaming sulphur, yet I am not mad;
I am acquainted with sad misery
As the tanned galley-slave is with his oar.”xxv
This idea of The Duchess accepting tragedy as her fate is emphasised in her comparison of the “galley-slave” and “his oar”xxvi. She believes that she and “sad misery” are inseparable, spiritually chained together by fate, a bondage as real as the physical shackles of “the tanned galley-slave is with his oar.”xxvii Much like Ophelia as a mermaid in water, these comparisons present the power of fate and fortune in relation to life and death in both early modern plays. According to Samuel C. Chew, ‘Fortune’s clients are usually kings, because the height of their achievement serves to emphasise the depth of their fall’xxviii. Although not a king, as a member of royalty this could justify The Duchess’ acceptance of her fate. As a powerful woman, it seems The Duchess has more to lose, and according to Chew’s view, The Duchess makes an ideal client. This idea of fortune prevailing upon members of royalty is also explored in Shakespeare’s King Lear (1604). The concept of The Wheel of Fortune is commonly mentioned in Shakespeare’s play, and the transition from King Lear’s immense power at the start of the play, compared with his pitiful condition at the end represents the power of fate and fortune, and how the turning of the wheel effects those in power the greatest. Talking to Cordelia, King Lear states,
“You do me wrong to take me out o’ th’ grave.
Thou art a soul in bliss, but I am bound
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Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears
Do scald like molten lead.”xxix
Similarly to the Duchess, Lear seems to accept his position at the bottom of The Wheel of Fortune, so much so that he also seems to accept his death. He believes he belongs in the grave, and the language used draws allusions to Hell, much like The Duchess’ speech. Fortune is referred to by Lear as “a wheel of fire”, and his own tears as “molten lead”xxx, whereas The Duchess describes Heaven as made of “molten brass” and earth “flaming sulphur”xxxi. The destructive language used to describe their suffering as a result of fate is very similar, suggesting both feel as if they are living in a Hell on earth at the hands of fate, bereft of the power they once possessed. It could be suggested that this then trivialises their perception of Hell and the afterlife, as they believe they are already experiencing that level of suffering on earth. King Lear and The Duchess accept that the odds are stacked against them, and accept the tragedy in their lives and deaths. Yet in The Duchess of Malfi, character Bosola takes a different approach to fate, life, and death.
Contrary to Chew’s idea that fortune preys more upon the powerful, Bosola believes fortune is random. Bosola believes death is a random act of bad fortune, and in regard to this he states,
“Their life, a general mist of error,
Their death, a hideous storm of terror”xxxii.
The Duchess accepts a life of tragedy, believing that the forces of fortune are acting against her, and she is destined to die a tragic death. Yet Bosola believes good and bad fortune is completely random, and prevails regardless of one’s morality or status. This raises issues about predestination, Memento Mori, and Ars Moriendi. Due to religious turmoil in the early modern period, ideas about predestination varied, yet according to Daniel Lord Smail, ‘Predestination was presented in a handful of French Protestant and especially Calvinist plays’xxxiii. The Duchess’ view that she is destined a life of tragedy aligns with views of predestination, yet Bosola’s idea of life as a sequence of moments of arbitrary fortune rejects this. According to Leif Dixon, ‘Put together, predestination and the Ars Moriendi were capable of concocting a quite toxic blend, because the impulses associated with them
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Bethany Townsend LL516 seemed to pull in opposite directions’xxxiv. If The Duchess’ acceptance of fate aligns with religious ideas of predestination, it could be argued that Ars Moriendi and dying a good death is irrelevant, as God has already decided her fate for her. It could also be said that this renders Memento Mori irrelevant, as if one’s fate is decided for them, their actions upon earth cannot save them from the fate God has decided for them, possibly explaining The Duchess’ rebellious and defiant actions in her life.
Het rad van fortuin, (The Wheel of Fortune) ca. 1689xxxv
Varying concepts of mortality and religion are presented among the characters in Hamlet and The Duchess of Malfi. The importance of death and the afterlife heavily permeated seventeenth century Britain, despite varying religious beliefs. This is presented in the characters actions in Shakespeare and Webster’s plays, exploring the way that different beliefs on the afterlife, mortality and Memento Mori influence the behaviour of the living. The themes of mortality and suffering are pushed to the extreme by both authors, comparing suffering in life with the suffering commonly understood to occur in Hell. This comparison therefore emphasises the intensity of the suffering experienced by these characters, and highlights the influence of religious doctrines imposed on society, most salient in their darkest moments.
Word Count: 2750
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Bethany Townsend LL516 Bibliography
Bouttats, Filibert, Het Rad Van Fortuin (Rijksmuseum, 1689) Boyce, James - Born Bad: Original Sin and the Making of the Western World ([Place of publication not identified]: Catapult, 2015) Brandt, J. Rasmus, Prusac, Marina and Roland, Hakon - Death And Changing Rituals (Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2015) Chew, Samuel C. - "Time And Fortune", ELH, 6.2 (1939), 89
i Richard Wunderli and Gerald Broce, "The Final Moment Before Death In Early Modern England", Sixteenth Century Journal, 20.2 (1989), 1
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v William Shakespeare, Hamlet, I.2.129-137. vi William Shakespeare, Hamlet, I.2.129 vii Saint Augustine in, James Boyce, Born Bad: Original Sin and the Making of the Western World ([Place of publication not identified]: Catapult, 2015), p. 7. viiiJames Boyce, Born Bad: Original Sin and the Making of the Western World, p. 7. ix William Shakespeare, Hamlet, I.2.129 x Nathan Montover, The Sixteenth Century Journal, vol. 37, no. 1, 2006, pp. 180–182. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20477747. xi Jeffrey R Watt, From Sin To Insanity (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004), p. 181. xii Jeffrey R Watt, From Sin To Insanity (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004), p. 181. xiii William Shakespeare, Hamlet, V.1.24-26 xiv William Shakespeare, Hamlet, V.1.244-247 xv William Shakespeare, Hamlet, V.1.251 xvi J. Rasmus Brandt, Marina Prusac and Hakon Roland, Death And Changing Rituals (Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2015), p. 401. xvii Barbara Smith, "Neither Accident Nor Intent: Contextualising The Suicide Of Ophelia", South Atlantic Review, 73.2 (2008), 107
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