The Duchess of Malfi, originally published as The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy, is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by John Webster. Webster also wrote the revenge tragedy The White Devil and frequently collaborated with other playwrights working for the King’s Men in London. It was written in 1613 and performed to a private audience at Blackfriars Theatre a year later. That same year it was also performed to a general audience at the Globe. When the quarto edition was published in 1623, it became the first play published in English that included a cast list attributing certain actors to certain parts. From this, scholars can tell that the play had one run in the mid-1610s and a revival in the early 1620s. Plays were banned during the English Civil War, from 1642 until the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. After this, it was performed regularly throughout the 17th century but fell out of fashion in the 18th. In the 19th it experienced another surge of popularity, now with women playing the title role, unlike the boy actors of its original run.

Though the play’s popularity continued through the 20th century, scholarly attention branded the play mediocre, clumsy, and cheap. It was only in the late 20th century that scholarly, annotated versions of the play became more widely available and Webster’s reputation was reconsidered. His play deals openly and often shockingly with matters of sexuality, violence, and betrayal. His blatant criticism of power and the play’s implicit support of societal transgression could potentially be read either as unsubtle narrative craft or bold political statement.

This study guide uses the 1997 Revels Student Edition by Manchester University Press, edited by John Russel Brown.

Content Warning: The source material contains on-stage violence, murder, mental/emotional torture, and suicidal ideation. It also contains anti-Black and antisemitic language, which are not replicated in this guide, and outdated and offensive words for women and people with intellectual disabilities, which are replicated only in quoted text.

Plot Summary

In Act I, Antonio, steward to the Duchess of Malfi, has just returned from France. He tells his best friend Delio that France has eliminated corruption from their courts, unlike Italy. For instance, the Cardinal frequently engages in bribes and deceit; he recently let a man named Bosola—who has also just returned to court—be imprisoned for a murder he ordered. There is also Ferdinand, the Cardinal’s brother, who is duplicitous and antagonistic. By comparison, Antonio expresses admiration for the Cardinal’s sister and Ferdinand’s twin, the Duchess, who he thinks is a model of virtue and nobility.

Ferdinand and the Cardinal do not want the recently-widowed Duchess to remarry because her money would go to her new husband. Ferdinand plants Bosola as a hostler in the Duchess’s household to spy on her. Even though Bosola dislikes the Cardinal for framing him, he agrees to work for Ferdinand. Despite her brothers’ threats and warnings, the Duchess wants to remarry for love. She proposes to Antonio, who is well beneath her social station. He loves her in return and accepts. The Duchess’s maid, Cariola, performs the ceremony.

In Act II, the Duchess and Antonio have been carrying on their marriage in secret, and she is now pregnant. Antonio is increasingly fearful for his family’s safety and sends Delio to Rome, to be closer to Ferdinand and the Cardinal. Bosola hears the Duchess in labor. Antonio tries to distract him, but unknowingly drops a horoscope he had made for his newborn. This confirms Bosola’s suspicions. He sends word to Ferdinand and the Cardinal, who is carrying on an affair with a courtier’s wife, Julia. Ferdinand is enraged by the Duchess’s secret marriage; likewise, the Cardinal is upset that the Duchess “attainted” their family line.

In Act III, years have passed, and the Duchess has two more children. Ferdinand tries to arrange a marriage for her, but she tells him she is already legally married. He breaks into her chambers at night, threatens her, and alerts court officers. The Duchess and Antonio quickly make up a lie about him stealing from her and being banished; she tells him to leave court with their children and she will follow, feigning a pilgrimage. When Antonio is gone, she confesses these plans to Bosola, who tells Ferdinand. The Cardinal intercepts the Duchess and Antonio at their meeting place and banishes them both. The couple split up for safety, Antonio taking one child and the Duchess taking two. The Duchess is quickly captured.

In Act IV, the Duchess is imprisoned but bears it with dignity. When Ferdinand shows her wax bodies that he pretends are the corpses of Antonio and her child, she decides she no longer wants to live. As such, when Ferdinand tries to torture her further, she is unruffled. He finally orders the strangulation of her, her children, and Cariola. Ferdinand and Bosola are both unsettled after her death. Ferdinand accuses Bosola, even though he ordered the death, and refuses to pay him. The Duchess revives for a moment but then passes; Bosola feels extremely guilty.

In Act V, Ferdinand has been diagnosed with lycanthropy. Julia falls in love with Bosola and spies on the Cardinal for him, but the Cardinal kills her after she finds out he helped kill the Duchess. The Cardinal employs Bosola to kill Antonio but Bosola secretly vows to save him. The Cardinal also asks Bosola to help him move Julia’s body. Meanwhile, Antonio sneaks into the Cardinal’s chambers at night, seeking reconciliation. In the darkness, he is stabbed by Bosola, who thinks he is the Cardinal. Bosola is distraught by the mistake and then stabs the Cardinal. Hearing the cries, Ferdinand enters. It is ambiguous whether he is lucid, and he stabs both Bosola and the Cardinal. He is stabbed by Bosola in turn and dies.

The courtiers and Delio enter as Bosola and the Cardinal are dying. Bosola is satisfied that he avenged the Duchess, Antonio, Julia, and himself. Delio is carrying Antonio and the Duchess’s child. He asks the courtiers to establish this new generation with honesty.