The Duchess of Malfi : Summary

Summary

[The summary is divided into points to make the flow of events easier to remember]

Prohibiting the Duchess from marrying and the Duchess marrying Antonio: The outset of the drama focuses on how the life of a young widow is disappointed by the regret of the loss of her beloved husband and large fortune. The play opens at the Court of Malfi. Antonio Bologna who is the steward of the Duchess has returned to Malfi after a visit from France. Two brothers of the Duchess, Cardinal who is the elder brother of the Duchess, and Ferdinand who is the twin brother of the Duchess, have come to Malfi with the spy of the play Bosola.

Ferdinand tells the Duchess that Bosola will look after her horses as the manager. The Duchess agrees. Ferdinand and Cardinal forbid the Duchess to remarry before leaving the court of Malfi. Ferdinand instructs Bosola to spy on whether the Duchess is engaging herself with someone for marriage or not.

Then the Duchess expresses her deep frustration before maidservant Cariola by declaring that her life has been pathless. The Duchess makes it clear before the audience that her brothers do not pay any attention to her sorrow and happiness. They are only concerned with possessing her large fortune. At that moment, Antonio Bologna reenters the scene. This time the Duchess without any hesitation declares that she loves Antonio. And she wants to marry him. Antonio gives his consent and the Duchess and Antonio get married secretly keeping Cariola as the only witness.

Spy Bosola: After a long nine months, the plot of the play has been set at the court of Malfi. Now the Duchess after enjoying a long secret married life with her loyal husband is pregnant. Bosola who is spying for Ferdinand, doubts the pregnancy of the Duchess. To justify his suspicion, Bosola offers the Duchess apricots which is a kind of fruit that is favorite to the pregnant one. After eating apricots, the Duchess feels ill because of pregnancy pain. The duchess requests Antonio to take her to her bedroom. After this, the Duchess and Antonio hit upon a plan to handle this critical situation.

Antonio in a hurry and loud, orders to close the gates of the place because a Swiss thief has entered the Duchess’s bedroom with a weapon and the valuable things which nearly cost 4 thousand ducats have been stolen. Bosola now is sure that the Duchess is pregnant, and her bleeding has been started for having apricots.

Criola enters and congratulates Antonio because the Duchess has begotten a baby boy. At midnight Bosola is busy with his spying and at the same time, Antonio sees Bosola. They talk hotly. Before leaving, Antonio accidentally loses the paper of his newly born baby’s horoscope. Bosola picks up the paper and becomes sure that the Duchess has given birth. He tries to find the father of the child. Bosola plots that he will send a letter to the brothers.

The scene is now set in Rome in the house of the Cardinal. The Cardinal is now enjoying his illegal sexual relationship with Julia who is the wife of Castruccio. In the meantime, a servant comes and informs the Cardinal that a letter has come from Bosola. After reading the letter, Ferdinand and the Cardinal come to learn that the Duchess has begotten a baby boy. Ferdinand is very furious, but he is suggested by his elder brother Cardinal to be cool and calm because the hot brain cannot produce any proper planning to solve a critical situation.

Now the scene turns to the court of Malfi. Meanwhile, two years have passed, and the Duchess has begot two more babies. Ferdinand and the Cardinal are well aware of this. Ferdinand and the Duchess enter. Ferdinand tells the Duchess that he has found a suitor for the Duchess named Count Malatesta. The Duchess replies that she does not like this proposal. Then, Bososla informs Ferdinand that he has done all, but he cannot learn about the father of the Duchess’s babies.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand angrily enters the Duchess’s room. Gives her a knife and asks her to kill herself with it. Because the duchess’ misdeeds have dishonored their royal family. The Duchess then announces that she is married. After hearing this, Ferdinand vows not to see the Duchess’s face and leaves.

The Duchess and Antonio’s relationship is exposed: The Duchess and Antonio decide to flee elsewhere. That’s why the Duchess wants to dismiss Antonio from his job by slandering him. But just as the Duchess slanders Antonio, Bosola takes Antonio’s side. Hence the Duchess thinks Bosola may be a good man. So she tells Bosola that her husband is Antonio. Cunning Bosola after knowing this told Ferdinand and the cardinal.

Killing Duchess: Ferdinand subtly invites Antonio to his palace. But Antonio realizes his trick and flees to Milan with his eldest son. Meanwhile, Bosola, by the order of the duchess’s two brothers, arrests the duchess and her two sons and imprison them in Malfi prison. In the dark of the night, Ferdinand goes to meet the Duchess in jail. She informs the Duchess that her husband and child are dead. Then lunatics are released around her to punish her. But seeing this punishment, even Bosola becomes sick.

Just then some assassins arrive and kill the Duchess, her two children, and the maid. Ferdinand becomes insane with guilt after seeing the Duchess’s dead body. Bosola also feels remorse.

Antonio, Cardinal, Bozola, and Ferdinand: Antonio, on the other hand, knows nothing of this. He thought that he would go to the Cardinal and settle all the troubles. But Cardinal orders Bosola to kill Antonio. Towards the end of the play, Bosola decides he will save Antonio and take revenge on the Duchess’s brothers.

The Cardinal, on the other hand, plans to kill Antonio. He orders Bosola to kill Antonio when he arrives at the palace and tells everyone in the palace not to leave the room, no matter how much shouting and screaming are heard that night. The Cardinal further plans in his mind that after killing Antonio, he will also kill Bosola. Bosola gets to know about this plan secretly.

Just then Antonio enters his room to reconcile with the Cardinal. But not understanding in the dark, Bosola kills Antonio, thinking he is the Cardinal. After realizing this, he goes to kill the Cardinal. The Cardinal screams a lot but no one comes to help him. Because he had already forbidden it. Finally, Bosola killed the Cardinal.

In this situation, the mentally unbalanced Ferdinand appears and attacks Bosola. Ferdinand and Bosola both die in the clash. Before dying, Ferdinand says, their misdeeds are responsible for their own deaths. At the end of the play, Antonio’s friend Delio takes over his eldest son. He might raise him to be the Duke (King) of Malfi.

Moral Lesson: Human passion and necessity must be evaluated. If Ferdinand and Cardinal were concerned about the happiness of their sister, they would find a suitor for her.