Bosola： the Surprising Hero in The Duchess of Malfi

【Abstract】：In this play the Duchess’ tragic experiences， the long-standing sense of injustice and the feeling of lacking identity drive Bosola to be a final hero who revenges for the Dchess， Antonio， Julia and himself.

【Key words】： Bosola； The surprising hero

I. Introduction

It seems that this play centers on the Duchess. However， it doesn’t end with the Duchess’ death. After her death， the play surprisingly focuses on discontented Bosola， a man from the lower class.His long-standing sense of injustice， the feeling of lacking identity， the Duchess’ tragic experiences stimulate Bosola to rebel against the upper class. Surprisingly， the villain Bosola turns to be a righteous warrior determined to revenge for the Duchess of Malfi.

II. Three causes making Bosola a surprising hero

1.The long-standing sense of injustice

Some forces in Bosoladrive him to be a righteous avenger from a notoriousvillain. His long-standing sense of injustice is one of them. According to Antonio， Bosola， “flatters， panders， intelligencers， atheists， and a thousand such political monsters” to undo their opponents （1.1.162-63）， is the obverse of Antonio. He is cynical， resentful， discontented and deceptive. From the conversation between Delio and Antonio， we can know that he stayed in penal servitude for two years as he secretly commits murder under the order of the Cardinal. Although Bosola does his service very well， the Cardinal is not planed to reward him. Bosola compares him to Tantalus， never able to acquire the things he most wants. He says that he himself is like “a solider that hazards his limbs in a battle， nothing but a kind of geometry is his last supportation” （1.1.59-61）. He offers an aggrieved victim’s account of Ferdinand and the Cardinal. In his eyes， the Cardinal and Ferdinand “are like plum trees that grow crooked over standing pools： they are rich and o’erladen with fruits， but none but crows， pies， and caterpillars feed on them” （1.1.50-52）.

Bosola knows clearly that the Cardinal and Ferdinand are terribly evil， but he has no choice. When Ferdinand offers gold to his to spy the Duchess， he at first firmly refuses it and says， “Take your devils， which hell cans angels！ These cursed gifts would make you a corrupter， me an impudent traitor” （1.1.266-68）. However，due to the client-patron relationship， Bosola has to accept it finally. He is very not contented with the social’s injustice and says， “I would have you curse yourself now， that your bounty， which makes men truly noble， e'er should make me a villain.” （1.1.273-77）

2.The feeling of lacking identity

The second force is his feeling of lacking identity.Bosola loiters around the court， criticizing about the perversity of the Cardinal and Ferdinand's depraved power structure. In short， he has no real place in the court. He becomes an ex-convict because of the Cardinal’s order. What he is forced to do is against his own good nature （5.5.103）. Bosoladesires to be a noble with a title by doing things for noble men who may appreciate him. He at first refuses Ferdinand’s offer to spy the Duchess， but when Ferdinand secures him the provisor of horse， he compromises his principles. To some extent， it is because this position is quite prestigious in the court. In the next process he tries to get rid of Ferdinand’s plot many times but he is not allowed. In such a society， it is really hard for a man ruled by others to make his own decision. Compared with Bosola， Antonio’s social status is a little bit higher than what he was by marrying the noble woman. Antonio’s death helps him to doubt the nobility of noble men. Although he has no identity in the society， he finally realizes his identity in humanity.

3.The Duchess’tragicexperiences

The Duchess’ tragic experiences stimulate Bosola to rebel.The Duchess should have led a happy life， but her twocruel brothers keep her from remarrying for their own sake.The brave Duchess woos Antonio and secretly bears three children for him. As a spy， Bosola has to tell what he knows to Ferdinand. Because he reveals the Duchess’ secret to her brother， the Duchess and her two children are miserably killed by the executioners brought by him. If this play centers on the Duchess， her death will be the end of this play， but this play continues and focuses on Bosola’s surprising changes in the Act 5 where Bosola’s morals are totally different.

At this moment of the Duchess’ death， he sympathizes with the Duchess and leaves for Milan to protect Antonio after Julia’s death. Unfortunately， in the Cardinal’s apartment Bosola mistakenly kills Antonio. In the Cardinal’s house， when Bosola stabs him Ferdinand comes in and wounds Bosola. Finally， three of them are dead in the fight.

Bosola， a villain who does many things he does not want to do， revenge for the Duchess voluntarily but tragically. He revenges

“for the Duchess of Malfi， murdered

By th’ Aragonian brethren； for Antonio，

Slain by this hand； for the lustful Julia，

Poisoned by this man； and lastly for myself，

That was an actor in the main of all” （5.5.98-102）.

III. Conclusion

This paper analyzes three causes which drive Bosola to be a surprising hero respectively. First， Bosola criticizes the unjustsociety where he is not paid for his service and where people can not pursue their freedom and love. Second， after know how hypocritical the aristocrats they are， he finally holds his moral position in the corrupt court. Last but not least， the Duchess’ tragic experiences stir his sympathy up. Therefore， he is determined to be himself with a good nature. His revenge for the Duchess， Antonio and Julia is beyond reader’s expectation. Maybe the title of the play should be “The Tragedy of Bosola”.

References：

Engle， Lars. Introduction. The Duchess of Malfi. By John Webster. Cambridge： Cambridge University Press， 1749. Print.

作者簡(jiǎn)介：謝青（1992-），女，漢族，籍貫：湖南永州，單位：云南大學(xué)外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院，研究方向：美國(guó)文學(xué)。

孔媛（1993-），女，漢族，籍貫：云南楚雄，單位：云南大學(xué)外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院，研究方向：英美文學(xué)。