Comparative Analysis of Webster's The Duchess of Malfi and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

            Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night was a novel play renowned for being ahead of its time. It displayed a number of themes and relationships that challenged the status quo of seventeenth century society, yet it did so in a playful and non-aggressive manner. At the same time that Twelfth Night was delivering its jovial critique of social and gender norms, John Webster was displaying similar themes in The Duchess of Malfi, but with a much darker and more grisly tone.  The plays by Webster and Shakespeare draw parallels to one another in that they both display strong-minded female characters in Olivia and The Duchess, respectively.

            In Twelfth Night Shakespeare presents Olivia, a Countess of the fictional country of Illyria. The Countess is strong, independent and at times bullheaded. We get a sense of this strength and independence early on in the play when the reader’s are presented with her refusal to engage in romance as a means for mourning her dead brother. In this act, not only is she challenging seventeenth century social norms of female dependence on men, but she is much more directly challenging the will of her court and her pursuer, Duke Orsino. For example, we see Olivia’s jester, Feste, outlining the foolishness of her overly dramatic display of mourning over her brother’s death with their exchange:

           

            Feste: Good madonna, why mournest thou?

            Olivia: Good fool, for my brother’s death.

            Feste: I think his soul is in hell, madonna.

            Olivia: I know his soul is in heaven, fool.

Feste: The more fool, madonna, to mourn for your broth-
er’s soul, being in heaven. Take away the fool, gentle-
men. (1. 5. 61-67)

This lighthearted argument between Feste and Olivia outlines Fests’ contention that she’s mourning for naught. Further, since her mourning is, according to the Countess, the sole reason for her refusal to accept romantic gestures (i.e. from Orsino) then this is the avenue Feste takes in trying to chide Olivia into doing away with her romantic boycott. In response to this, Olivia holds on to her convictions regarding love and demands that the man who is at her gates (Cesario) be sent back – rejecting Orsino yet again.

Olivia further displays her strong-headed nature by hastily marrying Sebastian. With Olivia’s marriage, Shakespeare is presenting her as a woman who essentially does what she wants. She forgoes the seventeenth century marital norms by being the pursuer, and asking for Sebastian’s hand in marriage.

Webster follows the same pattern in displaying a strong willed female character in The Duchess of Malfi. Early in the play Webster presents the Duchess’ nature by foregoing her brothers demand that she not remarry. In fact, Antonio seems to have had more concern for her brother’s wishes, than did the Duchess, furthering the notion that she will do what she pleases. Readers are presented with this during the exchange between the newlyweds:

Antonio: But what of your brothers?

Duchess:                                         Do not think of them.
All discord without this circumference

Is only to be pitied, and not feared;

Yet, should they not it, time will easily

Scatter the tempest. (1. 3. 169-174)

The Duchess seems to be taking the demands of her brother lightly, assuring Antonio that any issues that may come from their marriage will subside with time. Again, the gender roles are reversed here. The Duchess is taking a more reassuring tone, telling the man that he has nothing to fear, something typically seen in the reverse – i.e. the man reassuring the woman.

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night shares a number of similarities with Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi. Both make use of strong female characters to present a challenge to seventeenth century social norms. Given that Twelfth Night was first performed more a than a decade before Webster’ play, it’s easy to argue that Shakespeare’s work had an influence on The Duchess of Malfi, though Webster presents his play with a much more sinister tone.