Cardinal AO5 Flashcards
(4 cards)
bradbrook
The Cardinal knows already that he is in Hell.
(1980) M.C. Bradbrook is a significant literary critic whose work offers valuable insights into John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi. Her analysis often focuses on the social, historical, and theatrical contexts of the play. Here are some key aspects of Bradbrook’s views that are particularly relevant:
- Social and Political Context:
Crisis of the Aristocracy: Bradbrook views the play as reflecting a “crisis of the aristocracy” in Jacobean England. The old feudal order, represented by the rigid and power-hungry brothers Ferdinand and the Cardinal, is threatened by the emergence of a more individualistic and meritocratic society, which the Duchess, in her defiance of social norms, arguably embodies.
Social Transgression: Bradbrook highlights the Duchess’s transgression of the social code by marrying Antonio, who is below her in status. This act is seen as a direct challenge to the hierarchical structure of the time and a source of the brothers’ intense rage.
Public vs. Private: Bradbrook notes the Duchess’s attempt to create a private life separate from her public role as a ruler. This division ultimately proves impossible in the oppressive social environment of the play.
2. Thematic Interpretations:
Corruption: Bradbrook emphasizes the pervasive corruption within the court of Malfi, which extends beyond individual villains to infect the entire social fabric. Bosola, in her view, is a key figure in understanding this corruption, initially a victim of the system who then becomes an instrument of its cruelty.
Identity and Selfhood: Bradbrook argues that the Duchess struggles to maintain her individual identity in the face of the patriarchal pressures exerted by her brothers. Her famous line, “I am Duchess of Malfi still,” in the face of death, is seen as a powerful assertion of her enduring selfhood.
Tragic Awakening: Bradbrook sees the Duchess’s journey as a tragic awakening. Initially perhaps naive in her belief that she can defy her brothers with impunity, she gradually comes to understand the true extent of their malice and the dangers of her situation.
3. Character Analysis:
The Duchess: Bradbrook portrays the Duchess as a figure of courage and vitality who challenges the restrictive social norms of her time. However, she also notes a degree of “dangerous over-security” in the Duchess’s initial dismissal of potential threats.
Ferdinand: Bradbrook often focuses on the psychological complexities of Ferdinand’s incestuous obsession with his sister, viewing it as a key driving force behind his cruelty and eventual madness.
Bosola: Bradbrook sees Bosola as a complex character, a malcontent who is both a victim and a perpetrator of the play’s tragic events. She highlights his intelligence and his capacity for moral judgment, even as he participates in the Duchess’s downfall.
Julia: Bradbrook describes Julia as a foil to the Duchess, a woman who is more overtly driven by her physical desires and social climbing.
4. Dramatic and Theatrical Elements:
Webster’s Style: Bradbrook often comments on Webster’s dramatic style, noting its intensity, its use of vivid and often grotesque imagery, and its exploration of extreme human emotions.
Jacobean Audience: Her analysis considers how a Jacobean audience might have responded to the play’s themes and characters, taking into account the social and moral values of the time.
In your essay, you can use Bradbrook’s insights to:
Provide a critical lens through which to analyze the social and political context of the play.
Support your interpretations of the motivations and actions of key characters like the Duchess, Ferdinand, and Bosola.
Explore the play’s themes of corruption, social transgression, and the struggle for individual identity.
Consider how the play might have resonated with its original audience.
McLuskie
It is clear that the Cardinal’s description of the affair [with Julia] expresses only satisfaction of his sexual prowess.
Kathleen McLuskie is a significant feminist critic who has offered insightful readings of John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi. Her work often focuses on:
- Gender and Power:
The Duchess’s Transgression: McLuskie views the Duchess’s remarriage, particularly to a man of lower social standing, as a radical act of self-determination in a patriarchal society. She highlights how this challenges the social and familial structures that sought to control female sexuality and autonomy, especially that of widowed noblewomen who were expected to remain chaste to preserve lineage and property.
Male Control and Fear: McLuskie emphasizes how the brothers’ obsessive control over the Duchess stems from a deep-seated fear of female sexual agency and the potential disruption to the patriarchal order that her remarriage represents. Their pronouncements and violent reactions are seen as attempts to reassert male dominance.
Limited Agency: While acknowledging the Duchess’s defiance, McLuskie also explores the limitations placed upon women in this period. The Duchess’s attempts to create a private sphere outside the public, patriarchal world ultimately fail, highlighting the pervasive power structures that constrain female agency.
2. Social and Political Context:
Class and Hierarchy: McLuskie analyzes how the play engages with anxieties surrounding social mobility and the disruption of the rigid class hierarchy. The Duchess’s marriage to Antonio blurs these boundaries and threatens the established order, contributing to the brothers’ hostility.
The “Complete Man”: McLuskie examines the Duchess’s description of Antonio as the “complete man,” arguing that this elevates personal virtue and merit over inherited social status, offering a potentially subversive perspective on social value.
Tragedy and Gender: McLuskie might analyze whether the tragic fate of the Duchess is, in part, a consequence of her challenging societal norms and whether the play ultimately reinforces or critiques the patriarchal structures that lead to her downfall. Some feminist critics, including McLuskie, suggest that the tragic ending can be seen as reflecting the social expectation that such independently minded women must be punished.
3. Dramatic Representation:
Focus on the Female Protagonist: McLuskie likely considers the play’s unusual focus on a female protagonist in a tragic role, examining how Webster portrays female desire, agency, and suffering within the conventions of Jacobean tragedy.
The Male Gaze: A feminist reading by McLuskie might analyze how the play presents the Duchess through the perspectives and desires of the male characters, particularly her brothers, and how this shapes the audience’s understanding of her.
In your essay, you can use McLuskie’s perspectives to:
Analyze the Duchess’s remarriage as an act of defiance against patriarchal control.
Explore the motivations of Ferdinand and the Cardinal as rooted in anxieties about female sexuality and social order.
Discuss the limitations faced by the Duchess despite her noble status and power.
Consider whether the play ultimately reinforces or subverts the patriarchal norms of its time.
Examine the representation of gender and power dynamics in specific scenes and dialogues.
bliss
The Cardinal’s cool, unemotional detachment is more terrifying than Ferdinand’s impassioned raving.
borlik
the Cardinal comes across as a hypocritical Machiavellian rather than an agent of divine retribution.”
