Webster's "The Duchess of Malfi" -- a mirror to Jacobean England/ existence of corruption in the Jacobean society

Question: Webster draws our attention to the existence of corruption in all walks of life in the Jacobean society. Do you agree?/ The play is a mirror to Jacobean England.

Answer: John Webster, in his Jacobean revenge and decadent tragedy named The Duchess of Malfi, draws our attention to the existence of corruption in all walks of life in the Jacobean society. In this context, we must have a clear idea of decadence. It refers to the devaluation of moral values, In the Jacobean English society, the people had no good sense, morality, ethics etc. They were only interested in their self-profit and taking revenge. Then sensationalism became the favourite of the English people. Fundamentally, depending on such mentality and temperament of the Jacobean English people, the dramas presented the 'decadent philosophy'.

In The Duchess of Malfi, we come to notice a decadent social picture that is full of corruption, immorality, bloodshed, dance of death, gloomy atmosphere, dance of the mad men, murder, jealousy, violence, despair, disintegration and all that.

The dramatist has been successful in creating horror and horrifying the audience as well as the readers. For example, Duke Ferdinand gives a dead man's hand to the Duchess and she kisses it taking it as that of her husband, the Duke. Moreover, the waxen images of the corpses of Antonio, the steward of the Duchess, and of their children are shown to her in order to horrify and make her mad. Apart from that, dance of the mad men before the Duchess, Bosola's entry into her chamber as a tomb-maker and a bellman, the executioners of death with bell and cord in hands add to the decadence and the horror. What can be more decadent, what can be more corrupt than the brothers tormenting their innocent and pure widow-sister for exercising their male chauvinistic tendency and for capturing her property? All these are unethical and against the norms of human society.

This play is full of corruption, decadence and melancholic elements. Ten murders take place one after the other on the stage. One of the villains is Bosola who is a 'malcontent'. He is a Machiavellian person whose philosophy is always negative. He was engaged in the act of espionage, that is, spying the Duchess's every movement and every moment of her happy conjugal life with Antonio. This act of espionage is indeed an emblem of corruption.

The only offence committed by the Duchess was that she married Antonio, a man of low rank and profile. It was claimed by her two brothers, Ferdinand and Cardinal, that she, by marrying Antonio, disgraced their riyal family. Hence, they insisted on taking revenge upon her by putting an end to her life and to her sweet children.

Charles Lamb commented, "The death of the Duchess moves more deeply than anything else in English drama."

Before conclusion, we must observe that many critics criticised Webster for depiction of corruption and decadence in his play. However, we must remember that in spite of all adverse criticisms, The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster is a great work of art. The corruption in the brother-sister relationship, the corruption in the society, the corruption in human minds and the corruption in social hierarchical distinction -- all mark the five-act tragedy as decadent and full of corruption. This is what we may call 'decadent philosophy' and 'decadent realism'. Thus, Webster holds a mirror to the Jacobean England by drawing our attention to the existence of corruption in all walks of life in the Jacobean society.