Plot
Summary
Act 1
The Duchess of Malfi is
divided
into five acts, each comprising several scenes. In the three
scenes
of act 1, the major characters and conflicts are introduced. The
setting
is the Italian city of Amalfi in the sixteenth century, in the
audience
chamber or "presence" of the widowed Duchess. Antonio, the
Duchess's
steward, talks with his friend Delio as they observe the
others who
pass through the chamber. The first to enter are the Cardinal
and
Bosola. Although Bosola has recently been released after serving
seven
years for a murder he committed at the behest of the Cardinal, the
Cardinal is cold to him and will not acknowledge his debt.
Ferdinand,
the Duke of Calabria, enters with his entourage. Ferdinand learns that
Antonio
has proven himself the best at a knightly competition, and he
congratulates
Antonio for his prowess and for his eloquent speech. When
the
Cardinal reenters with the Duchess, Antonio gives Delio his
impression
of the three siblings: the Cardinal is jealous and vengeful,
Ferdinand
is "perverse and turbulent," and the Duchess is sweet and
noble.
Ferdinand asks the Duchess to accept Bosola as a servant, and she
agrees; in fact, the brothers have hired Bosola to spy on the Duchess.
The
two brothers warn the Duchess not to remarry, and she promises that she
will not. However, as soon as they leave her chamber, she summons
Antonio
and the two perform a private marriage ceremony, with the
Duchess's
trusted servant Cariola as witness.
Act 2
The
second act,
which has five scenes, begins several months later, as the
Duchess
is about to give birth to a child. Her marriage to Antonio is
still
secret, and she has concealed her pregnancy by wearing loose
clothing.
Bosola, however, suspects that she is pregnant and tries to
trap
her by giving her a present of apricots. When she devours them
hungrily
and then vomits, he has confirmation of the pregnancy but does
not
reveal what he knows. The incident sends the Duchess into labor, and
she is rushed to her chamber.
To avoid suspicion that the Duchess
is giving birth, a ruse is invented: it is announced that jewels have
been
stolen, and everyone must stay in his or her room while a search is
conducted. The Duchess delivers a healthy son, and when Cariola tells
Antonio
the good news, he prepares a set of calculations based on
astrology
to determine the baby's future. Meanwhile, Bosola sneaks out
to the
courtyard beneath the Duchess's window and hears her crying out.
Antonio
finds him there, and they argue about Bosola having left his
room.
As he leaves Bosola, Antonio accidentally drops the paper on which
he has written his astrological notes, and Bosola retrieves it,
discovering
that a baby has been born to the Duchess — a baby who will
have a
short life. Bosola knows that Antonio is in on the secret but
does
not consider that a man of Antonio's social class could be the
father.
In
Rome, the Cardinal meets in his chamber with Julia, his
mistress.
Delio arrives and propositions Julia, but she refuses him. In
another part of the Cardinal's palace, Ferdinand has received a letter
from
Bosola, telling him of the baby's birth. The Cardinal and Ferdinand
discuss their sister's betrayal, and Ferdinand's rage takes him to the
brink
of insanity.
Act 3
Several years pass
before the five scenes
in act 3 take place. The Duchess has given birth
to two more
children, but her marriage is still a secret, and Bosola
still has
not discovered the identity of the father. Ferdinand, finally
stirred
to action, arrives at the Duchess's palace to confront her. To
play
an affectionate joke on her, Antonio and Cariola step out of the
room
while the Duchess is talking to herself in the mirror, and
Ferdinand
comes into the room at the same moment. He accuses her of
shaming
the family with her promiscuity, and although she tells him that
she
is married, he vows never to look at her again.
Afraid of
Ferdinand's
anger, the Duchess sends Antonio to safety by pretending
that he
has stolen money and been banished. Tenderly, the couple say
goodbye
to each other, planning to reunite in Ancona. In her grief, the
Duchess
confides in Bosola, telling him everything. Bosola plots to
entrap
the Duchess and Antonio. He speeds to Rome to tell what he knows
and
find his reward, and the brothers respond with expected fury. The
Cardinal
decides to contact the authorities at Ancona and have the
Duchess
and her family banished.
At the Shrine of Our Lady of
Loretto,
the Duchess and Antonio review their situation. Bosola brings a
letter from Ferdinand calling for Antonio's death, and Antonio and the
Duchess
say goodbye again. They know that this will be their final
parting.
Antonio takes their oldest son and flees to Milan. The Duchess
is
arrested by Bosola, in disguise, and taken by guards to her palace.
Act
4
Act 4, with its two scenes set in the Duchess's
chambers,
moves quickly. Trying to drive her to despair so that she
will be
damned as well as killed, Ferdinand arranges for a series of
horrors.
He visits the Duchess in a darkened room (because he has vowed
never
to see her again) and places in her hand a dead man's hand that
she
will assume to be Antonio's. He shows her wax figures that look like
the bodies of Antonio and the three children. He arranges for eight
madmen
to scream outside her window. Through it all, the Duchess
maintains
her quiet nobility, saying "I am Duchess of Malfi still," and
Bosola
begins to feel a grudging respect for her.
Finally, Bosola
brings
two executioners to the Duchess's chamber, and they strangle her.
She faces her death with dignity. Cariola is also strangled, though she
resists her death with all her energy. Off stage, the two younger
children
are strangled. When Ferdinand sees his dead sister, he has a
dramatic
change of heart, and rather than rewarding Bosola, he blames
him
for the murders.
Act 5
The action of the
five scenes of act 5
is also rapid. Four days after the events in act 4,
the Cardinal has
had all of Antonio's property seized. Antonio decides
to visit the
Cardinal and attempt a reconciliation. Ferdinand's madness
has
increased, and he has been seen digging up bodies in the cemetery
and
carrying a man's leg over his shoulder. Bosola arrives in Milan, and
he and the Cardinal try to determine what the other knows. The Cardinal
pretends that he does not know the Duchess is dead, so that he will not
seem to have been involved in the murder, but Bosola persuades Julia to
find out the truth. The Cardinal confesses to Julia that he has had his
sister killed, but then he immediately kills Julia with a poisoned
book.
Outside
the Cardinal's home, Antonio and Delio speak with a
ghostly echo
that comes from the Duchess's grave. Bosola vows to protect
Antonio
from harm, but he accidentally kills Antonio with his sword,
mistaking
him for the Cardinal, who has promised to kill Bosola. In the
final
scene, an anguished Bosola kills the Cardinal's servant and stabs
the
Cardinal. Ferdinand rushes in and stabs Bosola and the Cardinal.
Bosola
stabs Ferdinand. As they all lie dead, Delio enters with
Antonio's
son and calls for a unified effort to support the young man as
the
new Duke.
موضوع: Very good Plot Of Dutchess Of Malfi 
الثلاثاء مايو 18, 2010 5:50 pm
