The Duchess of Malfi

In the Duchess’s bedroom, she and Antonio banter about whether he will stay the night. He attempts to persuade her, but she denies him. Antonio teases the Duchess, and she playfully kisses him several times to keep him quiet. Antonio asks Cariola when she will marry, and she says never. The three continue to banter until the Duchess begins to comb her hair, whereupon Antonio and Cariola leave.

As the Duchess combs her hair, Ferdinand enters. When she turns around, Ferdinand hands her their father’s dagger and tells her she will die. He admonishes her for reveling in shame. The Duchess says she is married and asks if he wants to see her husband. Ferdinand says that though he previously wanted to know her husband’s identity, he now hopes it stays a secret lest he be moved to violence. He continues to threaten her husband, advising her to shut him indoors until they are both dead. The Duchess insists that she has done nothing wrong and her reputation is unsullied. Ferdinand leaves, pledging to never see the Duchess again.

Cariola reenters with Antonio. He asks how Ferdinand was able to breach the Duchess’s chamber; he briefly accuses Cariola, but she claims innocence. The Duchess shows them the knife Ferdinand left with her, in hopes she would die by suicide. Bosola knocks, and the Duchess shoos Antonio and Cariola.

Bosola reports that Ferdinand told Bosola the Duchess was “undone” before riding home to Rome in a rage. The Duchess quickly invents a story about Antonio falsely dealing with her accounts, putting Ferdinand in trouble with moneylenders. Bosola leaves to fetch some officers and Antonio re-enters. The Duchess tells him that they must now tell a noble lie to protect their honor.

When Bosola re-enters with the officers, Antonio and the Duchess feign conflict. The Duchess says she wants to let Antonio go rather than punish him because she does not want word of the theft to spread. When Antonio has left, she asks the officers their opinion of Antonio. They list off a series of anti-Semitic and anti-trans accusations, and she dismisses them. She repeats the question to Bosola. He says the officers are rogues and flatterers. He says Antonio was an excellent courtier and he will miss his honesty and virtue.

The Duchess then reveals to Bosola that Antonio is her husband and the father of her three children. Bosola is surprised that any good in this world can be acquired through merit rather than birth, flattery, or bribery. The Duchess swears Bosola to secrecy and entrusts him to take her coins and jewels to Antonio in Ancona, where he has gone to wait for the Duchess. Several days later she will follow, saying she is going on pilgrimage. Cariola advises against using religion to deceive people, but the Duchess calls her superstitious. The two women exit.

Alone, Bosola laments the fact that his role as a spy necessitates that he reports what he has learned to Ferdinand. It is ironic that his betrayal of the Duchess will likely raise his station.

In Rome, the Cardinal and Ferdinand have a meeting about military operations with Malateste, Delio, Silvio, and a marquis named Pescara. On one side of the room, the Cardinal and Malateste discuss the Cardinal taking up arms for Italy at the Emperor’s wish. On the other, Delio and Silvio tell Ferdinand about Malateste, who is materialistic and a bad soldier. Bosola enters and pulls Ferdinand and the Cardinal away to talk. Pescara and Silvio note that both Ferdinand and the Cardinal have adopted terrible expressions. 

The Cardinal says the Duchess is using the guise of a religious excursion to flee. He wants to get the power of the state to banish her. Ferdinand curses the Duchess’s beauty and “fault,” unsure which he finds worse. The Cardinal leaves for Loretto, where the Duchess is visiting a shrine.

At the Shrine of Our Lady of Loretto, two pilgrims comment on the Duchess’s arrival and speculate about the Cardinal, who has sent word that he will retire his cardinal’s hat at the shrine that day.

The next part of the scene unfolds in the style of a pantomime. The Cardinal enters. He retires his cross, robes, hat, and ring and instead takes up a soldier’s sword, helmet, shield, and spurs. Antonio, the Duchess, and their children also enter. The Cardinal forcibly removes the Duchess’s wedding ring and banishes the family.

After the show’s conclusion, the pilgrims remain and comment on the scene. They are surprised the Duchess married someone of a low class but think that the Cardinal was too harsh. They also believe that the Pope, who interceded at the Cardinal’s behest after hearing of the Duchess’s “looseness,” acted unjustly.

Outside the shrine, Antonio, the Duchess, their children, and Cariola gather. While some of their servants are faithful, most have fled. The Duchess recounts a strange dream in which the diamonds on her coronet turned to pearls; Antonio interprets the pearls as tears the Duchess will soon shed.

Bosola enters with a letter from Ferdinand that asks for a meeting with Antonio. Though Bosola claims the letter is in good faith, the Duchess thinks Ferdinand wants to kill Antonio. Antonio agrees and refuses the invitation. Once Bosola leaves, the Duchess tells Antonio she suspects an ambush and asks him to take their oldest son to Milan. She bids goodbye to her son, who she is grateful is not old enough to fully understand what is happening.

Both Antonio and the Duchess fear that their parting will be final. They have an emotional and tearful farewell. The Duchess, her remaining children, and Cariola are quickly overtaken by Bosola and a troop of soldiers. The Duchess thinks she will be imprisoned. Bosola insists her brothers guarantee her safety, but she does not believe him. Bosola insults Antonio’s low class. She responds with an allegory about a salmon and a dogfish: the dogfish insults the salmon for entering its waters, but the salmon says their value can never be known until they enter a fisher’s basket.