Much of John Webster's "The Duchess of Malfi" focuses on the subversions and perversions of Ferdinand, the duchess's brother. Ferdinand is an extremely disturbed man who has been driven mad by his inability to control his sister and, consequently, his inability to control his own life. His incestuous desires, although subtle, fill him with the need to exert power over her, even if it leaves him unable to rule his country, his true dominion. When he realizes that he cannot rule the Duchess, he begins to use legal rhetoric, positioning himself verbally, if not physically, as her judge. When this tactic fails him and he relinquishes even more control, Ferdinand loses control of his reason. He develops the belief that he is a werewolf and cannot maintain a defined self. All of these events, however, begin with his unnatural sexual desire for the Duchess. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The reader realizes that something is wrong with Ferdinand's sexuality when he learns that Ferdinand is not sexually active. Ferdinand is the only character in the play who should be sexually active, and yet he is not. The cardinal is a holy man who has taken a vow of celibacy, but who is having an affair with Julia; he doesn't even seem to have any qualms about the brazen disregard he shows towards his wishes. The Duchess marries Antonio and bears him children, implying that she is very sexually active. But because she is a widow, because her brothers forbid her from remarrying, and because she promises to obey them, she should not have remarried. Even Julia engages in illicit sexual activity: she is married and is allowed to sleep with her husband, but chooses to sleep with others instead. Ferdinand, whose duty it is to father children who will reign in his place when he dies, fails to do so. The reader first recognizes that Ferdinand's unspent sexual energy is directed toward his sister when he discovers that she has had a lover. He imagines very clearly that she has engaged in "the shameful act of sin" with some boatman with strong thighs, or with one of the three lumberyards, who can turn the sleigh, or throw the tiller, or with some charming squire who carries coals to his toilet. housing. (II.5.43-46) Ferdinand also speaks of destroying his territory as effectively as he shattered his honor: I could throw his palace up to his ears, Uproot his beautiful forests, blow up his meads, And make his territory a waste. she did her honors. (II.5.18-21)Ferdinand even goes so far as to talk about cutting the duchess into pieces, then giving his handkerchief to his child to wipe away the blood. He's not just talking about punishment or retribution – he's talking about total annihilation. This reaction is even stronger compared to the Cardinal's response. The Cardinal hardly seems upset - in fact, he is surprised at Ferdinand's anger and tries to calm him down, telling him that his anger is intemperate and unnecessary. The Cardinal's only insult is aimed at the deceptive nature of women in general; he does not consider the duchess's actions as a personal injury and does not resort to any form of violence. The difference in the brothers' responses is staggering, and the fact that the two react in such opposite ways is quite telling, especially because we are told in the first act that the brothers are like twins in nature (I. 1.172). Here we see that they are actually quite disparate - Ferdinand, unlike the Cardinal, feels emotionsparticularly powerful and passionate towards her sister. Another bond that Ferdinand feels with his sister that the Cardinal does not share is that he and the Duchess are twins. . He speaks several times as if her blood were his blood - as if because she was tainted, he too; it's almost as if they're the same person. When he has her imprisoned, Bosola pities her and asks the Duke if they can give her a prayer book and a rosary so she can repent. Ferdinand refuses him. He says that “[this] body of her, / While my blood flowed there pure, was worth more / Than that which you would comfort, called soul” (IV.1.123-25). The Duchess's body, once soiled, cannot be cleansed as a soul can be purified by prayer. Once his body was defiled, so was his. Because he wishes to control her (and through her, himself), the Duchess's actions turn Ferdinand's life upside down. When he suddenly discovers that it has been used by another and that it actually belongs to another, he feels that he too is being controlled by someone else. The irony lies in the fact that it is in Ferdinand's blood to be in control, to rule, but he fails to rule his sister, and therefore also fails as a duke. Ferdinand also fails to recognize what is inside him. Although the reader realizes that Ferdinand's actions depend on jealousy, it is unclear whether Ferdinand himself understands this. When he pays Bosola to spy on the Duchess, he refuses to give a reason. After her death, he laments: “I must confess that I had a hope, / If she had remained a widow, to have gained / An infinite mass of treasures by her death; / And this was the main cause [of my anger]” (IV.2.282-285). The question remains, however: do we believe it? More importantly, does Ferdinand believe his own words? Whether his denial is real or feigned for Bosola's benefit, he will not admit his desires. At this point, Ferdinand also admits the Duchess's innocence and recognizes that he made a mistake in convicting her. He says, “I told you, when I was distracted, / Go and kill my dearest friend, and you did not” (IV.2.278-279). If he does not recognize his unnatural desire for his sister, he at least recognizes his mistake in having misjudged her. This is a clear admission that he has lost control, even over his own thoughts. Many of Ferdinand's actions now are attempts to regain that control - to feel like he's in charge again. Ferdinand achieves this goal by immediately taking on the air of a judge - the only position in his life where he cannot be usurped. In his own courthouse he is the judge and commander of the law. He uses this position to his advantage, even unfairly. Délio says that “the law for him / Is like a filthy black cobweb for a spider: / He makes it his dwelling and his prison / To entangle those who will feed him” (I.1.177-180). He becomes his sister's self-appointed judge, imprisoning her and then sentencing her to death. After having him killed, he again begins to use legal language to reassure himself of his innocence in this matter. He said to Bosola: “Was I his judge? / A form of ceremonial law / Did it condemn her to non-being? Did a full jury / Return his conviction to the court? (IV.2.300-304) With these words, Ferdinand disclaims all responsibility and places the responsibility for the murder on Bosola. He judges a man guilty, while admitting that he is not in control: he is not the judge. The Duchess never appeared before a judge and if she had, she would have been found innocent. The Duchess has committed no crime worthy of punishment by law, and certainly not punishable by death. Here Ferdinand tries to say that he didn't judge her - but he forgets to see that no onehad no right to judge her, because she was not mistaken. Ferdinand's "proof" that she had indeed done wrong was her husband. In her eyes, the existence of a lover was more than enough to condemn her. Ferdinand has an obsession with proof - proof, no matter how insignificant, allows him to justify his wrongdoing. Ferdinand's obsession began with the name of the father of the Duchess's children. Although he discovered early on that she had had a child, he waited several years and three children later to tell her because he was waiting to have the father's name. It was completely useless, but Ferdinand needed to be reassured. He also imposes his need for proof on others. To prove to the Duchess that he murdered Antonio and two of his children, he asks an artist to create wax figures depicting them posed in death and hides them in his cell. Even if his words would have been enough for her to believe them dead, he feels the need to show her, to provide her with visual confirmation. The body of the Duchess is for him proof that their blood is ruined. Because of this, he refuses to look at her once he confronts her about her supposed indiscretions. If he doesn't see her, he can't prove to himself that she did what she did. Even after his death, he said to Bosola: “Cover his face. My eyes dazzle; she died young” (IV.2.2); he doesn't want to see her or acknowledge what he did to her. He says that “she died young,” as if she had died of natural causes; this is because he is already in a state of denial, already refusing to take responsibility. Once the duchess is dead, he tells Bosola that "the wolf will find her grave and scratch it, / Not to devour the corpse, but to discover / The horrible murder" (IV.2.310-312). By this he means that her body will constitute proof that she was unjustly shot. This also foreshadows Ferdinand's illness: he thinks he is a werewolf and digs up the graves of the dead. Without proof, Ferdinand has no control. His feeling of powerlessness is at the origin of this obsession with proof: he is constantly looking for something true, something that will prove that he is whole. Our first impression of Ferdinand presents him as disjointed and ununified. The first time he is mentioned, Antonio says of him: “The duke over there? A most perverse and turbulent nature. / What appears in him as cheerfulness is only external; / If he laughs heartily, it's to laugh / All honesty has gone out of fashion. " (I.1.169-172). The idea of ​​a difference between the "outside" and the "inside" of the duke is essential: it is not only a question of what others see, but also of what he feels. “Madness is conceived as a disorder or disruption of the normative sense of the body, signifying a disorder within both the subject and the State since the leader and the monarch share the same rule according to the metaphor of the body politic” (Salkeld 60). the monarchy or reason (Salkeld 60) - in Ferdinand, it is both Ferdinand feels that the monarchy is in crisis because the duchess married below her rank, and his reason is in crisis because. he desires her but cannot have her. He loves her, and yet he must have her killed: he has mixed intentions, and because these intentions are not reconciled, he goes mad. This division in Ferdinand's psyche reveals itself in several ways. In his letter to Antonio he writes with a double meaning. He says, “I want Antonio's head in a company” and “I'd rather have Antonio's heart than his money” (III.5.28,36). Through these lines,., 1993.