THE DOM

Wenjia feels extremely guilty for sleeping the whole afternoon away
so her entry is dedicated to literature.
THE DOM-Duchess of Malfi by John Webster.

Introduction-
The startling violence, the unbelievable plot twists, the mysterious motives of the brothers, and the calm strength of the Duchess have made The Duchess of Malfi a subject for fierce debate for hundreds of years. Critics and reviewers have loved or hated the play, with equal fervor.

-Characters
DUCHESS OF MALFI

Critics refer her presence as her 'strength in weakness'
She is seemingly powerless against her Aragon Brothers but yet she hold the prestigous title that she is 'Duchess of Malfi still'

Webster gives us no absolute and fixed guidance to settle our opinions as to her character and personality. She is a hero who is falliable with significant flaws.

The Duchess is consistently open and direct. She is lusty and she knows it, shows it to Antonio in their bedroom in a riposte full of sexual innuendo.
'What pleasure can two lovers find in sleep?'
She is mildly more modest to Ferdinand in defense of her marriage,'I have youth and a little beauty'

Her boldness and impetuosity can be seen in her determination to marry, in her choice of husband, in her desire to live life away from the limelight in an abdication of her responsibilty to exercise authority, in her denial of the advantages of birth. and thus to 'put off all vain ceremony'. We perceive this as undeniable strength. She has more dominant will than any who surround her. She wants to remarry, She decides her husband will be her steward. She wants children and is skilful enough to produce them whilst still concealing their existence.
When her cover is blown and her brothers learns of her 'disobedience', she very nearly escapes.

ONLY bosola is ever a match for her and only he sometimes. It is true he tricks her into captivity, but in the end he has to acknowledge her worth, her innocence and 'behavior so noble As gives a majesty to adversity' and confirms Antonio's opinion made at the start of her 'such noble virtue'

Attiude towards Religion

Ambivalent -> the coexistence within an individual of positive and negative feelings toward the same person, object, or action, simultaneously drawing him or her in opposite directions.

She is dismissive of what she sees as the superficial and credulous practises of its adherents.
When her maid is critical of her projected and feigned pilgrimage to Loretto she instinctively admonishes Cariola as a 'superstitious fool'. Yet at the moment of her violent death, she faces heaven calmly, knowing that 'they that enter there, must go upon their knees'