The Duchess Of Malfi: Act 2
Act 2, scene 1
- Castruccio tells Bosola he is ambitious to raise his social rank and become an
“eminent courtier”
• B ridicules him and gives terrible advice, a demonstration of his desire to
distance himself from social climbing in order to retain his melancholy and
ambition-less guise
- Bosola compares an old lady’s use of make-up to “witchcraft”
• B displays the Jacobean belief that cosmetics are akin to evil sorcery, as they
improve on a face made by God
• His strong dislike of cosmetics is indicative of his moral values, he seems to
hate lying and deceit more than murder
- Bosola suggests that mankind cannot escape its animalism
• Refers to an “ulcerous wolf” and says “we bear diseases which have their true
names only taken from beasts”
• Foreshadows Ferdinand’s werewolf disease of Act 5
- Bosola observes the Duchess’s appearance and becomes suspicious
• He notes that “she pukes, her stomach seethes, the fins of her eyelids look
most teeming blue”, and she “wears a loose-bodied gown” which is “contrary
to our Italian fashion”
• He decides to feed the Duchess “apricocks” as it was believed that eating
unripe apricots would induce labour in a pregnant woman
• This is a devious physical assertion of male authority over the female body
- Bosola convinces Antonio that he has no desire to raise his status
• He tells him “I look no higher than I can reach”
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, • B also gives a speech regarding wisdom and folly, concluding that knowing too
much can lead to foolishness, which is ironic due to B’s position as a spy,
gathering information which will lead to chaos
• It is difficult to determine at this point how much of B’s melancholy is his true
character and how much is his performance as a spy attempting to seem
unambitious
• Another of B’s ideas indicates that class is irrelevant, he says of every person
“the like passions sway them”, all humans are equal because they are moved
by the same passions
- The Duchess thinks she is being subtle about her pregnancy, but since B already
suspects her he catches her double meanings and becomes more suspicious
• She says she is “troubled with the mother” (meaning hysteria), and Bosola
replies knowingly “I fear, too much.”
• She remarks “How they swell me!” in regards to the apricots, and he responds
“Nay, you are too much swelled already” referring to her pregnant stomach
• B also notes “Good, her colour rises” when she reddens from excitement,
which he takes as another sign of pregnancy, as well as her “cold sweat”
• B deceptively feigns apology that the apricots made her ill “I am very sorry”
- Delio suggests the idea of using Bosola’s bad reputation to conceal D’s
pregnancy
• Recommends that Antonio “Give out that Bosola hath poisoned her”
Act 2, scene 2
- The Old Lady seems to take abuse from Bosola every time she walks onstage
• Strong retaliation, she accuses him of “abusing women”
• Though B is paid to be cruel to D, these interactions with the Old Lady suggest
that he does in fact have a generally sour nature
- The information that the Duchess has been poisoned begins to spread
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