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The Duchess of Malfi | Sexual and Social Mobility in The Duchess of Malfi
In the following essay excerpt, Frank Whigham explores the changing social landscape evident in The Duchess of Malfi, specifically through the characters of Antonio and Bosola.
II. Social Mobility
With Antonio we turn to the issue of upward mobility seen from below. Antonio and Bosola are presented as members of the new class of instrumental men, functional descendants of fifteenth-century retainers who fought the Wars of the Roses for their masters. Under Henry VIII and Elizabeth some of these men came to major power, and many more served in lesser capacities, often as bureaucratic specialists but also as all-purpose henchmen. Wallace MacCaffrey notes that ‘‘the practice of...
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- The Duchess of Malfi: Introduction
- The Duchess of Malfi: Summary
- The Duchess of Malfi: John Webster Biography
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The Duchess of Malfi: Summary and Analysis
- Act 1, Scene 1: Summary and Analysis
- Act 1, Scene 2: Summary and Analysis
- Act 2, Scenes 1-2: Summary and Analysis
- Act 2, Scenes 3-5: Summary and Analysis
- Act 3, Scenes 1-2: Summary and Analysis
- Act 3, Scenes 3-5: Summary and Analysis
- Act 4, Scene 1: Summary and Analysis
- Act 4, Scene 2: Summary and Analysis
- Act 5, Scene 1: Summay and Analysis
- Act 5, Scene 2: Summary and Analysis
- Act 5, Scenes 3-5: Summary and Analysis
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The Duchess of Malfi: Quizzes
- Act 1, Scene 1: Questions and Answers
- Act 1, Scene 2: Questions and Answers
- Act 2, Scenes 1-2: Questions and Answers
- Ace 2, Scenes 3-5: Questions and Answers
- Act 3, Scenes 1-2: Questions and Answers
- Act 3, Scenes 3-5: Questions and Answers
- Act 4, Scene 1: Questions and Answers
- Act 4, Scene 2: Questions and Answers
- Act 5, Scene 1: Questions and Answers
- Act 5, Scenes 2: Questions and Answers
- Act 5, Scene 3-5: Questions and Answers
- The Duchess of Malfi: Themes
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