Religion and Oppression in Duchess of Malfi

• "He is a melancholy churchman" - Antonio
• "You may thank me. I pray thee kiss me. Still you are to thank me" - Cardinal to Julia

Religion as an Oppressor and Mouthpiece for Misogyny

• Subservience of Adam and Eve; they didn't choose their place
• Contextual link to Milton's rejection of the Calvinistic notion of predetermination
• Similarly, the characters in The Duchess of Malfi are predestined in a way
• Reference to the Wheel of Fortune and the idea of a sealed fate
• Is this fate religious and linked to free will?
• Webster was writing at a time of religious corruption, for example, the court of King James I
• Adam manipulated God's authority as a way to oppress Eve
• Link to Cardinal using his authority over Julia (her death)
• Religious anxieties were high in the 17th century, with Milton writing within a culture war between Protestantism and Catholicism
• "I have bound thee to't by death" - Cardinal poisoning Julia with Holy Bible - hermeneutical perversion
• Bowers suggests that Eve is inclined to disobedience when alone; however, her first independent decision is correct
• This suggests that her inferiority is of faith, not of intellect, yet she pays gravely for this
• Her choice contributes greatly to archetypal misogyny
• Why would God make Eve inherently curious?

Religious Justice/Eschatological Redemption

• "Like diamonds, we are cut with our own dust"
• Despite the Duchess' religious transgressions, she still turns to religion and finds hope in the notion of eschatological redemption
• This could be seen either as an art of desperation or an appeal to the intrinsic inclination towards religious beliefs which underlies psychological frameworks
• The Duchess' rejection of religious validity would have resonated with a 17th-century audience who were leaning towards Protestantism and away from arbitrary church teachings
• After the fall, Adam and Eve are punished by God
• Despite their transgressions, and particularly Eve's dedication to her alternate beliefs, the pair end up willingly submitting to God
• Eve's divine authority with book X ending in a tautological catharsis, whereby we see a "reditus" to natural order
• This can again be viewed from dual perspectives
• God is manipulative; Adam and Eve repentance is not genuine, but governed by fear
• As their creator, Adam and Eve are inherently inclined to subservience
• Milton & proportionality of justice
• The punishments of Adam and Eve are related to the roles they failed to fulfil
• Satan's too - he transgresses into a realm that he is unwelcome in, refusing to accept his place in the hierarchy as an outcast
• As such, he is forced to grove below those he attempted to live alongside
• Proportional handling of crime and punishment is arbitrary and excessive
• There are questions about fate, the character's predetermination, how much the character has a role in their own tragedy, and if the neglect of faith & piety is the reason for moral chaos

Corruption and Perversion of Religion

• Dom. The Cardinal and his mistreatment of religious authority, explained in relation to Julia, Duchess, Bosola
• This includes mistreating and controlling Duchess, poisoning a holy bible and killing Julia, and using Bosola and his need for social advance to carry out his own misdeeds
• The Roman Catholic Church assured salvation to individuals who submitted to clerical authority, which is clearly exploitative; specifically in a modern audience
• It could be argued that God is immoral to create Adam and Eve inherently curious, in a garden of paradoxical paradise, only then to offer them salvation should they deny their inherent nature
• In the same way that the Cardinal manipulates Bosola as a mouthpiece for his own ambitions & actions, God creates Adam and Eve to fulfil his ambitions for humanity by procreating
• Both figures exert excessive control over seemingly inferior figures, using their religious authority to elevate themselves to positions of superiority
• The role of religion in Dom; characters acknowledge the danger of sin, hell, the devil
• Despite this, figures aren't deterred from sinning, even egregiously
• Religion is not a force for good
• Duchess' conflicting view of religion; hopes for afterlife mean she can die in peace
• However, in life, she seems to view religion as Superstition
• For example, when devising an escape plan Bosola suggests pretending to go on a pilgrimage
• Coriola says not to "jest with religion" & Duchess calls her a "superstitious fool."
• Cardinal @Duchess: marking "religion her riding hood."
• Overall, religion is acknowledged but ignored.

Dichotomy of Satan and God

• "The reason why the poem is so good is because it makes God so bad." - Epsom
• "Milton's devil as a moral being is far superior to his God." - Percy Shelley
• Whist religion in Dom is presented as a tool for corruption, in PL corruption occurs because of an anti-religious force
• Satan is a force of destruction in contrast to God as a creator force
• Eve blasphemes "not following thee, I had remained in ignorance," to Satan after eating apple as the calls God "our great forecloser"
• Same inversion and religious tragedy imagery
• When Adam eats from the tree it "tastes so divine", calls the tree the virtuous tree, and Eve reveres Asatan as Adam reveres Eve
• Sin and Death are failed Adam and Eve instructed to cause havoc and destruction, not "be fruitful and multiply"
• In Paradise Lost, the role of "religion" is more fundamental, demonstrated more as the idea of Obedience to God