Project Gutenberg 2000-06-01 Public domain in the USA. 2724 Webster, John Webster, J. (John) The Duchess of Malfi Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Duchess_of_Malfi Produced by Gary R. Young and David Widger "The Duchess of Malfi" by John Webster is a tragedy written during the early 17th century. The play explores themes of ambition, power, and the struggles of women in a patriarchal society through the lens of its central character, the Duchess, who defies societal norms by seeking love and remarriage after being widowed. At the start of the play, we are introduced to Antonio and Delio, who engage in discussions about the corrupt nature of court life. They reflect on characters like Bosola, a cynical courtier, and the Duchess's controlling brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal, foreshadowing the central conflicts that will arise from the Duchess's desire for autonomy. The opening also highlights the nuances of social dynamics within the court, setting the stage for the ensuing tragedy as the Duchess boldly proclaims her intention to marry again, despite her brothers' warnings and societal expectations. This establishes a tense atmosphere rife with implications of betrayal and moral ambiguity that permeates the play. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 83.0 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Tragedies (Drama) English drama -- 17th century Siblings -- Drama Retribution -- Drama PR Text Harvard Classics Category: Plays/Films/Dramas Category: British Literature 230645 2025-08-01T12:39:54.230473 text/html 226154 2013-02-08T12:40:38 text/html; charset=us-ascii 76122 2013-02-08T12:40:38 text/html; charset=us-ascii application/zip 145132 2025-08-01T12:40:01.496437 application/epub+zip 152198 2025-08-01T12:39:56.080438 application/epub+zip 152198 2025-08-01T12:39:54.902433 application/epub+zip 269954 2025-08-01T12:40:03.994422 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 292044 2025-08-01T12:40:00.786437 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 266801 2022-09-01T14:16:24.163855 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 194103 2025-08-01T12:39:53.808461 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 193891 2012-07-20T08:55:06 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 71077 2012-07-20T08:57:42 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 18972 2025-08-01T12:40:04.285416 application/rdf+xml 12591 2025-08-01T12:39:55.445433 image/jpeg 3395 2025-08-01T12:39:55.184437 image/jpeg 142205 2025-08-01T12:39:54.247474 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia