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MALFI CHARACTERS- FERDINAND - Coggle Diagram
MALFI CHARACTERS- FERDINAND
ACT 1
CORRUPTION
Antonio, in his initial introduction (page 18 and 19), is very scathing about the brothers, speaking about their facade. they have this exterior that is so far from their inherent nature.
ferdinands corruption is revealed as the play goes on, the insidious nature of both brothers is slowly revealed to the other characters and the audience.
CONTROL
the scene where they very directly order her to never marry again. obsession with protecting the lineage and their reputation.
quote on page 26- light and dark imagery
the poignard
the importance of this prop. in act one, it has a sexual innuendo, erotically charged language alongside this fallic image. the idea that ferdinand may have ancestral feelings is introduced.
also about the idea of possession, the idea he wouldn't want to get it 'rusty'.
ACT 2
discovering the duchess' child
only really present in act 2, scene 5.
this scene is exceptionally important, it is when he pledges revenge against the duchess. moreover, he imagines her through a sexual lens, making his incestous feelings towards her more apparent
he's received the letter (this is another important prop- form point)
he's violently angry, in RSC production at the Sam Wanamaker the actor is spitting, visibly infuriated, frothing at the mouth.
page 62, this whole speech about 'boiling' 'burning', really violent desires, explosive, he is absolutely enraged, taking it as a personal attack on him. context- women as male property
the theory of the humours relates here, Ferdinand is related to choler here. contrast between ferdinands visible rage and the cardinals more level headed reaction.
ACT 3
the duchess has had three children at this point.
page 65, hamartia of the duchess, she directly refers to rumours referring to her as a 'strumpet'. Ferdinand convinces her that if these were true (which they are), that he would love her regardless. this is so blatantly duplicitous, as he has literally just been violently expressing his rage and plans for revenge. juxtaposition emphasises the extent to his duplicity as well as the duchess' naivety.
the duchess then immediately trusts him. she is naive, she doesn't see through his false assurances.
the bedchamber issue
Ferdinand eavesdrops on her confessing her love for Antonio, she believes this is who she's speaking to
an absolute invasion, innapropriate, shocking. regardless of whether this is a contemporary or modern audeince, this is disturbing, especially because he's doing it with ill intent. to discover her secrets.
Alexander W Allison, calls this moment a 'morbid complex of attraction and antagonism'
the same as the poignard, the idea that he is threatening and wants control, there is something menacing about his actions, but also something perverse
the duchess reaction-- all of ferdiands attempts to unsettle her, to disturb her- fail. she is aware that Ferdinand now has some power over her at this point, she will meet it defiantly, but this is still worrysome. he has control over her fate at this point
the poignard returns
structurally important, this physical object, much like ferdinands presence in the room, represents his attraction and antagonism, echoes act 1.
in this scene though, it is different, as he offers it to her to kill herself. this would be extraordinarily sinful at the time.
but at the same time, he is giving her control over her own life in this moment, this is another kind of deception, as in the back of his mind he is planning to kill her, yet she believes she has control over whether she lives or dies.
except ultimtely, Ferdinand is not even the one in control, it is the cardinal, as the Machiavellian.
'eclipse thee' - light and dark imagery. is he referring to her lust overshadowing her virtue?
page 73- the notion of reputation, how much it can be restored.
he also vows never to see the duchess ever again
ACT 4
the dead mans hand
the wax figures
now that the duchess is imprisoned, he is sadistically torturing her, ploys to destroy her mental fortitude and derange her.
this is so ironic, because as he seeks to drive the duchess to insanity, she remains immune, while Ferdinand is driven to dispair, to lycanthropic
the madmen
seems really contrary to his supposed love for her, its less like he has affection for her and more like he is hyperfixated, obssessed, has claimed possession.
he is th one to tell bosola to kill the duchess, does this make his culpible? or the cardinal for controlling him.
ACT 5
Ferdinand gets lycanthropy
this is an important character development for ferdinand, -intense melancholy caused perhaps by subconscious guilt
superstious beliefs about this condition, that you've made pacts with the devil, or demonic agencies. he is aligned with satan again
the irony of this decent into madness- as he intends to cause the supon his sister, and instead caused it upon himself
tries to throttle his own shadow- completely devoid of rationality. page 129- context- people fear their shadows if they are guilty
the idea that he has become a 'wolf', he is seperating himself from his actions, failing to face what he's done
synonyms for evil- nefarious, iniquity
ferdinands death
page 148. he, like the cardinal, bosola, dies at the end of the play
potential sense of catharsis from the audience at his death, relief that they will not be able to cause any more destruction, that the oldest son has escaped his tyrany.
all these deaths happening simealtaneously- it is a revenge tragedy- this is arguably the characters receiving consequences for the duchess' death
Ferdinand's final lines
they are another proverb 'whether we fall....dust' the idea that the decisions that you make have certain consequences, the idea that what you destroy will eventually destroy you- unescapable fate (links to the idea of tragedy, through Websters use of genre there is a sense of inescapable fate)
triplet could relate to the three villainous characters, or the idea that these are the three things Ferdinand wanted from his sister.