Duchess of Malfi's Despair

Act 4 scene 1 in Duchess of Malfi showed an interesting insight into the characters of the Duchess and Bosola. I able to perform it and I watched it as well and was taken aback by how distraught and hopeless the Duchess has become. At the beginning of the play she is such a strong-willed woman who doesn’t dwell on death. She opposes her brothers and does as she wants. Her breaking point is in this scene when she is tricked into believing Antonio and her children are dead. She has nothing left in this world that she wishes to live for and turns into a dramatic, wailing mess. Bosola has changed from his heartless, murdering, ruthless character to one who is trying to convince the Duchess that life is worth living. “The stars shine still,” there is hope in the world and she shouldn’t just give up. It’s heartbreaking to see how much the Duchess has fallen and is looking for every possible way to get it across that she doesn’t wish to live anymore. They have switched roles in a way, to the Duchess being obsessed with death and Bosola the one who is encouraging life. This scene shows Bosola’s respect and affection for the Duchess in that he is trying to convince her to not give up.