the theme of marriage in the duchess of malfi.

Marriage is often a theme in disguise. In her first appearance on stage, the Duchess tells her brothers,“I’ll never marry” (1.1.293), and then before the scene is even over, she has proposed to and married Antonio. Clearly, she had disguised her true intentions from them. She then manages to have three children with Antonio without ever revealing their marriage, and even when the discovery of the marriage becomes imminent, she quickly devises an excuse to send Antonio out of harm’s way.