Infidelity and Injustice: The Revenger’s Tragedy’s Treatment of the Duchess Through a Satirical Lens Puja Harikumar College

One of the main motifs of Thomas Middleton’s play, The Revenger’s Tragedy is the correlation between a woman’s virtue and her chastity. A prime example of this would be how Castiza, one of the only women in the play who is not painted in a villainous light by the narrative (in the sense that no one in the play ever criticizes her for being a bad person) has a name that literally means ‘chaste’. Another example would be of how Antonio’s wife is glorified within the text for committing suicide upon being raped in order to preserve her chastity. On the other hand, characters like the duchess, a member of the family that Vindice has sworn revenge on, has no issue with seducing her own stepson in order to take revenge on her husband. However, further observation of the text, (while bearing in mind the possibility that the play was really meant to be a parody of the revenge tragedy genre) has led me to believe that while the duchess’s adultery is not the primary reason why Middleton depicts her as a villain, nor is it meant to be her defining characteristic. After proving this play a satire, this essay will examine the lens through which other characters in the play view the duchess, to prove that her character is meant to be viewed...