In “The Duchess of Malfi”, the characterization of the protagonists allows the concept of death to be explored in depth. Webster's portrait of the Duchess marks her embrace of death as she seems prepared for her fate, while the Cardinal appears terrified when truly exposed to the idea of ​​mortality. This is due to their contrasting beliefs regarding the afterlife - as the Duchess is convinced that she will unite with her loved ones after death, whereas the Cardinal shows no ushc beliefs. This suggests that even though the characters are aware of death, their ignorance of what may await them impacts how they perceive their ending. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay. Webster captures the characters' awareness of death via their ability to accept their ending - this is particularly evident in relation to the Duchess's execution scene. Despite the fact that the Duchess is fully aware of her inevitable end, she remains calm and "kneels" to her death. She then simply states "in case of violent death" – this marks her serene nature, as Webster suggests that she is almost satisfied with her sentence. The Duchess's unflappable attitude is marked by her cry "I am still the Duchess of Malfi", which demonstrates once again that although she is aware of her physical end, she is also aware that her name will live on through the story. This contrasts with the presentation of the cardinal, who fears death rather than accepting it. This is illustrated by Webster's use of the cardinal's short cries in his death scene, such as "Help!" », “My duchy for a rescue! », “Help, help, help!” », thus presenting his death as much less graceful. . RS White considers the Duchess' death to be somewhat valiant, describing the play as "the tragedy of a virtuous woman who achieves heroism through her death". This highlights her courage, indicating that she is clearly aware of mortality, unlike the Cardinal who remains determined to escape death. It can also be argued that Webster's decision to describe the duchess's death as courageous is evidence of his nature as an author with feminist tendencies. This is because Webster almost illustrates the Duchess as superior to her male subjects - many of whom are afraid of death (notably the Cardinal and Ferdinand). This positive presentation is well ahead of Webster's time, as in the 17th century women were widely considered inferior and significantly weaker than men. It is therefore somewhat ironic that Webster chose to subvert this stereotype and allow his female protagonist to adopt a role with many conventionally masculine traits. It could be debated whether this approach by Webster is a consequence of the contemporary societal context, as throughout the 1600s death was by no means unusual - particularly in the city of London which was often plagued by disease. The high rates of infant mortality and homicide likely influenced Webster's view, as it is evident that death was considered normal to some extent. Despite the Duchess's apparent acceptance of death, her awareness of what happens after death differs from other characters in the play. The Duchess turns out to be a devout believer in the afterlife; for example, when speaking to Antonio, she explains that they "will know each other in the other world." This allows Webster to suggest that the Duchess's faith in a safe afterlife is what keeps her..