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Ferdinand’s self-hood: lycanthropy and agency in the Duchess of Malfi

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Date Issued:
2013
Summary:
John Webster’s play The Duchess of Malfi subverts early modern hierarchical structures of matter and life by characterizing the human body as fundamentally deceptive and inferior to the animal body. Through close readings of Bosola’s meditations and Ferdinand’s lycanthropy, I consider how Webster constructs animals as simplistic creatures that enjoy a desirable existence, where body and soul are continuous. Within Webster’s play, the dualist conflict between human body and human soul is a primary subject of discourse. Various human characters see animal existence as preferential, as they view animals as automated creatures that do not suffer the self-consciousness that humans do. This model of animal existence further increases the thematic significance of Ferdinand’s lycanthropy, which I argue is an escape from the discontinuity between the human body and human soul.
Title: Ferdinand’s self-hood: lycanthropy and agency in the Duchess of Malfi.
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Name(s): Boyle, Connor, author
Low, Jennifer A., Thesis advisor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Degree grantor
Department of English
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: single unit
Date Created: Fall 2013
Date Issued: 2013
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Physical Form: Online Resource
Extent: 44 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: John Webster’s play The Duchess of Malfi subverts early modern hierarchical structures of matter and life by characterizing the human body as fundamentally deceptive and inferior to the animal body. Through close readings of Bosola’s meditations and Ferdinand’s lycanthropy, I consider how Webster constructs animals as simplistic creatures that enjoy a desirable existence, where body and soul are continuous. Within Webster’s play, the dualist conflict between human body and human soul is a primary subject of discourse. Various human characters see animal existence as preferential, as they view animals as automated creatures that do not suffer the self-consciousness that humans do. This model of animal existence further increases the thematic significance of Ferdinand’s lycanthropy, which I argue is an escape from the discontinuity between the human body and human soul.
Identifier: FA0004008 (IID)
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.
Subject(s): Demonic possession -- Psychological aspects
English drama -- Early modern and Elizabethan -- Criticism and interpretation
Mind and body in literature
Webster, John -- 1580? 1625 -- Criticism and interpretation
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library
Sublocation: Boca Raton, Fla.
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA0004008
Restrictions on Access: All rights reserved by the source institution
Restrictions on Access: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU