critics

• “no matter the rank of the woman, she is dealt with primarily as a wife who must show complete obedience and humility to her husband” ~ Diana Bornstein 
• “Ferdinand has an obsessive hatred with sexuality” ~McLuskie
• “The duchess’ soliloquy has the male tone of the renaissance hero” ~ Frank Whingam
• “Let old wives report the duchess is mocking conventional heroic values” ~ Haber
• “Stereotypes of the highly sexed widow voiced by her brother […] her marriage to Antonio is depicted as wilful and wanton” ~ Leech and Calderwood
• "Female desire is seen as “a disease and a monstrous abnormality” ~ Dympna Callaghan
• “Steps out of the path of duty and marries for lust” ~ Lisa Jardine
• “The dogged sexiness of the Duchess of Mafi- not to mention her ravenous cravings in pregnancy- has troubled and intrigued audiences for centuries” ~ Linda Woodbridge
• “if he must play the villain, then he has decided to be a sufficient one”~ Fredson Bowers
• “Complete darkness played upon fears about the devil, witchcraft, and demonic possession”= Karim Cooper
• “Creates a network of imagery related to the light and darkness”~ Karim Cooper