The Reluctant Informer: Humanising the Beast

Even more so than Iago, or Middleton’s Vindice, Webster’s Bosola is the quintessential combination of informer and actor. His self-conscious Machiavellian role in the Duchess’s tragedy includes much metadramatic structure and some self-reflection on the typical actor who is cursed, or occasionally prosecuted, for playing the part of the villain. As this complex character’s conscience gets the better of him, his resistance to the role allotted him feeds into contemporary discourses on the nature of the informer, as much as it does into theatrical controversies and apologetics. The fact that his resistance comes too late for the Duchess, and ultimately for himself, works as an effective social commentary and satirical invective on these discussions surrounding both acting and informing. His activities finally come to rest at the feet of the authorities which instigate and fund them.