Boundaries and Disgust in The Duchess of Malfi.

This essay examines disgust as the primary emotional mode in John Webster's early modern tragedy *The Duchess of Malfi*, arguing that the play thematically collapses key existential boundaries—such as those between social classes, kinship ties, species, and life and death—thereby generating an atmosphere of disgust. Drawing on modern affective science, disgust is identified as an emotion that protects both the physical body from contaminants and the social body from symbolic violations, making it central to the regulation of boundaries. The analysis highlights how characters, especially Ferdinand and the Duchess, are associated with imagery of corruption, disease, and bodily violation, reflecting anxieties about sexuality, incest, social rank, and human-animal distinctions. Ultimately, the essay situates disgust as a conceptual principle in *The Duchess of Malfi*, revealing how the play uses revulsion to explore and negotiate the instability of identity and social order in the early modern period.