Bosola & Mitch
Failed Protectors / Complicit Men
Bosola and Mitch occupy morally ambiguous middle ground between heroes and villains, representing men who fail to protect vulnerable women despite their capacity to do so. Bosola serves as Ferdinand's spy and executioner, yet experiences profound moral crisis and ultimately attempts (too late) to save the Duchess and avenge her death. Mitch courts Blanche with genuine affection but abandons her when Stanley exposes her sexual past, becoming complicit in her destruction.
Both men are defined by their failures: Bosola's belated recognition and futile vengeance, Mitch's cowardice and betrayal. They reveal how patriarchy corrupts not only through active cruelty (Ferdinand, Stanley) but through passive complicity—men who know better but lack the courage or integrity to act. Webster's Bosola achieves tragic redemption through sacrificial violence; Williams's Mitch achieves nothing, remaining pathetically ineffectual. Their comparison exposes different models of masculine moral failure and the slim possibilities for redemption within patriarchal systems.
Key Similarity
Both men could have saved the women they claim to care about—and didn't. Both prioritize male loyalty codes over female welfare.
Key Difference
Bosola achieves tragic self-awareness and attempts (futile) redemption through violence. Mitch remains pathetically oblivious and permanently ineffectual.