Instances of Ferdinand’s incestuous feelings occur throughout the play. In Act I, for instance, Ferdinand speaks offensively toward his sister finally calling her a "lusty widow" (I, ii). In response to the Duchess’ remarriage, he treats her with continued scorn & violent behavior. When the true identity of her husband is discovered, Ferdinand opts to wait until the Duchess is dead before attempting to kill Antonio. Ferdinand’s use of dead man’s hand ["Here’s a hand/ To which you have vowed much love; the ring upon’t/ You gave" (IV.i)] suggests a sort of phallic significance (Leech 58).

However, it must be noted that despite the shifting religious views of the period, the 16th and 17th centuries were definitely patriarchal societies, with the father/husband seen as the supreme ruler of his children/wives. A single woman was subject to t he rule of her father until her majority. Most women were married before her majority. There were certain societal functions in place to assure the marriage of a woman before her majority. She was jeered at and made to feel socially unacceptable if she reached her majority unmarried. Names such as "old maid" and "spinster" were used to denigrate her status and encourage her to marry. Her chastity was often questioned . As a single, unmarried woman, she could not own or sell property, draw up her wi ll or initiate law suits (Jankowski, 24). Every possible device was used by society to pressure a single woman into marriage.

During this period, there were three types of women: single women, married women and widowed women. As noted above, the single woman was considered her father’s chattel and under heavy pressure to marry. Only through marriage did she gain any measure of power and control, and then usually only over her own household. Even with marriage, a woman held no legal identity or rights. Widows, on the other hand, did have legal identities and legal rights(Jankowski, 36).