Criminal Bosola starts the play as an immoral criminal He does the dirty work for money Ferdinand and the Cardinal the Duchess s corrupt brothers hire him to spy on the Duchess Ferdinand sets him as a stable master at the Duchess s court Bosola pretends to serve the Duchess but reports her actions to her brothers Bosola says Sir I served your tyranny and rather strove To satisfy yourself than all the world It shows that Bosola is immoral He is ready to do anything to serve his masters Bosola is also a contract killer Before the events of the play he spent time in jail for murdering a man on the orders of the Cardinal Thus he is a Machiavellian villain who is ready to do anything for his gain A Cunning Spy Bosola is a very cunning spy He is clever and knows how to use his words He uses his keen observation to spy on the Duchess For example he finds out about the Duchess s secret marriage and pregnancy using small clues like apricots Bosola uses his intelligence not for good reason but to serve corrupt masters It is another quality of a Machiavellian villain Ruthless and Lacking Conscience Bosola is a ruthless and unkind person He unhesitatingly follows orders to torture the Duchess His actions indicate his lack of conscience at first Though the Duchess is kind to him he imprisons her To follow Ferdinand s order Bosola tortures the Duchess in her prison brutally Bosola even tries to torment her psychologically For example he shows her wax figures that look like her dead husband Antonio and children He tries to break her spirit Bosola disguises himself as a tomb-maker and says she will be killed He says I am a tomb-maker Eventually Ferdinand orders Bosola to bring some executioners The executioners strangle the Duchess and her two children Moral Conflict and Regret Although Bosola is a villain he is not completely heartless We see moral ambiguity in his character After the murder of the Duchess he begins to feel regret He admits I am angry with myself now that I wake This line shows his regret It becomes a turning point for his character This line shows that Bosola is not purely evil which makes him more human He becomes a complex Machiavellian villain Instrument of Revenge At the end of the play Bosola becomes the instrument of revenge He becomes outrageous when Ferdinand refuses to pay him He decides to take revenge on the brothers He changes sides and plans to help Antonio by killing Ferdinand and the Cardinal However he accidentally kills Antonio This fact suggests that it is not easy to suddenly become good and moral The play ends with many deaths Ferdinand the Cardinal and Bosola all die In his final moment Bosola realises the world is full of evil He says O this gloomy world deep pit of darkness In conclusion Bosola is a clever but immoral criminal He lies spies and causes suffering without caring about right or wrong Though he later feels guilty his actions lead to tragedy He follows the Machiavellian path but suffers for it in the end