How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line)
Quote #4
I have heard you say that the French
courtiers wear their hats on 'fore the King.
[…]
Why should we not bring up that fashion?
'Tis ceremony more than duty that consists
In the removing of a piece of felt.
Be you the example to the rest o'th'court,
Put on your hat first. (2.1.119-28)
The Duchess figures that court protocol is really more like guidelines than actual rules. She wants to rule her court according to what makes sense to her, not according to weird rules that don't seem have any point. Why should people have to take off their hats in front of the king? Why shouldn't she marry who she wants?
Quote #5
Duchess: They have done wisely.
This puts me in mind of death: physicians thus,
With their hands full of money, use to give o'er
Their patients.
Antonio: Right the fashion of the world:
From decayed fortunes every flatterer shrinks,
Men cease to build where the foundation sinks. (3.5.7-11)
Now that things have started to really go south for the Duchess, most of her servants have abandoned her as she and Antonio flee her court. While it may seem kind of ungrateful for the servants to have left her flying solo, the Duchess herself understands their decision. As a fallen prince, she's no longer in a reciprocal relationship with them. She's ceased to function as their "foundation," so there's no reason for them to stick around.
Quote #6
Farewell Cariola
In my last will I have not much to give:
A many hungry guests have fed upon me.
Thine will be a poor reversion. (4.2.189-92)
To Cariola's credit, she sticks with the Duchess until the very end. As she heads to her execution, the Duchess laments that she isn't able to reciprocate Cariola's loyalty with the kind of princely pay-off typically ensured to the "hungry guests" of a ruler. Take note, also, of the Duchess's use of the word "will" here—she's used it before (see Quote #2), and here again it retains its double sense of "legal document adjudicating property" and "personal desire." How would you describe the status of the Duchess's "will" at this point in the play?