The film "The Duchess" is about the life of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, born in 7th June 1757 to John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer and Margaret Georgiana Poyntz. Her parents arranged a marriage for Georgiana with William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire and they married on the 7th June 1774 she was aged 17yrs. In those days arranged marriages between the aristocracy was normal, Young women being attached to older men was normal. Her role as a wife was to beget an heir, which after a few miscarriages she bore him two daughters. Charlotte was from a previous dalliance of the Duke before his marriage to Georgiana, she had no choice when Charlotte was brought into the household as portrayed in the film. He never spoke to her and in the film you see Georgiana discussing this with her mother, who gives her the advice of sticking with it and try and produce an heir.
After six years of marriage they are now shown at a ball where Georgiana see's William - the duke eyeing up Lady Elizabeth Foster( This lady is going to play a very big part in the marriage), Georgiana found a friend in Lady Bess and enjoyed her company - in more ways than one I may add, as seen in the film!! But this relationship does break down, Georgiana goes to London to be at a political rally to support Mr. Charles Grey, (another important figure in her life) and her distant cousin Mr. William Fox of the Whig party, her popularity was very high at the time as she was seen as approachable and had that magnetism, charisma to draw a crowd. After the rally is over the connection with Charles Grey and Georgiana is set, a bond of love between them but at this moment they do not act upon the instinct.
Georgiana goes back home only to find her husband in bed with her best friend Lady Bess. She argues with the duke that he had taken the one friend that she called her own, that she had accepted his dalliance with other women, but to take her friend was beyond the lines she was prepared to cross. His reply was that he had done his duty in the marriage but she had not as a wife, meaning not begetting an heir, she asks him to send Bess away and he said he would not.
Georgiana goes back to her mother, who persuaded her not to give up her position as wife in the household, that she must accept the affair and be a loving wife as she has no other option. Divorce then was not common and if it was a woman near enough came out worse. If we think today is a man's, man's world in those days women had no opinion, no power, no rights, it was the case of put up and shut up.
Lady Bess told Georgiana that she did it to get her own children back, as the Duke was influential. She says that there is no limits a person would do to get her own children back from her abusive husband. Lady Bess does get her three boys back and Georgiana is left distraught. So she has a meeting with Charles Grey, she so wants to lean on him for support, Charles said to her she was a person who always craved the attention of people, of been known to want to be loved as she gave her compassion freely.
So she goes back home and during breakfast asks her husband William for a deal, she will accept the relationship with Lady Bess and him if he would accept her relationship with Charles Grey as he makes her happy. William incensed at the thought of being cuckold and says why should he accept this deal, he is in charge ( being the man he has nothing to gain from this deal and Georgiana has everything to gain, a loving, caring Lover) Georgiana storms out of the room and William follows into which they argue, that he expects loyalty and a male heir and so during the height of the argument he rapes her. Afterwards William says, give me a son, stay here and do as I say. As said before what choice does she have but to stay in a loveless marriage, in which she finally bore him a son, William George Spencer, Marquess of Hartington, in which he was nicknamed Hart, Georgiana kept up with her political leanings as her cousin Mr Fox won his election to Parliament and so had Charles Grey with her influence on the voters - even in those times not every man could vote, only the high class and some middle class.
After the birth of their son, William - the duke paid Georgiana handsomely almost like a reward for giving him a son and he goes off to London to celebrate the birth. Back at the house, Georgiana throws a party in which secretly Lady Bess has invited Charles Grey which Bess warns Georgiana to act discreetly and so she finally begins her affair with Charles, she finds real love and passion at last- sex was not a chore to beget heirs but to delve in pleasure. Georgiana moves to Bath, while her husband and Bess stay at home with the children. But it doesn't last, people see them together to often and suspect the affair between them ( as usual it's OK for a man to have mistresses, but a woman it was heavily frowned upon). Her husband William turns up with her mother to persuade her to return home and give up her affair with Charles, William threatens to ruin Charles and says if she stays, she will no longer see her children in which he suddenly has a supply of notes from them. Georgiana goes away for a while to think it through and decides to stay with Charles Grey, William and her mother leave her and in going William leaves the notes on the chair for her to read. Which does the trick, she reads the loving letters from her children and rushes back home to be with them. William said that it was common decency for her be there with her children and his wife rather than to give over to personal gratitude ( another example of a man's world, it's OK for a man to seek personal gratitude, but for a woman it's scandalous and indecent). Georgiana likens her return to the family home as a prison, that she must endure the mistresses, Charles Grey enters her home and shouts for Georgiana, she goes to him and he asks her to divorce William and marry him, be a free woman and have boys or girls. But she rejects him by saying how can she abandon her children, though she does not reveal to him that she is carrying his child. William in hearing the news sends her away into the country and Bess goes with her, the bond of friendship between them in time returns. After the birth of her daughter Eliza, she has to give her away to Charles father to much distress and so goes back to live with William and for once he tries to be a bit sensitive to her feelings, but only with an ulterior motive, that they are to be seen ( as in the public and high class society) together as husband and wife. Georgiana meets up with Charles Grey at a reception in London and he talks of his engagement with another lady and of his "niece" ( really their daughter) Eliza Courtney and said that he hope she will visit her. In the end she becomes the society's darling again and become the influential person in politics, Charles Grey was made Prime Minister and Georgiana did visit her daughter Eliza. Georgiana died 30th March 1806 at the age of 48, Lady Bess became the next Duchess of Devonshire and when Eliza her daughter married she named one of her daughters Georgiana.
This film is very good, it showed a small glimpse of the vivacious life of Georgiana , a woman who's ideas that were way before her time, a woman who would gamble, drink, suffer from eating disorders and was hounded by the press of the day, in modern terms she would be on every front page of the magazines and tabloid papers, that was how famous she was.
Also the film from my point of view has too much similarity's between Georgiana and her great niece by a few times, Diana, Princess of Wales ( who was before her marriage Lady Diana Spencer and her father was the 8th Earl Spencer). They both married too young with partners that were older than them, who had little in common and found hard to communicate. They both bore beautiful children and stayed in loveless marriges for the sake of the said children, died quite young and their husbands married their lover. Take away the struggle of Georgiana not being able to give William Cavendish a son and you have Diana's life disgused quite skillfully. XoXoXoXoXoXo
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