"Great" men?

While Flamineo's pretensions to upward social mobility are no secret, I couldn't help but be struck by his repeated evocations of great men. In 4.2, 5.4, and 5.6 he makes mention of some "great men." He almost serves as a tragic counterpart to the comedic Malvolio in Twelfth Night who, after reading a letter iterating as much, comes to believe that some men are "born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em" (2.5.142). Often, Flamenio's great man is Bracciano, and it is Flamenio's provenance to act like that great man. Though we laugh at Malvolio for his foolishness, there is nothing to laugh about in the character of Flamenio. Might Webster be toying with the notion of greatness? Certainly he seems to be by writing the character of Flamenio who is not born great, does not achieve greatness, and does not have it thrust upon him. However, he does try to achieve greatness, and one may argue that certain situations were forcibly put upon him in the play. Unsurprisingly, he never seems equal to the task of greatness. He is one of the most morally reprehensible players in this tragedy. Again, what does this say about the nature of greatness? What is the significance of the ways in which Flamenio does not embody such a quality? How does he complicate our understanding of the attempt to be a "great man?" About social mobility more generally?

The one possibility for a truly great man is Giovanni. As our editors tell us, he is the moral yard-stick, come at the end of the play to give some measure of stability to a wildly chaotic, murderous world. Yet, he is so often absent. Is this what it means to be a great man? Can we think of Giovanni as being anything more than his father's son? Is there not some element of unavoidable repetition with more blood, death, and deception? In a dramatic world where a seemingly inevitable descent into chaos is the only temporal arc, can such a thing as a great man exist? If Giovanni's absence from most of the play is any indicator, Webster's play seems a very pessimistic comment on greatness. There is probably more to say about connections to a larger world view embodied here. I can't help but be left wondering, will Giovanni be any different from any of the other characters in a few years time? The thought just occurred to me that the only great man in this play is not a man, but Isabella. She is loyal and constant and dies, but is never dishonored. Reactions?