The married countess was a decent woman

I always believed that the original title, THE KING'S WHORE, was inappropriate. Valerie Golino's duchess character was NO whore. She was a faithful wife to her husband, Charles, who was initially portrayed as weak. Charles had the misfortune to be wed to a beautiful woman who caught the lusting eye of their country's King at a time before democracy when absolute rulers could take whatever they wanted and do whatever they wanted.

SPOILERS*****SPOILERS*****SPOILERS

An OMP reviewer was right in describing Timothy Dalton's king character as compulsive-obsessive, deteriorating into a stalker and peeping tom. But love can burn bright with obsession and show itself in sacrifice. The lovely duchess rebuffs the king, making him grow more obsessive, dark, and borderline evil. Finally the king proves his love to the duchess by personally caring for her after she contracted the deadly, frightening disease smallpox. Smallpox typically disfigured women back in those days but the king cared not a wit. At the end the duchess is moved by his genuine concern and selflessness and actually begins to reciprocate his affection.

I truly felt sympathy for the duchess' hapless husband. It's too easy to dismiss him as a spineless wimp. Put your self in his shoes. Could you oppose the king of the realm with absolute powers? And, there was pressure on him to relent. Back in late 17th century to early 18th century Europe, it was actually considered fortunate if the king of the realm cast his eye on a female in one's family, no matter if she was married or not. It meant vastly increased political influence, prosperity and wealth for that lucky aristocratic family. In fact it was encouraged. Everyone expected the husband to discretely step aside and allow his wife a dalliance with the king.

In the end, the husband grows a pair and fights the king in a rapier duel, only to lose his life, but not before crippling the king. The last pathetic scene is the cripple king, held up in a wooden apparatus, bidding his great love, the duchess a passionate goodbye, while the tearful duchess reciprocates. Outside the hallway, the king's alienated son awaits with a handful of soldiers to depose his own father after the duchess leaves the palace.