It goes on to speak about sympathy in general and how Browning “delighted in making a case for the apparently immoral position”, how he found dramatic monologues the best form to do so, and how he went about it. It keeps going for a couple more pages on things which I will not go into because they have little relevance to any interpretation of “My Last Duchess”.
Robert Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover skillfully epitomizes the male desire to dominate women in all spheres of life during the Victorian Era. This power construct is foregrounded as the dominant reading through a range of literary devices in the poem, pertaining to gender roles. Originally, the dramatic monologue highlights Porphyria and her strong presence in contrast to her passive male lover.
Throughout history, women have been oppressed and seen as subservient to men. Gender differences denied women the right to education, among many factors that men had. Women lived their lives to be wives and mothers while men went to school, held careers, interests passions and individual lives outside of the homes women so rarely left. Mary Wollstonecraft expressed her abhorrence for this injustice in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Later in the same year of 1792, Anna Barbauld responded by attacking Wollstonecraft with her “The Rights of Woman.” Both women present a clear, though opposing argument allowing the reader further insight of the oppression plaguing women in the late eighteenth century.
In the analysis of the issue in question, I have considered Mary Wollstonecraft’s Text, Vindication of the Rights of Woman. As an equivocal for liberties for humanity, Wollstonecraft was a feminist who championed for women rights of her time. Having witnessed devastating results or men’s improvidence, Wollstonecraft embraced an independent life, educated herself, and ultimately earned a living as a writer, teacher, and governess. In her book, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” she created a scandal perhaps to her unconventional lifestyle. The book is a manifesto of women rights arguing passionately for educating women. Sensualist and tyrants appear right in their endeavor to hold women in darkness to serve as slaves and their plaything. Anyone with a keen interest in women rights movement will surely welcome her inexpensive edition, a landmark documen...
As previously mentioned, inferiority perceptions and obstacles for women remain prevalent in the twenty-first century. Although substantial progress has been made with regards to the educational opportunities for women, as well as educating both men and women to view women with equal regard, we have yet to achieve parity among genders. In particular, “Contemporary feminists, such as Catherine MacKinnon, argue that the law and society’s political institutions are based on male assumptions, such that women can never achieve equality within them” (Tannenbaum, 2012, p. 220). Additionally, the recent focus on gender socialization directly relates to Wollstonecraft’s writings. In fact, she may be one of the first philosophers to establish the foundation for studying gender socialization through her assertions from two hundred years ago, “the character of women was artificial, and a consequence of the roles society defines for them” (p. 213a). Tannenbaum’s summary of Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women, reads as though it’s from a current Sociology course in gender equality and diversity. “Women are fond of dress and gossip; are helpless, emotional, weak; and act like children, not because it is there nature, but because they are educated or trained this way” (p. 213b). Wollstonecraft’s assertions were revolutionary when taking into account the historical context of her vision. Hence, both genders can benefit from studying her feminist perspective, then contemplating how her vision has evolved over time in society, as well as advocating for its continued
Women in the Romantic era were long away from being treated as equals, they were expected by society to find a husband and become a typical housewife and mother. So what happens when women get tired of being treated horribly and try to fight back towards getting men to treat them as an equal? Both Mary Robinson’s “The Poor Singing Dame” and Anna Barbauld’s “The Rights of Women” show great examples on how women in the Romantic Era were disrespected and degraded by men, whereas all they wanted was to be treated as equals with respect and dignity.
Since a young age Barrett Browning had shown significant amounts of interest in poetry and literature. By the age of four she had began reading and writing verse. “She was educated at home, and learned classic Greek, Latin, and several modern languages” (Shilstone 646). For being self-educated, her devotion to poetry, literature, and classical studies was exceptional (EXPLORING Poetry). “Elizabeth could read Homer in the original at 8 years old” (Greer). “She completed an epic poem, ‘Battle of Marathon’. when she was thirteen, and her father had it privately printed” (Greer).
Evelyn Cunningham once said, “Women are the only oppressed group in our society that lives in intimate association with their oppressors.” For thousands of years women have been oppressed, not in the bondage of slavery but in the bondage that comes from a lack of education and a dependence on men for their livelihood. Women have been subjected to scrutiny and ostracization, belittling and disparaging comments, and even at times they have been feared by men. Women themselves have even taken on the beliefs that they require a man in their life to be taken care of and have a satisfying life although some women and even some men have seen that the differences between the sexes is purely physical. This oppression, as well as the enlightenment of some, is well noted in many literary works. Literature has often been an arena for the examination of the “woman question,” as it was termed in the Victorian age. Four works that examine the role or view of women in society are John Stuart Mill’s The Subjection of Women, T.S. Eliot’s “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, and Carol Ann Duffy’s “Medusa.” Although each work examines a side of the woman question in its own way with a variety of views on the question, all of the works examine the fear that women incite in men, the idea that women are dependent on men, and the idea that women are separate from men in some way and each piece works to show that there is actually an interdependence between men and women that is often not expressed.
Through the course of history, men have sought to subdue women by restricting their rights, limiting their freedoms, and when all else fails – murder. In Robert Browning’s "My Last Duchess", Duke Ferrara kills his wife in retaliation for the fact that he could not control her being – actions and feeling – which is evidenced by his description of his last Duchess, his curtain over her portrait, and his skillful control over the syntax and conversation. Through this poem, Robert Browning addresses a grander issue of the extent to which men will go to maintain control.
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structure. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society. Writing based on their own experiences, had it not been for the works of Susan Glaspell, Kate Chopin, and similar feminist authors of their time, we may not have seen a reform movement to improve gender roles in a culture in which women had been overshadowed by men.
Gioia, Dana, and X.J. Kennedy. "My Last Duchess." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Compact Edition, Interactive Edition. 5th ed. New York: Pearson; Longman Publishing, 2007. 432-433. Print.
The Speaker in ‘My Last Duchess’ is conversing with the servant of a count whose daughter he is proposing to marry. He treats t...
During the course of history, women have always been portrayed inferior to men. Times have gone by and a stigma has developed causing an impression that a women’s life can only be sustained by the presence of men. At times when an opportunity arrives for a woman to take the leadership role, society often hesitates and doubt their ability and strength. Although the social structure of the 18th century paved the way for a women’s role to evolve, this absurd thought of inferiority still infiltrated the minds of women in turn causing uncertainties in their own capability. In the poem “Hazel tells Laverne” Katharyn Howd Machan usage of symbolism and motifs demonstrates the inner struggle of a working class woman who has escaped male dependency, yet she stills battles insecurities that have made her contempt in the life created by patriarchal eras.
For many of Browings fans and himself, poetry did not need to be a big extravagent piece of work, and for he critics who did not understand that aspect, Browning`s work would always “lacking something”. Although there was not understanding of that, there was still a light at the end of the tunnel for Browning in the respect of being appreciated by later critics. Of course, not all of Browning`s poetry reviews were pesimistic, and one literary scholar, William DeVane, considered the poet`s name to have increased as he had gotten older, along with the number of positive reviews. Although Browning was obviously not happy by the many negative reviews he received, but even some of the most brutal reviewers acknowledged his flat out raw talent, even if they did not agree with how he went about using it.
Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess,” written in 1842, is an intriguing poem that reveals an unexpected interpretation when closely analyzed. The poem is based upon actual incidents that occurred in the life of Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara. The first wife of Ferrara, Lucrezia, mysteriously died in 1561 with many speculations afterwards that it was supposedly Ferrara who murdered her. The poem takes place in media res of the Duke consulting and arranging his second marriage. A portrait of the former Duchess is pointed out, and the Duke begins to recall her personality and behavior. The genre is a dramatic monologue. Browning uses various techniques and ways to make the reader scrutinize what the speaker is saying in order to discover the true intention and meaning of the poet. The Duke is a manipulative character, in which his dramatic monologue attempts to convince himself that he is not at fault for the murder of his wife.