Poetry: Critical Analysis Essay “Porphria’s Love”
1 ROUGH DRAFT
A beautiful woman walks into the room and her every mannerism is noted and she is categorized as virgin goddess, temptress or mother yet the role of women in Victorian Era was a clearly defined act of contrition. It is of little wonder that men would speak of murder as a means of preserving that beauty and essence of life that women exude when allowed true moments of passion. Throughout history the ideal of ownership and women have been linked to obsessive and dangerous ends. The relationship between men and women of the early nineteenth century when “Porphria’s Love” by Robert Browning was very defined with women serving as objects of status and beauty to men. The poem is believed to have been inspired by an actual murder told in Extracts from Gosschen's Diary, which captured the imagination of the people. The poem “Porphria’s Love” is a mirror into the culture of Victorian women and men enduring inequalities within their social statuses and sexual realationships.
The ideal Victorian woman was pure, chaste, refined, and modest. The poem introduces us to a woman long sought after yet when she reveals herself to the man he becomes overtaken with preserving her innocence and beauty. She embodies all virtues sought after in a woman of this era. The poem opens with a storm that rages outside reflecting against a cultural storm in the relationships of women and men. A woman of the Victorian Era was expected to show pity and quiet reserve, to love honor and obey her husband while upholding the highest etiquette standards. Yet, a man was defined by the power he exudes and a woman was the ornamente of status for him. In this instance, “Porphyria worshiped me: surpris...
... middle of paper ...
...tions and sexual pity, yet, these extremes of this era gave birth to suffrage movement and women demanding freedoms. The voices of women and men weighed in tandem on Victorian society the male writers like Browning gave insight into the mind of men in regards to women. He painted the picture passion and rage in men of this era. The idea of women having little command of their social standing and sexual relationships was at the heart of the male writers of this era. However, the female painted a much more inspirational story from Chopin to Austen to Stowe they broke societie’s customs and challenged men of that era.
2 WORKS CITE
Forman, Cody Lisa (2000). "The Politics of Illegitimacy in an Age of Reform: Women, Reproduction, and Political Economy in England’s New Poor Law of 1834". Women's History 11 (4): 131–156.
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
In the predominantly male worlds of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “Aurora Leigh (Book I)”, the women’s voices are muted. Female characters are confined to the domestic spheres of their homes, and they are excluded from the elite literary world. They are expected to function as foils to the male figures in their lives. These women are “trained” to remain silent and passive not only by the males around them, but also by their parents, their relatives, and their peers. Willingly or grudgingly, the women in Woolf and Browning’s works are regulated to the domestic circle, discouraged from the literary world, and are expected to act as foils to their male counterparts.
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.
In the poem “To Helen” by Edgar Allan Poe, the author describes the lustful platonic admiration for a woman possibly refereeing to Helen of Troy. The fanciful tone is clearly illustrated through the diction of the speaker. The connotation behind the specific word usage the author uses helps the reader make these assumptions through his use of “beauty”, “perfumed sea” and even comparing this spiritual essence of woman to that “Psyche.”
The death of the female beloved is the only way deemed possible by the insecure, possessive male to seize her undivided attention. This beloved woman represents the "reflector and guarantor of male identity. Hence, the male anxiety about the woman's independence for her liberty puts his masculine self-estimation at risk" (Maxwell 29). The jealous and controlling males in Robert Browning's "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess" possess a fervent desire to fix and monopolize their unconstrained female beloveds. Due to a fear of death, both speakers attempt to achieve control and deny object loss; by turning their lovers (once subjects) into objects, they ultimately attain the role of masterful subject.
Thane, P (1978) 'Women & the Poor Law in Victorian & Edwardian England', History Workshop, 6(1), pp. 29+31-51.
In Robert Browning’s dramatic monologues, “Porphyria’s Lover” and “My Last Duchess”, both portray women that are killed by their significant others. In “Porphyria’s Lover” her lover seems to be obsessed and not wanting to let her go, whereas in “My Last Duchess”, the speaker appears to be jealous by the woman. By having these two different deaths, why does Browning have the men commit these acts on the woman they love? Perhaps he wants to demonstrate and justify how these acts of crimes where done in the name of love or does he want us to acknowledge certain flaws that made them act on their crimes.
A gender role in the time when British literature was being written was very important to the women history. Women were subservient to men in most of the British literature. Some literature women had a little more power than in others. When women were asked to do something by a man there was no way they could say no. the way women were treated then is the equivalent to a housewife now in the Twenty-First century. When a man told them to do something they had to do it. Throughout the literature women started desiring more respect and power. A very good example of a woman that overcame gender roles is Susan B. Anthony. She was born on February 15, in 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. Susan B. Anthony taught for fifteen years then she decided to be in the women’s rights movement. After that’s she was committed and devoted to be to omen suffrage. Susan B Anthony remained very active with anything that had anything to do with women until her death on March 13, 1906. Another example is Elizabeth Cady Stanton she was born on November 12, 1815 in Johnstown, New York. Throughout her life she stood behind women’s right with the Women’s rights movement as well as Susan B Anthony. She was the president of the National Women’s Suffrage Association (NWSA) for 20 years. She died a very respected and honorable woman on October 26, 1902. These women really changed the game for women back in the day. These women were very important representatives in the Women’s Rights Movement. They helped out a lot and put a lot of time throughout their life to make sure women got to where we are today. They were huge role models for women today. Although women had to fight for us to get rights, British literature consisted of women being subservient to men. I am go...
"Porphyria's Lover" is an exhilarating love story given from a lunatic's point of view. It is the story of a man who is so obsessed with Porphyria that he decides to keep her for himself. The only way he feels he can keep her, though, is by killing her. Robert Browning's poem depicts the separation of social classes and describes the "triumph" of one man over an unjust society. As is often the case in fiction, the speaker of "Porphyria's Lover" does not give accurate information in the story.
These women authors have served as an eye-opener for the readers, both men and women alike, in the past, and hopefully still in the present. (There are still cultures in the world today, where women are treated as unfairly as women were treated in the prior centuries). These women authors have impacted a male dominated society into reflecting on of the unfairness imposed upon women. Through their writings, each of these women authors who existed during that masochistic Victorian era, risked criticism and retribution. Each author ignored convention a...
... middle of paper ... ... Somewhat like the mirror in the Lady's tower, Tennyson's poem reflects the attitudes that shaped the destiny of women in Victorian England, while it further succeeds in presenting a model of an assertive Victorian woman existing, albeit briefly, within the bounds of patriarchal society. References Abrams, M.H., ed., pp.
Both of these poems can be used read from different points of view and they could also be used to show how society treated women in the Nineteenth Century: as assets, possessions. Both of these poems are what are known as a dramatic monologue as well as being written in the first person. The whole poem is only one stanza long, and each line in the stanza comprises of eight syllables. ‘My Last Duchess’ is about a member of the nobility talking to an ambassador concerning his last wife, who later on in the poem is revealed to have been murdered by the person speaking, who is about to marry his second wife. ‘Porphyria's Lover’ gives an insight into the mind of an exceptionally possessive lover, who kills his lover in order to capture that perfect moment of compassion. ‘Porphyria's Lover’ uses an alternating rhyme scheme during most of the poem except at the end. The whole poem is only one stanza long, and each line in the stanza comprises of eight syllables.
“Girls wear jeans and cut their hair short and wear shirts and boots because it is okay to be a boy; for a girl it is like promotion. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading, according to you, because secretly you believe that being a girl is degrading” (McEwan 55-56). Throughout the history of literature women have been viewed as inferior to men, but as time has progressed the idealistic views of how women perceive themselves has changed. In earlier literature women took the role of being the “housewife” or the household caretaker for the family while the men provided for the family. Women were hardly mentioned in the workforce and always held a spot under their husband’s wing. Women were viewed as a calm and caring character in many stories, poems, and novels in the early time period of literature. During the early time period of literature, women who opposed the common role were often times put to shame or viewed as rebels. As literature progresses through the decades and centuries, very little, but noticeable change begins to appear in perspective to the common role of women. Women were more often seen as a main character in a story setting as the literary period advanced. Around the nineteenth century women were beginning to break away from the social norms of society. Society had created a subservient role for women, which did not allow women to stand up for what they believe in. As the role of women in literature evolves, so does their views on the workforce environment and their own independence. Throughout the history of the world, British, and American literature, women have evolved to become more independent, self-reliant, and have learned to emphasize their self-worth.
In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, the idea of patriarchy ruled the many societies all over the world. Particularly in Britain, its “overarching patriarchal model” (Marsh) had “reserved power and privilege for men” (Marsh). Also during this time period feminist literature began to arise and was invaded by, “the complex social, ethical, and economic roots of sexual politics… as testimony to gender bias and the double standard” (“Sexual Politics and Feminist Literature”). In Jane Austen’s writing, readers have been aware of her constant themes of female independence and gender equality. However, many have criticized the author for the fact that many of her “individualistic” female characters have ended up
In “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” both deal with the love of a woman. The theme for both is power and how the speaker in both want to be in control over the woman. The imagery in “My Last Duchess” is based off what the Duke’s feel and what he shares with the servant. The imagery in “Porphyria’s Lover” is based on Porphyria’s. The tone in “My Last Duchess” is arrogant and ignorant because the Duke think so much of himself and foolishly shares all his flaws. The tone in Porphyria’s Lover” is rational the speaker makes sense of the murder of a woman he loves so much. Both poems displayed dramatic
Throughout literature’s history, female authors have been hardly recognized for their groundbreaking and eye-opening accounts of what it means to be a woman of society. In most cases of early literature, women are portrayed as weak and unintelligent characters who rely solely on their male counterparts. Also during this time period, it would be shocking to have women character in some stories, especially since their purpose is only secondary to that of the male protagonist. But, in the late 17th to early 18th century, a crop of courageous women began publishing their works, beginning the literary feminist movement. Together, Aphra Behn, Charlotte Smith, Fanny Burney, and Mary Wollstonecraft challenge the status quo of what it means to be a