SOC220 Introduction to Sociological Methods

Introduction

The poem, “My Last Duchess” was written by Robert Browning and it first came out in the year 1842 (Browning). This poem is often seen as a replica of dramatic monologues because of its structure. The poem consists of twenty-eight rhythmic couplets and is written in the form of an iambic pentameter. The poem written in the Victorian era seems to be critiquing the position of women in that society even though the poem is based in Italian Renaissance society. The poem talks about the painting of the narrator’s, Duke Ferrara, last duchess who was killed on the Duke’s order.

Discussion

Objectification Of Woman

The poem is narrated by the Duke to a person who was the messenger of his would-be wife as well as the readers about the last Duchess who according to the Duke was unfaithful to him. The narrator uses the painting to show how he considered women to be an object which were owned by him. Throughout the poem the narrator shows extreme pride in owning the painting not because it is memory of his last Duchess but simply as he believes it to be a master piece, “That piece a wonder, now; Fra Pandolf’s hands” (Browning). The painting is metaphorically used to represent the position of the Duchess in the eyes of the Duke who believed that he was the sole owner of his wife. This objectification of the Duchess is used by the poet to condemn the Victorian society who did not give a woman equal rights and were seen as being dependent on the male counterpart. Women were supposed to be guarded by the male members. This in a way strips down the rights of humanity towards the women as they reduced to objects that are appreciated for their outer beauty.

The Duke represents the society as he values the painting not for the woman it represented but for the beauty of the same. He even displays the painting to his guests with utmost pride like it is a master piece in some kind of museum. The Duke not only objectifies the dead woman but also the woman he is about to marry, “Of mine for dowry will be disallowed; /Though his fair daughter’s self, as I avowed /At starting, is my object.” (Browning). The poem shows that the Duke dislikes his former wife simply because she was independent and sweet to all. While the narrator considers that his wife was committing an act of infidelity or sexuality in reality, she was just confident and happy. This act of kindness was not accepted by the Duke as he wanted every part of his wife to himself. He believes that the only source of happiness to his wife should be the Duke and things related to him and he has the right to dictate each and every activity and feelings of the Duchess. Not being able to accept a woman who had a mind of her own the Duke finally orders to kill her.  

Social Status, Eliticism And Art

The poem in a mock the upper class of the society through the Duke. The Duke keeps showing off his wealth at every possible opportunity and in doing so the poet tries to show that the social class of a person does not determine their nature or the kind of person they are. The Duke happens to be the most brutish and cruel person. The narrator keeps warning about the implication of not agreeing to his wishes. Despite this kind of cruel nature, the society not only accepts him but also respects him simply because of his social position. This shows the hypocrisy of the elite society that accepts or rejects a person based on their wealth or social standing and not their actions. It also shows how the people make use of this flaw in the societal structure to manipulate weaker sections in the society, as seen in the case of the last Duchess and the messenger. Both the messenger and the readers are not given a chance to take the Duke lightly as he keeps reminding both of them about the power he holds and the importance of his title, “nine-hundred-years-old name” (Browning). Another example of the same is when he talks about the famous painters, Claus of Innsbruck and Fra Pandolf who are said to paint only for the Duke.  The tone in which the narrator speaks clearly shows how often he might have talked to someone like that. He very swiftly moves from being informative to intimidating to ultimately giving subtly threats about the consequences of defying him. He proudly narrates how he killed his innocent wife simply as she smiled at others and indirectly defied the narrator who felt that through these actions the Duchess tampered the importance and power of her title as well as position.

The Duke also talks about the power of his position and the worth of his title by mentioning about a rare sculptor that was crafted only for him, “taming a sea-horse” and this was mainly the depiction of Neptune who tamed those who defined him with the help of his power The Duke shows this off not because of the art but as a symbolic representation of himself. He indirectly tried to show the messenger that he had the power to tame like Neptune. All this was done to ensure that the in-laws of the Duke send their daughter with good amount of dowry if they want the future Duchess to be happy.

Conclusion

It can thus be concluded that the Duke is the representation of the Victorian era and the way in which the woman figure was seen as a possession. The way in which the Duke kills his wife for being confident shows the perception of the Victorian era that did not accept women who were confident. The poem also condemns the hypocritical society who accepts a person on the basis of their wealth. The Duke despite being wealthy is a very cruel character.

References

Browning, Robert. My last duchess and other poems. Courier Corporation, 1993.

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