Comparing My Last Duchess 'And' Porphyria's Lover

In a time when women were items, trophies, and even property one poet, Robert Browning, got the brilliant idea to write a series of poems about that reality. Browning’s poems Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess remove the blinders from the readers eyes to reveal the truth behind the sick men that thrived in the patriarchy. The possessive, and self centered nature of men during that time is evident in the behavior described in Porphyria's Lover by Browning. The pure arrogance displayed by the Duke in My Last Duchess is nearly unthinkable as he describes his last wife’s faults were the cause of her death by his hand. The fact that these poems picture men without regard of life are being taught to children as important concerns me. Sure Browning

The poem goes to describe an interesting encounter between a young woman and her lover. As the man’s head lay upon her shoulder his brain betrays him to the popular self centered thoughts. As he looks up into her eyes he thinks, “Happy and proud; at last I knew Porphyria worshipped me; surprise made my heart swell, and still it grew while I debated what to do,” (lines 33-35). In this man’s mind he has come to the conclusion that his lover “worships” him. How interesting that this man sees himself as superior even as a woman supports his weight. In that moment he believes her to be his possession; in his head his thoughts run wild, “That moment she was mine, mine, fair, perfectly pure and good,” (lines 36-37). Now that Porphyria ‘belonged’ to her lover he saw only one option to keep her in his possession forever. He took her long blonde hair, wrapped it around her neck, and strangled her. That’s right, Porphyria's lover choked his precious item to death that way she could never escape his grasp. A human must be extensively ill minded to have thought that option as a viable one. Aaron Ben-Zeév, Ph.D, wrote that, “Nearly all male murderers claim that (a) they committed the murder out of love, and (b) it was a result of loving too much.” Poor Porphyria was a victim of a male murder who ‘loved her too much’. Aaron also writes

The Duke in Browning’s second poem wastes no time in getting to the point. He describes his previous wife, and how she her beauty was spoiled by her manner. He describes her as, “too soon made glad, too easily impressed,” (lines 22-23). Her gaiety had little effect on the hard heart of the Duke. Her ever present smile caught the Dukes panties in a bunch on more than one occasion, not only that but that smile seemed to make him believe that his Dutchess was unaware of his gift to her. The Duke’s arrogant mind thought that, “Somehow … she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody's gift,” (lines 32-34), as if to say that the act of marrying him was the greatest gift she could ever receive. One writer believes that arrogance often indicates an, “overestimation of one’s own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a believed position of power,” (Able), which explains a few things about our Duke. So why is this important to the education of America’s youth? So that they might identify arrogance later in life when they encounter it. A reason to teach children of arrogance, yes, but is Browning’s Duke the best man for the job? I don’t think so. His story reveals a deep evil that results in his wife’s death because she didn’t worship her