In reading My Last Duchess there are a few things that the speaker says that might shock the reader. For example, he all but confesses to having his wife killed and despite being considerably wealthy the obvious object of his courtship of another young lady is for yet more money. However, the most shocking part of Ferrara’s tale is his attitude towards women. It is so disconcerting that it leaves the reader feeling nothing but disgust and disdain for this man.
One of the most evident character flaws in Ferrara is his love for objects. This becomes apparent early in the poem when he shows the envoy the painting of his first wife. He begins by discussing not the woman whose death ought to have had a large impact upon his life but the painter and the painting’s detail. Only after this does he go into detail about his first wife. This gives the reader an insight into the man’s priorities. This shows how the man is more interested in the monetary value of objects rather than the emotional value.
Further into the poem Ferrara begins to discuss what bothers him most about the woman. He says that she was overly joyful and, “too soon made glad.” He hints that she may have had other lovers but continues that she also enjoyed sunsets and cherries and other such pleasures. Somehow, he finds this to be offensive and rather than appreciating her warm-heartedness he detests it. Knowing this makes the reader almost understand her unfaithful ways as any man should seem to appear more appealing than a man whose most prized possession is his “nine-hundred-years-old name.” From this section one can deduce that the speaker believes that simple pleasures should not contend with the happiness that a good social standing provides.
Also, Ferrara shares his view on a woman’s position in a marriage. She is to obey her husband and to be pleased to share his name. His digression to his statue of Neptune taming a seahorse is important in showing his feelings towards what an ideal relationship ought to be. The man, in Ferrara’s mind, is to be the god and the one with all the authority whereas the woman needs to act as his obedient and tamed pet. He should be the only one to make her smile, he should be the only pleasure in her life and he should be obeyed at all times. His wife’s failure to comply with what he deemed to be proper was enough to anger him to the point of having her killed.
This stance, that men are the predominant gender and that women should obey, is shocking to the modern audience that lives in a time when equality is increasingly important. Moreover, Ferrara’s belief that women should only show happiness in the presence of their husbands is ludicrous and selfish. The speaker in Browning’s poem is shockingly heartless and his views on women and their “place” in a relationship are offensive.
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2 comments:
I like how you summed up My Last Duchess. I am not very good at analyzing poems, but your analysis or summary was very detailed and helped me understand the poem more clearly.
I agree that it was shocking that in the poem, the speaker talks about male dominance and treat women like trophies or objects. He seems to be too selfish and arrogant. That disturbed me and I found it to be absurd since it was a woman that brought the Duke into the world, yet he has no utter respect for them except as objects/trophies.
I like how you tied in Neptune taming the seahorse because it really does show how he wanted to have the power to "tame" another person... namely his wife. The Duke is so arrogant to believe that his objects and his name should automatically earn him the respect of everyone in his presence. He is so desperate for that respect that it appears he needs to grovel for it... which is just so ironic.
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