Hello and welcome to the Life of Browning, an invaluable compendium to Victorian poet Robert Browning and his globally recognised poem My Last Duchess. Published in 1882, My Last Duchess is frequently anthologised as an example of the dramatic monologue produced during the Victorian era. Browning establishes the theme of Patriarchy through the male dominance wielded by the speaker, the duke of Ferrara and his attempt to control his marriage in the same way that he rules his lands. The Duke views everything that he possesses and everyone with whom he interacts as an opportunity to expand his power base. Believing that wives need to be dominated; servants need to understand his authority; and fancy objects in his art gallery display his influence to the world. Through dramatic monologue the reader is invited to understand how Browning embraced the uncertainty of his time as a facet of human nature and psychology. To a great extent the theme of patriarchy in Robert Browning’s poem, My Last Duchess is relevant to modern day society as women are still living out old patriarchal myths in everyday life.
Born in 1812 Robert Browning was raised by his father, a well-payed clerk and his mother. He was largely self-educated, utilising his father's extensive library of over six thousand volumes. A voracious reader as a youth Browning would later draw on his wide and sometimes arcane learning in his poetry, and by the age of fourteen he had learned Latin, Greek, French and Italian. Years later he attended the University of London but left in discontent to pursue his own programme of reading and dedicated himself to poetry. Staying at home until the age of 34, he was financially dependent on his family having his father sponsor the publication of his poems until his marriage. Most famous for his use of dramatic monologues and his deliberately philosophical edge, his poems explore philosophy of the Victorian age and equally reflect his intellectualism, his interest in grotesqueness, and his refusal to espouse any consistent worldview. Browning’s earliest works garnered him some negative attention and very little success for their expression of strong sensations, their morbid tone and obscurity, some of the very qualities that are now lauded. Browning’s writing style and motivations were influenced by poets such as Percy Bysshe Shelley, whose radicalism urged a rethinking of modern society as well as the fact that Browning lived and wrote during a time of major societal and intellectual upheaval, and his poems reflect this world. Victorian England was becoming increasingly urban, and newspapers daily assaulted the senses with splashy tales of crime and lust in the city.
My Last Duchess is spoken by the duke of Ferrara to an envoy (representative) of another nobleman, whose daughter is soon to marry the duke. In the beginning, the duke pulls back a curtain to reveal a portrait of his previous duchess painted by Fra Pandolf, a monk and painter whom the duke believes captured the singularity of the duchess's glance. However, the duke insists that his former wife’s deep, passionate glance was not reserved solely for her husband. He states she was "too easily impressed" into sharing her affable nature. His tone grows harsh as he recollects how both human and nature could impress her, which insulted him as she did not give acknowledgement to the "gift" of his "nine-hundred-years-old" family name and lineage. he instead "gave commands" to have her killed. The poem end with the envoy accompanying the duke back to the count where he mentions that he expects a high dowry and, on their descent, points out a bronze bust of the god Neptune in his collection. The most engaging element of the poem is the speaker himself, the duke. Objectively, it's easy for the reader to identify him as a monster, as he had his wife murdered for what comes across as fairly innocuous crimes. The duke's excessive demand for control ultimately comes across as his most defining characteristic as it establishes the theme of patriarchy. The obvious manifestation of this is the murder of his wife. Her crime is barely presented as sexual; even though he does admit that other men could draw her "blush," he also mentions several natural phenomena that inspired her favour. And yet he was driven to murder by her refusal to save her happy glances solely for him. This demand for control is also reflected in his relationship with the envoy.
The invited reading of patriarchy and male dominance has great relevance to modern day society as movements such as feminism are gaining support worldwide due peoples increase in awareness. My Last Duchess provides an insight into how social life, gender role expectations and human experiences have evolved since the Victorian era. Wealthy noblemen were at the centre of power during this period and the patriarch led great influence on gender issues. The poem exhibits the social hierarchy that was in place during the era and is shown through the duke’s patriarchal ideals that he belongs at the top while everyone else, especially his wife is below and under his control. In modern day society patriarchy still exists and it often manifests in casual ways that tend to go unnoticed by the majority of people. Within families the so called stereotypical traditional family has the men as “leaders “and the women as “nurturers”, this is still prevalent and it translates into male figures as the “authority” on all important decisions. Patriarchy is also prominent in the workforce with men disproportionately occupying top leader positions often because they exhibit the very same traditional male traits – outspoken, rational and… In addition, women receive lower salaries, slower rates of promotions… A trend which continues despite widespread recognition, indicating that we still need to address the root causes (i.e. patriarchal culture). Browning created male-dominating speakers in his poetry who controlled female characters due to a patriarchal system that controlled Victorian society.
To a great extent My Last duchess is relevant to today as the theme of patriarchy has been increasing in importance over the last few years through issues like gender equality and sexism forming the basis of many news headlines worldwide. Victorian poetry encourages people to reflect and potentially challenge their beliefs and views on the world in which we live through the use of themes linking to controversial social issues faced in the era. Browning’s My Last Duchess provides readers with an insight to the male dominance experienced during the Victorian era through the theme of patriarchy.