Tyler Justice
Mrs. Wilson
British Literature B
13 May 2013
The Darkness of
Love, Porphyria’s Lover
The Victorian Period in
British culture was one marked by sentimental conventions, women subject to
male oppression, and a society of prudence (Holt 884-885). However, in the poem
by Robert Browning, Porphyria’s Lover;
Browning explores what in Victorian times would be considered taboo. In Porphyria’s Lover, Browning uses
dramatic monologue, sexual undertones, pathetic fallacies, and social
commentary to expose the reader to the darker and, more sinister, side of
Victorian England.
In Porphyria’s Lover, Browning chooses the title of his due to the
importance of the name Porphyria. Porphyria is actually a disease “There are two main types of porphyrias. One affects the
skin and the other affects the nervous system. People with the skin type
develop blisters, itching, and swelling of their skin when it is exposed to
sunlight. The nervous system type is called acute porphyria. Symptoms include
pain in the chest, abdomen, limbs, or back; muscle numbness, tingling,
paralysis, or cramping; vomiting; constipation; and personality changes or
mental disorders” (Medline Plus). One can infer that based on the disease
called Porphyria that since, Porphyria in the poem is incredibly pale, she
might have the disease that lent it her namesake. “She
put my arm about her waist, / And made her smooth white shoulder bare” (ll.
16-17). Another clue from the poem that even her lover, may have the disease
is, “Made my heart swell, and still it grew / While I debated what to do. /
That moment she was mine, mine, fair / Perfectly pure and good: I found / A
thing to do, and all her hair / In one long yellow string I wound / Three times
her little throat around, / And strangled her” (ll. 34-41). The symptoms of the
second type of porphyria or acute porphyria, this is what could have caused her
lover’s disturbed mental state.
Opening, the poem
Browning uses the technique of pathetic fallacy (Wilson). Browning does this in
order “attribute human emotions or characteristics to inanimate objects or to
nature” (Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc.). Browning does this to convey the speaker’s tone, in the
natural settings of the poem (Wilson). This is supported from the text by “The
rain set early in tonight, / The sullen wind was soon awake, / It tore the elm
tops down for spite, / And did its worst to vex the lake: / I listened with
heart fit to break” (ll. 1-5). This sets the mood for the poem to be one that
is dark, gloomy, and foreshadows Porphyria’s fate at the climax of the poem.
The attitude of the weather also, parallels the attitude that Porphyria’s lover
exhibits in the poem, one that is destructive and violent.
One technique that
Browning uses throughout the poem is the use of sexual undertones to describe
the feeling of intimacy the two lovers share with one another (Wilson).
Evidence to support this is, “She put my arm about her waist, / And made her
smooth white shoulder bare” (ll. 16-17). This line is used to show the trust
and the intense relationship the two lovers share. Porphyria feels relaxed and
comfortable around her lover (Wilson). This feeling of relaxation ultimately
proves, to be Porphyria’s demise. This is supported by “And all her yellow hair
displaced, / And, stooping, made my cheek lie there, / And spread, o’er all,
her yellow hair, / […] A thing to do, and all her hair / In one long yellow
string I wound / Three times her little throat around, / And strangled her”
(ll. 18-20, 38-41). This relaxed state Porphyria feels with her lover, allows
him to take advantage of her, and kill her.
Browning, decided to
put the poem into a dramatic monologue format, so that we can understand the
lover’s view on what happened that night (Holt 990). Dramatic monologue is “a
poem written in the form of a speech of an individual character; it compresses
into a single vivid scene a narrative sense of the speaker's history and
psychological insight into his character” (Dictionary.com). This way the reader
has insight to the lover’s state of mind, during the eventual murder of Porphyria.
Evidence to support this is “And strangled her. No pain felt she; / I am quite
sure she felt no pain” (ll. 41-42). Browning also uses social commentary to
show how despite the pairs love, they can never be together due to the social
pressures of the times, “Murmuring how she loved me—she / Too weak, for all her
heart’s endeavor, / To set its struggling passion free / From pride, and vainer
ties dissever, /
And give herself to me forever” (ll. 21-25). Another quote that shows
how social classes divided the lovers is, “But passion sometimes would prevail,
/ Nor could tonight’s gay feast restrain” (ll. 26-27). As the reader you gain
the sense that the lovers, could never be together in public, due to
Porphyria’s lover being from a much lower social status (Wilson).
However, while reading
the poem you must consider the fact, that Porphyria’s lover is an unreliable
narrator (Wilson). Since, the poem follows the dramatic monologue format you
must consider, that Porphyria cannot be telling the story because, she is dead.
We can infer from the lover’s narration of the events that her wish, of them
being together can be fulfilled. This is supported when he says, “Porphyria’s
love: She guessed not how / Her darling one wish would be heard. / And thus we
sit together now” (ll. 56-58). Another reason that makes the “lover” an
unreliable narrator is when he says, “No pain felt she; / I am quite sure she
felt no pain” (ll.41-42). The lover says this as an attempt to justify the
crime of murder, and further his claim; that what he did was for the best.
Another quote where yet again the “lover” an unreliable narrator is, “And thus
we sit together now, / And all night long we have not stirred, / And yet God
has not said a word” (ll. 58-60). This text also supports the lovers claim,
that Porphyria’s murder was justified. The lover seems to not show any sign of
guilt, for having murdered his beloved, and uses his pretense of God to justify
the crime.
In Porphyria’s Lover, Browning uses dramatic monologue, sexual
undertones, pathetic fallacies, imagery, and social commentary to expose the
reader to the darker and, more sinister, side of Victorian England. Browning
uses these techniques to show the darker and more tragic side of love, and the
view of a man who tries to justify murder, more reminiscent of the Edgar Allen
Poe and the Dark Romantics (Holt 990). Browning in Porphyria’s Lover tries to make the reader dive in the psyche of a
mad-man, who thought he did what was best.
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