The idea of murder may make people’s stomach turn, but to the Duke in Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess” it seems like an easy task. The Duke is showing the emissary the painting of his last Duchess and telling him of her flaws and how she made him unhappy. The Duke has met with the emissary to discuss his next marriage. The death of his most recent Duchess was caused by the Duke and his personalities traits. They are the reason for him murdering her because he is a jealous, selfish, arrogant and controlling man.
A large fault that the Duke has is jealousy and that fault played an important role in the murder of his Duchess. When he is pointing out the blush of her cheeks in the painting; he implies that she was a flirt by saying “. . …show more content…
He is obviously a wealthy, high class man because he is a Duke; which is a male with the highest hereditary title in the British peerages. Also, he can afford to have “Fra Pandolf” (3), a very famous painter, paint a portrait of his Duchess. After bragging about who had painted the portrait he says, “Will’t please you sit and look at her?” (5) expecting him to sit down and to admire and be delighted to be seeing such a beautiful painting. He shows arrogance in his pride for his family name and status when he says, “As if she ranked / My gift of a nine-hundred-year-old name / With anybody’s gift” (33-34). Meaning that she should have considered his gift to be of greater value than any other gift. The Duke explains, “-E’en then would be some stooping and I choose / Never to stoop” (42-43); meaning that he could have just talked to her and told her what was bothering him but he considered that to be beneath him. The Duke considers himself to be above women and thinks of them as objects, which is proven when he says, “Though is fair daughter’s self, as I avowed / At starting, is my object” (52-53) to the emissary. Seeing women as objects opposed to the same as himself makes it easier for him to kill them without remorse or regret. The Duke thought so highly of himself that he thought his duchess should only smile and blush at him because he wanted her to himself. Ultimately, the Duke’s …show more content…
Right away the Duke shows his control by having a curtain covering her portrait and only allowing select people to see it. He says, “Since none puts by / The curtain I have drawn for you, but I” (9-10) to the emissary as he draws back the curtain to reveal the portrait of his “last duchess” (3). He considered her to be a flirt because she smiled and blushed at people other than him, which made him extremely cross with her. He became stricter with her and tells the emissary that “[he] gave commands / then the smiles stopped altogether” (45-46). The Duke found ways to even control the things that made her smile and what she did. Not only is his control shown with the Duchess, but it is shown with the painter as well. He states, “Fra Pandolf’s hands / Worked busily a day” (3-4), meaning that he only gave him a day to do the portrait which would have taken many hours. Once the Duchess’ smiles grew fewer he got tired of her which also led to the decision to end her life. As well as controlling aspects in her life, he exercised the power of control of life and death, much like God. The Duchess does not communicate with people plainly enough; he thinks she is too flirtatious and friendly. This is proven when he explains, “all and each / Would draw from her alike the approving speech / Or blush, at least” (29-31). Towards the ending of the poem, the Duke points out a
A large fault that the Duke has is jealousy and that fault played an important role in the murder of his Duchess. When he is pointing out the blush of her cheeks in the painting; he implies that she was a flirt by saying “. . …show more content…
He is obviously a wealthy, high class man because he is a Duke; which is a male with the highest hereditary title in the British peerages. Also, he can afford to have “Fra Pandolf” (3), a very famous painter, paint a portrait of his Duchess. After bragging about who had painted the portrait he says, “Will’t please you sit and look at her?” (5) expecting him to sit down and to admire and be delighted to be seeing such a beautiful painting. He shows arrogance in his pride for his family name and status when he says, “As if she ranked / My gift of a nine-hundred-year-old name / With anybody’s gift” (33-34). Meaning that she should have considered his gift to be of greater value than any other gift. The Duke explains, “-E’en then would be some stooping and I choose / Never to stoop” (42-43); meaning that he could have just talked to her and told her what was bothering him but he considered that to be beneath him. The Duke considers himself to be above women and thinks of them as objects, which is proven when he says, “Though is fair daughter’s self, as I avowed / At starting, is my object” (52-53) to the emissary. Seeing women as objects opposed to the same as himself makes it easier for him to kill them without remorse or regret. The Duke thought so highly of himself that he thought his duchess should only smile and blush at him because he wanted her to himself. Ultimately, the Duke’s …show more content…
Right away the Duke shows his control by having a curtain covering her portrait and only allowing select people to see it. He says, “Since none puts by / The curtain I have drawn for you, but I” (9-10) to the emissary as he draws back the curtain to reveal the portrait of his “last duchess” (3). He considered her to be a flirt because she smiled and blushed at people other than him, which made him extremely cross with her. He became stricter with her and tells the emissary that “[he] gave commands / then the smiles stopped altogether” (45-46). The Duke found ways to even control the things that made her smile and what she did. Not only is his control shown with the Duchess, but it is shown with the painter as well. He states, “Fra Pandolf’s hands / Worked busily a day” (3-4), meaning that he only gave him a day to do the portrait which would have taken many hours. Once the Duchess’ smiles grew fewer he got tired of her which also led to the decision to end her life. As well as controlling aspects in her life, he exercised the power of control of life and death, much like God. The Duchess does not communicate with people plainly enough; he thinks she is too flirtatious and friendly. This is proven when he explains, “all and each / Would draw from her alike the approving speech / Or blush, at least” (29-31). Towards the ending of the poem, the Duke points out a