Porphyria By Browning Essay

Browning creates the impression that love is a destructive force. The narrator kills Porphyria because of his love for her, commenting how her devotion ‘made my heart swell’ so he ‘wound’ her hair around her throat and ‘strangled her’. Literally, the narrator means he was overcome by his adoration for Porphyria and decided to show that by ending her life, as well as how Porphyria’s sincere confession has gotten her killed. These acts of love both clearly show how disastrous love can be. Metaphorically, the narrator could potentially be suggesting that love can only lead to ruin, especially seeing as during the Victorian times people married to increase wealth, fame and social status instead of love. Browning may potentially be teaching a moral …show more content…
Porphyria clearly portrays the more dominant role in their relationship, as she ‘put my arm about her waist’ and began ‘murmuring how she loved me’. It is a clearly intimate moment, and she’s the one who is openly declaring her feelings and advancing on the man. Literally, she is turning social convention upon its head, and is displaying characteristics more commonly seen in males, because of her love. She is not passive. Metaphorically, Browning is potentially suggesting that love can cause the impossible- the complete reversal of roles within the first half of the poem unexpected for the contemporary reader due to society having embraced patriarchal and misogynistic ideals. The phrase ‘she loved me’ shows how the woman is put first, a sign of dominance, and that no male pronouns make an appearance, highlighting a more docile nature. Symbolically, it can be a reference to the choking confines of the expected and how love can help you expand further beyond these limits. However, another interpretation could be that love should be feared; if it has the power to break past the margins society has set, then it can be the catalyst of something much