Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: Porphyrias Lover Feminist Critics - 1,417 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

On the surface Brownings Porphyria's Lover is a sadistic tale of a homicidal man who snuffs out the woman he loves in order to possess her; however, this is a piece ripe for multiple interpretations. Feminist critics may view it as a misogynist piece on the strangling of women from then modern culture, while Psychoanalytic critics would see it as a disturbing echo of Brownings own morbid desires. However, it can be seen most clearing from those who have significant backgrounds in both Postmodernism and Marxism, for it can be seen as a piece discussing the struggle of power between class (Kavanagh 307). The poem itself centers around a young woman, Porphyria, and the inert man, the narrator, it appears she adores. She has traveled through a blinding storm to the dull chill of his house, presumably outside of the reach of civilization.

When she enters, she sets his furnace and likewise the house alight and then proceeds to peel off her damp clothes. Soon her hair is down and she is murmuring her adoration for the narrator while pressing him against her body. During this moment of devotion, however, the narrator realizes she will not leave her social obligations to be with him. Upon this realization he looks into her eyes, understanding, but if for that one moment, she adored him completely, giving nothing to those obligations which otherwise bind her. With this sudden comprehension he takes her golden locks, and with them, strangles her, so that she will remain his for the all of his existence.

Feminist critics could view this piece as an allegory for the subversion of their gender with a misogynist twist being that God does nothing to imply that women should be treated otherwise as stated in the closing verse: And thus [they] sit together now, / and all night long [they] have not stirred / And yet God has not said a word! (58 - 60) Porphyria is symbolic of womankind on a whole; when she enters into her lovers damp house she makes the cheerless grate / Blaze up, and all the cottage warm, (8 - 9) representing the servitude of women to men, showing that their sole job is to keep their families warm and content. However, unlike the Stepford wife, she is portrayed as too proud to leave her world of gay feasts (27) and festivity by severing vainer ties (24) to stay with [him] forever (25). Because she will not bend her will and give up her independent life to serve him, he takes her yellow hair (39) and winds it around her neck three times, strangling her. This action is powerful unto itself, but as a symbolic gesture it is far more nefarious; it indicates man strangling off womankind when she attempts to assert the independence. Once he has done this and she is now completely his, loyal and obedient in her death, he, who has seen no joy from Porphyrias visit, becomes pleased, showing her his first signs of physical affection by kissing her on her still-warm cheek; this indicates the narrators desire to possess his lover as an object rather to accept her as a human being.

The narrator tells himself that this was her wish, and that she is happier for the lack of the life he imagined her to scorn - The smiling rosy little head, / So glad it has its utmost will, / That all it scorned at once is fled, / And I, its love, am gained instead! (52 - 55). In the conclusion, God is silent, which seems to say that this enslavement is either tolerated or condoned by a superior being. Psychoanalytic critics, who rally the idea that a piece of work is representative of the authors unconscious desires or fears, might state the Browning has a death wish for either one particular woman or womankind on a whole. Perhaps he was likewise scorned because of either his social standing or other such ascribed life status, and he has remained bitter since (Meltzer 155). Or maybe Browning has feels that women should be submissive and if this ideology fails than the woman must be, in some way, punished. By writing this poem he is acting out on these violent desires by creating two people who may pantomime that which he craves (Meltzer 151).

However, like in My Last Duchess, as Mitchell points out, the first thing that may strike [one] about this poem is the way that Browning renounces any direct repre- sentation of his own views: the poet does not... narrate any events in his own voice; he lets his invent- ed character... do all the talking as if he were a charac- ter in a play (Mitchell 19). This shows either Brownings awareness of psychoanalytic critics who attempt to find the authors deep-set desires among his own words and attempt to sway them otherwise, or his even further unconsciously veiled attempts to hide his savage urges (Meltzer 151).

Though these two approaches seem plausible, they leave other many of the symbols in the poem unaccounted for. A Postmodernist approach to this poem, though, portrays the piece its broadest light, showing their symbols to the broadest extent. Postmodernist critics are known for their tendency toward hyper-representation (Mitchell 16) and the excising of the author from the work itself (Patterson 144). Therefore to view a piece from their perspective one must look for symbols in the piece and their possible connotations throughout the work on a whole, rather than considering the author and the implications of their influence (Mitchell 16). However, many of the symbols are overwhelmingly Marxist, so a Postmodernist critique alone would be difficult. Therefore in the following analysis of Porphyrias Lover, both forms of critique are woven together, and focus mainly on the tropes of the poem and how the come to party the class struggle between the two central characters (Kavanagh 307).

The narrator is written as a chilly person, allowing warmth into his home only when Porphyria arrives, setting the fire ablaze. Almost all of the figurative language used when discussing him, as well as his view of the evening, is stormy and spiteful. Even the setting of his home in the poem reads 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 (2 - 5). The storm outside can be said to symbolize the similar storm of thoughts which is running its course through the narrators mind. Porphyria, as a foil, is constructed as a warm, rosy character who lights the dreary house with her presence, yet she too has come through the wind and rain (30) of his existence, surviving thus far and goes to him to warm the chill of his world. However, he understands that because of her status in society and the pride which accompanies it, she will never stay with him regardless of how strong her adoration is.

Her long, blonde hair is continuously referred to as yellow rather than blonde, which can also be taken for golden; this seems to suggest that her hair, and likewise she, is representative of the financial capital which sets her apart from his impecunious existence. When the narrator realizes that, if for but that moment in time, Porphyria and her heart belong solely to him, he takes her blonde locks and likewise her wealth, and strangles her with it, showing his power over both her and higher society. He sees this death as both gentle and subtly requested, for her smiling rosy little head (52) was so glad it [had] its utmost will (53) granted. He also sees it as being approved by God for He is silent during the whole evening which is to follow.

This could also be symbolic of the stilling of storm, or God as Mother Nature, and likewise the cease of the narrators inner turmoil. Though there are many lines to back up all of these interpretations, the Postmodernist view of Porphyrias Lover seems to be the most coherent, pulling from all of the well placed symbols and tropes Browning organized throughout the piece to state that Porphyria, as a symbol of the affluent, is the cause of his distress and violent tendencies... Though a typical morbid piece from Browning, Porphyrias Lover seems to have a much deeper connotation, showing both the power struggle the bourgeoisie and the proletariat (OHara 413).


Free research essays on topics related to: porphyria, warm, likewise, feminist critics, porphyrias lover

Research essay sample on Porphyrias Lover Feminist Critics

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com