Gendered Violence in Browning’s Poems “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover”, both written by Robert Browning in 1842, contain strong elements of gendered sexual violence that is likely a product of the repression and censorship that typified the Victorian Age. While “Porphyria’s Lover” is much more graphic and obvious in its depiction of sexual violence, “My Last Duchess” contains a number of elements that are dark and disturbing in their own right. Most important of these is the objectification of the duchess, which reduces her identity to that of another display in a collection. Both similarities and differences between the poems will be analyzed, including theme, symbolism, rhyme scheme, tone, and the nature of the sexual violence itself. This will show that the gendered sexual violence present in Browning’s poems is indicative of their historical context, primarily the social norms of the time. There are strong similarities between the two poems, particularly in theme, where both poems display a preservation of the mens’ idea of the feminine in a form that fit their ideal. In “My Last Duchess” this is seen in the opening lines, “That's my last Duchess painted on the wall / Looking as if she were alive . . .” and a little later in lines nine and ten, when it is revealed that the Duke keeps the painting curtained so that only he can enjoy the sight and smile of his late wife (1-2,9-10). In “Porphyria’s Lover” the theme is present in the narrator’s desire to fix Porphyria in time when he realizes that “Porphyria worshiped [him]” (33). The historical context is important in understanding the thematic similarities in Browning’s poems. Melissa Valiska Gregory writes:
Not only did Browning’s fascination with sexual violence resonate in the Victorian social scene, a culture in which the power dynamics of married life were fiercely scrutinized and debated, but also, in so many of his dramatic monologues, sexual violence becomes a particularly extreme version of the longing to dominate and to define oneself through domination. (496) The poems were written within the same social context, and just as the poems found readers who were drawn to them because of the current social forces, Browning was influenced by those same social forces while composing the poems.
The symbolism in the poems plays a role in understanding their similar themes. One common thread is feminine purity. In “My Last Duchess,” feminine purity is symbolized by the white mule that the duchess rode around the terrace, the color white being a common symbol for purity. This symbol is contradicted by its accompanying symbol, that of the mule (28-29). The mule, seen as a base and sexual animal, is perhaps the iniquity that lies beneath purity. The symbolism of purity comes into “Porphyria’s Lover” using the same symbol, the color white. Browning writes, “She put my arm about her waist, / And made her smooth white shoulder bare” (16-17). That the color white is linked directly to her body denotes physical purity. The symbolism is further strengthened by Browning’s use of pale in the lines “Nor could to-night's gay feast restrain / A sudden thought of one so pale” (27-28). Not only does pale denote feminine purity, it also denotes weakness. Taken as a whole, this thread of symbolism reveals that the sexual violence in the texts is an attempt by the men to forever preserve the purity and subjugation of the women, even if it means murder. There are some differences between the poems, one of which is rhyme scheme. “My Last Duchess” uses a simple AABB rhyme scheme, while “Porphyria’s Lover” uses a slightly more complicated ABABB scheme. This works to create tension within the texts, because “My Last Duchess” is the more complicated poem, containing more symbolism and a less straight-forward sequence of events than “Porphyria's Lover;” because of this, the rhyme schemes work against the poems and create tension in the same way that the poems themselves worked against Victorian social norms. Another difference is tone. The narrator in “My Last Duchess” is bitter and resentful, as shown in lines like “Too easily impressed; she liked whate'er / She looked on, and her looks went everywhere” and “Just this / Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss, / Or there exceed the mark” (23-24, 37-39). However, the narrator in “Porphyria’s Lover” uses a tone of genuine, albeit disturbingly twisted, affection. This can be seen in lines like “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” (34-37). The difference in tone between the two texts shows how Browning approached sexual violence from different perspectives to create a multi-layered model of the violence. While there are differences in the ways that “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” display their sexual violence, it plays an important role in each. In “Porphyria’s Lover” the sexual violence is upfront and takes place directly within the text; the strangulation is graphically described in lines 37 through 41. The method of death is important because it is very personal and close-up; it mirrors the close relationship between Porphyria and her lover. Gregory reveals that “[Browning’s] poetry explores the psychology of domestic strife . . . luring his readers into intimate contact with speakers whose transgressive sexual fantasies and disruptive familial behavior profoundly violated nineteenth-century domestic norms and immensely troubled his contemporaries” (494). The type of sexual violence is fitting within the context of the poem because Browning was working against domestic norms. In “My Last Duchess” the sexual violence is less graphic and removed from the present of the poem by time. Additionally, the sexual violence takes on a different nature because of the focus on objectification. The title itself hints at the objectification with the word “My.” Further in the poem the theme is continued: “Though his fair daughter's self, as I avowed / At starting, is my object. . . .” (52-53). The clearest, and most important example of the objectification is the closing lines of the poem in which the duke transitions from the duchess to a statue in the blink of an eye. This demonstrates how the duke has completely dehumanized the duchess after her murder by reducing her identity to that of a painting in his collection. Like the case of Porphyria, this process runs against Victorian social norms, a strategy seemingly employed to resonate with the feelings of some readers. With an understanding of the poetic elements, such as theme and symbolism, in Browning’s poems and how they work, it is possible to understand how the poems function through their historical context. The theme of the poems is strengthened by symbolism, while differences in the poem work to create tension and further deepen Browning’s model of gendered sexual violence. The similarities and differences in the two poems and how they work are important in understanding why the poems worked in their time, how the social context both influenced the poems and the response the poems received, and why the thematic ties are so strong in Browning’s work. Browning’s use of sexual violence is illustrative of domestic tensions in the Victorian Age and how gender relations informed domestic norms.

Works Cited
Browning, Robert. “My Last Duchess” Literature: A Portable Anthology. 2nd ed. Gardner, Janet E., et al., eds. Boston: Bedford, 2009. 517-518. Print.
Browning, Robert. “Porphyria’s Lover” Dramatic lyrics: Dramatic romances; Christmas-eve and Easter-day. Volume 4. New York: Crowell, 1898. 275-276. Google Books. Web. 23 Nov 2009.
Gregory, Melissa Valiska. "Robert Browning and the Lure of the Violent Lyric Voice: Domestic Violence and the Dramatic Monologue." Victorian Poetry 38.4 (2000). 491-510. Project Muse. Web. 23 Nov 2009.