My Last Dutchess
My Last Duchess
The relationship between the Duke and Duchess in the poem My Last Duchess is very possessive. The Duke in the poem, frequently objectifies his late wife by referring to her as ‘my last duchess’. The use of the word ‘my’ suggests that it is personal to him and he has possession over her as she belongs to him. It also suggests that the relationship was very singular and for his benefit only as it was his wife and therefore his relationship. This reveals that the couple's relationship had an uneven balance of power and that there was no equality. As the Duke took a hierarchical position over his wife, where he ultimately owned her. By creating this clear example of possession the poet wants the reader to question the morality of the situation at the time, where the ownership of a woman was commonplace. This makes the reader question whether it is truly right for a man to own a woman. The idea that the Duke objectifies and possesses his late wife is further reinforced by the fact that ‘she is painted on the wall’. By having ownership over this portrait amongst his art-gallery, the Duke views his wife to be part of his collection and therefore his property. Because she is ‘painted’ onto the wall and is not the real life thing this shows that she has been manufactured and her identity has not been created by herself but by a painter, who is subsequently a man. Because she has been ‘painted’ this shows she has been created to also represent what the Duke’s true desires were in her appearance. Furthermore showing how her identity has been shaped and painted by not herself but through a painter and the Duke’s intentions. Stripping her of her identity and degrading her to merely an image, eliciting her only merit to her aesthetics. This is further shown when the Duke tells his company that ‘[he] calls her a piece of wonder, now’. By using the word ‘now’ the Duke uses the present tense and because his wife his dead this suggests that he was not completely
The relationship between the Duke and Duchess in the poem My Last Duchess is very possessive. The Duke in the poem, frequently objectifies his late wife by referring to her as ‘my last duchess’. The use of the word ‘my’ suggests that it is personal to him and he has possession over her as she belongs to him. It also suggests that the relationship was very singular and for his benefit only as it was his wife and therefore his relationship. This reveals that the couple's relationship had an uneven balance of power and that there was no equality. As the Duke took a hierarchical position over his wife, where he ultimately owned her. By creating this clear example of possession the poet wants the reader to question the morality of the situation at the time, where the ownership of a woman was commonplace. This makes the reader question whether it is truly right for a man to own a woman. The idea that the Duke objectifies and possesses his late wife is further reinforced by the fact that ‘she is painted on the wall’. By having ownership over this portrait amongst his art-gallery, the Duke views his wife to be part of his collection and therefore his property. Because she is ‘painted’ onto the wall and is not the real life thing this shows that she has been manufactured and her identity has not been created by herself but by a painter, who is subsequently a man. Because she has been ‘painted’ this shows she has been created to also represent what the Duke’s true desires were in her appearance. Furthermore showing how her identity has been shaped and painted by not herself but through a painter and the Duke’s intentions. Stripping her of her identity and degrading her to merely an image, eliciting her only merit to her aesthetics. This is further shown when the Duke tells his company that ‘[he] calls her a piece of wonder, now’. By using the word ‘now’ the Duke uses the present tense and because his wife his dead this suggests that he was not completely