Last Duchess

The Objectification of Women in Victorian England and Browning's "My Last Duchess"

Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" is a macabre poem about jealousy and rage, which simultaneously highlights Victorian ideals of women and their role in society. In "My Last Duchess," the unnamed narrator has not only objectified his last wife, nonchalantly telling the emissary sent to arrange his next marriage about his last wife and the tensions that were evident during the course of union, but also insinuates that he rid himself of her because he was unsatisfied with her behavior and attitude. Through the poem's narrative, Browning is able to demonstrate how people and society believed women should comport themselves and how deviations from this social norm could potentially disrupt relationships and social balance.

In "My Last Duchess," the narrator objectifies his wife literally and attempts to objectify her figuratively. In the poem, the narrator's last...
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