Robert Browning: The Meaning of ‘Porphyria’s Lover’

In essence, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ is a controversial poem by renowned Victorian-era Romantic-style poet Robert Browning, published in 1836. Being a dramatic monologue, it creates the persona of an unreliable narrator. Also a social criticism, it censures the blatant discrimination of women. Written for an audience which promoted a distinct patriarchy and deemed women inferior, women were expected to be obedient, employed exclusively in the domestic sphere, and fundamentally, property of husbands who expected them to be young and virgo intacta. Through the speaker, I will explore how men are represented in a negative light.

Firstly, men are presented as craving gratification from others. The speaker exclaims “I knew / Porphyria worshipped me”. Browning reveals the psychopathic nature of the speaker through the verb phrase “I knew”. This creates a tone of absolute certainty and unwavering conviction in his knowledge; almost as if he possessed control over Porphyria’s thoughts too. The use of the dynamic verb “worshipped” connotes the speaker was egotistical and self-absorbed, savouring in the satisfaction that others revered and respected him. The verb “worshipped” also connotes sacred and religious homage paid to a higher entity, suggesting the speaker thought of himself as a divine personage, perhaps imagining it to be honour for Porphyria to procure the chance to be his lover. This alludes to the chauvinistic values of the Victorian era, such as the negative notion of men deeming themselves superior to women, which were ubiquitous, socially acceptable and to a large extent, encouraged.

Moreover, men are presented as desperate for love from women. In “sullen wind” and “rain” pathetic fallacy is used to convey the speaker’s tempestuous mood, which is immediately juxtaposed with the use of personification and synaesthetic effect of Porphyria making the “cheerless grate / Blaze up”. The intransitive verb “blaze” depicts a flame, which signifies a burning passion, or danger, which foreshadows Porphyria’s impending doom. Yet, Porphyria’s unconditional love fails to satisfy the speaker, who demands her to “give herself to me forever”. The adverb “forever” indicates the speaker will be content only when he possesses her emotionally and physically, alluding to her murder and his negative proprietorial obsessions.

In addition, men are presented as possessive of women. The repetition and epizeuxis in “That moment she was mine, mine” of the personal pronoun “mine” is employed to subjugate and reduce Porphyria to nothing more than property. Perhaps, the Victorian proletariat who so blindly followed millenia-old gender conventions may have considered Porphyria’s mind, body, spirit and finances all to be legal chattels of the speaker. Had Porphyria survived, her greatest calling would include dutifully serving her husband and producing a male heir. Conversely, the gargantuan imbalance in power dynamics and gender roles would cast the speaker in a negative outlook in the perspective of a modern audience.

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Furthermore, men are presented as megalomaniacs. The adverbial phrase “Only this time” in the speaker’s remark “Only, this time my shoulder bore / Her head” is utilized to demonstrate the symbolic shift of power from Porphyria to the speaker. He is initially passive and allows Porphyria to take control of his body, but realizing he cannot accept this, he reverses their positions in a cruel twist of fate; resorting to brute force to ensure he would forever overpower her. Porphyria’s last glimmer of independence and self-will is extinguished when her power-obsessed lover establishes totalitarian dominance over her. Browning never allows Porphyria’s voice to be heard; her input is restricted through the use of dramatic monologue. The speaker stared at Porphyria’s lifeless, “smiling rosy little head” for the entirety of the night. The descriptive adjective “rosy” indicates youth and fertility through red colour imagery, illustrating the speaker’s flagrant objectification of Porphyria. Porphyria served her main purpose of winning his admiration and appreciation through her aesthetic external beauty, which would be considered superficial and ignorant today.

Additionally, men are presented as dangerous and sociopathic. Post-murder, the speaker exclaims that “God has not said a word!”.The noun phrase “God” alludes to the biblical notion that the omnipotent and omniscient God would “destroy all the wicked”. Because the speaker suffers no immediate repercussions after he violently strangles his lover out of spite, he believes he can evade responsibility for his crimes; even to the extent that he mocks “God” for God’s inaction. His nonchalance and indifference to the death of a loved one, along with the poem’s regular ABABB rhyme scheme and iambic quadrameter throughout evince psychopathic tendencies his cold, calculated, callous nature. The overt bloodthirstiness and violent imagery would have quenched the heavily-religious Victorian audience’s thirst for gothic fiction and goriness. The cottage negatively becomes a microcosm for man's inherent evil and lust for savagery and destruction.

Likewise, men are presented as paranoid and jealous of women. A motive for murder was the speaker’s inability to tolerate divergent class divisions and Porphyria’s implied sexual promiscuity. The speaker grouses that Porphyria is “Too weak” to “dissever” “vainer ties”. The adjectival phrase “vainer ties” suggests the speaker is dissatisfied with Porphyria’s proximity to her higher-class family, alluding to the patriarchal notion that men, as providers, should supply a family’s finances. However, as the speaker lacks material wealth or status, the speaker’s ego and sense of masculinity are considerably damaged , prompting him to deal Porphyria the greatest equalizer: Death. As Porphyria enters the cottage, she “let” her “damp hair fall”. Metaphorically, the dynamic verb “fall” conveys Porphyria is a “fallen woman”: a shunned woman who had strayed from God’s light and surrendered her chastity pre-marriage, whereas in our post-modern society, sexual spontaneity is both widespread and acceptable.

In conclusion, Browning, an advocate and whistleblower for gender equality, aimed to spark a reform in social construct by diverting attention to the negative traits of a male-dominated hierarchy. To an extent, Browning has succeeded in his mission: the modern reader reels in shock and disgust at the conventions that once plagued culture and civilisation. Although Porphyria is silenced, and pays the price of insurgence with her life, she wins the sympathy and support of Victorian and contemporary audiences.