Human Individuality In Porphyria's Lover

Throughout the course of history, social hierarchies have existed across the globe, spanning from prince to pauper or business tycoon to lowly scrivener. Authors, in turn, have written works regarding social class, often examining the negative effects of societal structure on personal growth. Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre takes place in Victorian England, in the age of industry and genesis of industrial capitalism. The novel’s protagonist, Jane, first lives a life of neglect, then a life in poverty, and eventually finds her happy ending. Through Jane’s personal experiences and interactions with fellow characters, Brontë analyzes the effects of social class. Professor Chris Vanden Bossche’s article analysis “What Did ‘Jane Eyre’ Do? Ideology, Agency, Class and the Novel” examines social inclusion and monetary pressures placed on the central characters during this pivotal era of English history. Through the Marxist lens, Jane Eyre can be understood in terms of complexity and character motives. Vanden Bossche effectively argues that external forces, like money and people, both motivate and repress Jane into choosing her own path. Thus, a more developed explanation is made for Jane’s various behaviors regarding social inclusion and societal rebellion.

In its simplest form, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre tells the story of a young woman, Jane Eyre, who grows up poor, makes the decision to be independent, does so, and, eventually, marries rich. The novel follows her from her childhood to her reunion with the love of her life and she, throughout it, deals with classism and sexism and exhibits her own form of feminism. By the end, it becomes clear that, with this semi-autobiographical novel, Charlotte Bronte was providing a criticism on society’s discrimination toward those of a lower class, a subtle argument against the male-dominated society’s treatment of women, and an even subtler call to action for women to find their own agency outside of the men in their lives. On another end, however,

The loss of a loved one is perhaps the most difficult experience that humans ever come up against. The poem Porphyria’s Lover, written by Robert Browning, adds a sense of irony to this. At the most superficial layer, the speaker’s in both Porphyria’s Lover and Neutral Tones, written by Thomas hardy, both deal with loss. The tones in Neutral Tones seem to be indifferent, or Neutral. Porphyria’s Lover speaker ends up murdering his beloved at the end the poem. While this isn’t the case with the speaker in Neutral Tones, the two speakers are much more similar than we might think. The speaker in Neutral Tones doesn’t outright murder his lover, but there is a considerable amount of disdain and contempt towards his supposed lover. The speaker in Porphyria’s Lover is quite obviously a disturbed man, the sinister nature of the speaker in Neutral Tones, however, is not as clear. Delving further into this idea, I will also discuss other obscure parallels throughout the two poems.

The Victorian Era was known for its propriety, and for its social standards that could be as strict as the caste system in India. Citizens in England of low social regard faced many prejudices and limitations that could be almost insurmountable to overcome. Much like the caste system, people considered to be the dregs of society were often alienated and had little room for opportunity. In Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, the main character, Jane, suffers social prejudice because she is a simple governess, revealing much about the social stigmas about the working class during the Victorian Era. Jane’s social status limits her not only from being with the one she loves, but also hinders her endeavor to achieve true autonomy.

Comparing Attitudes Toward Love in First Love, Shall I Compare Thee, Porphyria's Love and The Flea Love is an uncontrollable emotion experienced by everybody at some

This author points out that loneliness is created by society at a judging stage of how one looks and, on page 64, the “WOMAN” says, “Above all when you begin to fall asleep. The solitude of your body, a body alone, that inevitably ages and” The solitude of the heart that tries hard every night to prolong its cry against silence.” The character feels lonely and is how she will remain because of her age and looks.

The Victorian era has an influential impact on individuals as they overcame many of society’s beliefs during this period. In Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, societal pressure during the Victorian era led to a discovery of the human condition. This is demonstrated through: love, gender roles, and social class.

Love is the most dominant theme in Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. It is presented as infatuation which is proven to be a force so strong that it literally consumes the two lovers. Although it is only alluded in Browning’s dramatic monologues The Laboratory, the speaker arguably loves her husband as she seeks to rid herself of his lover thereby reclaiming him as her own. Narcissism is seen in both Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess as both characters empower themselves by making them the central focus of the monologue. The Duke is the least emotional of all the characters depicted, yet his actions show a determination and strength of purpose which is evident in the poems.

Jane Eyre, often interpreted as a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age story, goes further than the traditional “happy ending,” commonly represented by getting married. Instead, the novel continues beyond this romantic expectation to tell full the story of Jane’s life, revealing her continual dissatisfaction with conventional expectations of her social era; as a result, many literary critics have taken it upon themselves to interpret this novel as a critique of the rigid class system present in 19th century Victorian society. One literary critic in particular, Chris R. Vanden Bossche, analyzes Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre through a Marxist lens, asserting the importance of class structure and social ideology as historical context and attributing this to the shaping of the novel as a whole. This approach of analysis properly addresses Brontë’s purposeful contrast of submission and rebellion used to emphasize Jane’s determined will for recognition as an equal individual.

The Victorian era was characterized by a patriarchal society that imposed strict ways of life and moral codes on its women. Because women were considered to have belonged primarily in the domestic realm, the traditional and ideal Victorian woman was the passive, pure, and virtuous “angel in the house.” Women were expected to maintain their virginity until marriage, and expressions of female sexuality or promiscuity were of moral outrage and came with serious consequences. Accordingly, Robert Browning uses this idea of female sexuality and its ramifications in several of his dramatic monologues. Close readings of Browning’s poems “Porphyria’s Lover” and “My Last Duchess” demonstrate how Victorian women are empowered by expressions of their

What standards develop the roles of men and women in a relationship? Should the man in the relationship always be in charge, be above the women in any natural setting? Robert Browning, one of the most famous writers of his time addresses the controversial topic of how men and women have different roles in relationships. In a larger aspect of Browning’s writings he adress the realationships between the sexs using dramatic monolog. In comparison and contrast of “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” Browning addresses the similar and different ways men handle their roles within their relationship.

This “stagnation” was dreary and difficult for many women, however, few were able to push through these restraints and find their voice. The “customs” given by society should not trap and stifle women’s ideas and opinions. Bronte, through Jane’s words is telling those women who are afraid to speak up that their thoughts and opinions are just as valid and important as those of their male counterparts. Jane’s view on women, and the fact that they should be equal to men, is evident in the way she treats the men she interacts with. She is not afraid of them and will not hesitate to voice her opinions. This is even

While much of the Victorian Era centers around the rigid constructs of society, some authors and artists pull away from the strict rules and realism. Claude Monet, the French painter was a major contributor to the Impressionist Movement and his 1873 Impression, Sunrise is an oil painting on canvas that depicts a gloomy dawn over a harbor in the new style. The British poet, Robert Browning is known for his dramatic monologues, one of which is “Porphyria’s Lover”, written in 1834. The poetic style allows for the character to speak straight to the audience. Both forms of art deviate from traditional Victorian values, capturing feelings and personality, rather than morality and truth. In the painting, Impression,

Charles Dickens (the author of Great Expectations) and Charlotte Brontë (the author of Jane Eyre) both grew up during the early 1800s. Growing up during the same time period, each author incorporated elements of the Victorian Society into these novels. Both novels depict the protagonist’s search for the meaning of life and the nature of the world within the context of a defined social order. In essence, the two novels encompass the all-around self-development of the main characters, by employing similar techniques. Each spurs the protagonist on their journey by introducing some form of loss or discontent which then results in the main character departing

Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte explore social class in a number of different ways throughout their novels Pride and the Prejudice and Jane Eyre. They do this through the use of stylistic devices which in turn appeals to their different audiences. Both Jane and Charlotte are notable writers for their remarkable texts. Jane Austen is known for playing a revolutionary role in the generation of English female literature, which was counteracted by this piece- and Charlotte Bronte also developed her feminist thoughts, which have been displayed throughout her novels. By analysing social class in Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre this essay will compare these two women writers’ texts and display how social class is presented