Robert Browning

Porphyria's Lover by Robert Browning was extremely bothersome and insane depiction of a love story. The unlikely madness displayed by Browning left me confused, angered, and a bit disturbed at the poem's conclusion. 

The poem begins with a simple depiction of a raging storm outside while a man sits in the comfort of his cozy cottage. The storm is described as: 

"The sullen wind was soon awake,

It tore the elm-tops down for spite, 

And did its worst to vex the lake"(662). 

The Romantic depictions of nature in these lines set the tone for the remainder of the poem. The evil characteristics of this storm seemed to foreshadow the evils that were to occur. Like the wind, the sullen man was immediately awakened to become injurious and annihilative towards his lover. And he seems to commit these evil deeds for spite alone. Upon Porphyria's arrival, the speaker seemed to be comforted as she "made all the cottage warm"(663). She seemed to enter with such a strong, influential presence that everything around her lover had lightened. After Porphyria had made her entrance, the speaker claimed, "and, last, she sat down my [his] side" (662). In this quotation, the word "last" became highlighted for me, as if stating this word not only represented her lover's waiting desire for her closeness, but also because it noted one of the last things this poor girl would do. Also, I wonder if this was the reason the speaker became so immediately maddened, because Porphyria took note of him "last." This idea is evidenced as the speaker writes on: 

"... she sat down by my side 

And called me. When no voice replied,

She put her arm about her waist"(662).

He seems angered by being last, when he desires to be first. This is why when she calls for him, he does not reply. She senses his anger and then tries to console him and attempts to seduce him, as if flaunting her power over him sexually. He does not believe that she truly loves him, and he fears the power she may have over him. But, she truly does love him:

"Murmuring how she loved me---she

Too weak, for all her heart's endeavor,

To set its struggling passion free,

From pride, and vainer tries dissever

And give herself to me forever"(663). 

The speaker hears that his lover desires to surrender all and confess her undying love for him, but he remains apprehensive to her compelling confession. He acknowledges that he may be swayed by her seduction so he was to:

"Be sure I looked up at her eyes

Happy and proud; at least I knew

Porphyria worshipped me; surprise"(663).

The speaker regains the power from his lover when he realizes that she does indeed love him to the point that she is obsessed with him. This realization makes him incredibly content in knowing that the battles raging within his mind fearing the validation of her love would cease. However, he may have feared that such feelings of doubt and despair could somehow continue, for how could he be completely sure that her love was real or that it would endure forever? I assume he proceeds with such a horrific action of murdering her to prevent any further pain and to freeze the feelings he had temporarily gained thus establishing their permanence while he had the chance, while he was in control, and while she belonged to only him. As he murders her he proclaims: 

"... and all her hair 

In one long yellow string I wound

Three times her little throat around,

And strangled her. No pain felt she;

I am quite sure she felt no pain"(663).

Even as the speaker is murdering his lover, he tries to validate his actions by claiming that she felt no pain. He repeats this to himself, almost as if to convince himself that it is true. His proceeding actions, made me seriously question his sanity. He opened her eyelids and "laughed the blue eyes without a stain" as she "blushed bright beneath [his] burning kiss"(663). It is as if the speaker believes she is still alive and real, but in a way where she is subservient to him, as he believes it should be and as he truly desired to make it. She no longer has power over him. He then propped her head upon his shoulder reversing the roles they had displayed earlier, so that he could experience or mimic that part of the relationship that he had stolen from her when he killed her. Such an experience was important enough to kill for, implying the incredible desire he must have had for obtaining such control in their relationship. They both remained still so he could soak up entirely the moment he had longed for and in the final lines of the poem he says:

"And thus we sit together now,

And all night long we have not stirred,

And yet God has not said a word"(663).

The speaker has finally attained the comfort which he has so passionately sought after, such that he desires to remain frozen in his stance fully enjoying the moment. The reader can still feel his apprehension concerning his insane act as he continues to validate the murder because God has yet to punish him. The man chose instead of risking his heart for his lover, afraid that she would not reciprocate, he would create a false sense of happiness for himself, convincing himself that her dead body was still real and able to give love, a feature now governed only by him.