My Last duchess
The Duke's jealousy, of the attention his Duchess received, cultivated his selfishness of her in a two-dimensional way, thus leading to his having her killed. In "My Last Duchess", the reader is forced to view the Duchess from a two dimensional viewpoint, focusing on her smile. As a two-dimensional figure the Duchess's passion and beauty is seen by her countenance and the vibrancy of her smile. She is just a painting but spoken about as if the painting was a live figure, for while alive she was only thought about for her beauty and impression. The Duchess is viewed even in life to lack any depth, and no focus on her mentality or feelings. The Duke keeps her this way so he can preserve her beauty without sharing it with other males. His contempt of her led to his orders for her death. The Duchess was a beauty and thus her features attracted many suitors. She basked in the attention, thus irritating the Duke to the point that he felt neglected. The Duke explained his feelings of jealousy to an agent. He explained how she flirted with others and drew in their attention, such as the painter of her painting, a monk. We see how much he over reacts
by becoming jealous of the attention the monk draws from her, for a monk has a vow of celibacy and has no sexual thoughts or intentions. In turn the Duke wished to preserve the Duchess's beauty in a two-dimensional way, thus not allowing anyone to share her features. As that is seen to not be the case, he developed severe jealousy that lead to anger. He felt that his gifts, especially his name, should be held on a higher pedestal than a simple flower or cherry. He had noticed that "she liked whate'er / She looked on, and her looks went everywhere" (ln. He safely shut away the picture behind curtain so it is only for him to reveal "The depth and passion of its earnest glance" (ln. The Duke had in turn ordered for the murder of his Duchess. The Duke did not want others to be able to enjoy her smile or to have the opportunity to tempt her with gifts. His order to kill her thus settled that predicament, removing her from the world, and hiding her two-dimensional beauty behind a curtain for only him to see. With her in his control, yet as a picture only, he viewed that picture to be more alive than she was, for it was in his power now to have her smile and passionate gaze whenever he desired without sharing or jealousy. As the duke had her painted, he still witnessed her countenance being admired by the painter himself. As a smile is said to be worth a thousand words, the Duke may have taken her simple smile to be an action of unfaithfulness for "she smiled, no doubt / Whene'er [he] passed her; but who passed without / Much the same smile?" (ln. [And] there she stands / As if alive" (ln.
Common topics in this essay:
Duke Duchess,
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special smile,
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