**CRITICAL THEORIES** 🚺 ☭☦️🧠

Question 1

What is the Feminist perspective of Porphyria’s lover? 🚺

Hint: think about the ending of the poem + how it relates to the speaker’s ambition.

Answer 1

• I= perhaps Porphyria is the victim of a society that is patriarchal [a society in which men have more dominance and power to men].
• This is because her lover only views her as his possession, which is why he kills her- [as he wants to possess her for eternity]- ; the ending of the poem is quite interesting, as it highlights how foolish/ridiculous the speaker’s ambition is to possess her forever, yet he doesn’t possess Porphyria since she is dead.

Question 2

What is the Feminist perspective of Porphyria’s lover? 🚺

Hint: what does the speaker think he possesses?

Answer 2

• All he possesses and owns, is his guilt- this is a guilt that a patriarchal society should have to burden- as from a feminist perspective, society is the one to blame by denying women equality and their own independence [therefore symbolically, killing women]

Question 3

What is the Feminist perspective of Porphyria’s lover? 🚺

Hint: what’s ironic about the naming of the speaker and Porphyria?

Answer 3

• Additionally, it’s also ironic how instead of the speaker, Porphyria is the one named in this poem, she is superior to her lover [because of her high social class].
• By not naming the lover in this poem, Browning reinforces his message- he is inferior to her, therefore he should be judged as superior to him; she isn’t allowed to be judged as superior to him since she is female.

Question 4

What is the Feminist perspective of Porphyria’s lover? 🚺

Hint: what is ________’s high status not powerful enough to conquer?

Answer 4

• But her high status is not powerful enough to ‘conquer’ the sexism of a patriarchal society, therefore instead of being judged as superior to her loved one, she is instead judged for + punished for expressing her sexual desire- this stresses Browning’s message: of how a patriarchal society denies women sexual liberty/freedom.
• This view is further shown as Porphyria is not reliable on a man, she is the one who initiates the physical and sexual contact.

Question 5

What is the Feminist perspective of Porphyria’s lover? 🚺

Hint: What’s the speaker’s response to Porphyria?

Answer 5

• Moreover, the speaker’s response to Porphyria, is one that consists of slavery- he not only ties her, but then strangles Porphyria with her own hair- by doing this, he treats her as inferior to him + murders her, with her female sexual desire/femininity.
• By doing this, Browning further highlights his message of women are objectifications of men, so their female sexual desire is forbidden- in which they are ultimately judged and punished for.
• the lover is a representation of the sexism of a society, which is patriachal.

Question 6

What is a Marxist Perspective ? ☭⚒️

Answer 6

• Karl Marx invented the view of Marxism, which claims that everything which is wrong in society, is wrong because of the class system.

Question 7

What is the Marxist perspective about Porphyria’s lover? ☭⚒️

Answer 7

• The Marxist perspective would see Porphyria as an token/symbol of class/status.
• Class is the reason her viewpoint has been twisted, meaning that although she loves the speaker, she ‘scorned’ him- the speaker is suggesting Pohyrpia had a disdainful/scornful image of him, due to his low social status/low social class.

Question 8

What is the Marxist perspective about Porphyria’s lover? ☭⚒️

Answer 8

• From this perspective, the superiority of a higher class is an illusion/a facade, like Porphyria’s ‘soiled gloves’.
• And The lover’s madness is a result of social injustice/social oppression. Though a reader cannot agree with what the speaker has done, they are able to understand that his madness is a cause of society. Furthermore, if Porphyria took no notice to the class system, she and the speaker would have remained content, therefore she wouldn’t be dead.

Question 9

What is the Marxist perspective about Porphyria’s lover? ☭⚒️

Answer 9

• From a Marxist viewpoint, Porphyria is murdered because she succumbs to the social hierarchy/class system.
• Additionally, the Marxist viewpoint would also argue that Christianity is perhaps another way that inferior/lower social classes can be persecuted/oppressed.

Question 10

What is the Marxist perspective about Porphyria’s lover? ☭⚒️

Answer 10

• Additionally, the Marxist viewpoint would also argue that Christianity is perhaps another way that inferior/lower social classes can be persecuted/oppressed.
• This is because Christianity teaches people to not reject the current state of things/the current state of how the world works.

Question 11

What is the Marxist perspective about Porphyria’s lover? ☭⚒️

Answer 11

• For example, Jesus told his apostles to ‘render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s’- Instead of rebelling against the romans, they should tolerate it, since when they reach Heaven, they will be credited.
• This can be seem interpreted as a political messages which teaches people to tolerate society, because their purpose is to make sure you are saved, therefore your soul can be in Heaven forever, instead of rebelling against society and not tolerating the class/social hierarchy.

Question 12

What is the Marxist perspective about Porphyria’s lover? ☭⚒️

Answer 12

• A Marxist would argue that Christianity contuines to allow the wealthy to stay wealthy and for the needy, to stay needy- allowing you to be persecuted/oppressed since all you aim for is an eternal reward in Heaven, rather than joy whilst on Earth, allowing society to simple stay as it already is.

Question 13

What is the Marxist perspective about Porphyria’s lover? ☭⚒️

Answer 13

• [Ultimately, As Browning is a part of a Victorian society, which allows people [who are of lower status] to be oppressed/persecuted.
• he therefore illustrates it as how power is held by malicious people/in the wrong hands and from a Marxist viewpoint, Browning is still part of the social hierarchy/class system.]

Question 14

What is a Christian perspective about Porphyria’s lover? ☦️

Answer 14

• A Christian perspective would argue that Porphyria is murdered because of her sin- her sexual desire to make love/to give herself to the speaker, outside of marriage.
• Porphyria’s judgement/punished is justified; the murder of her isn’t. The speaker’s claim ‘And yet God has not said a word!’ isn’t proof that God ceases to exist, instead it clearly demonstrates the speakers’ psychotic nature/his madness- [he will still go to hell/burn in hellfire]

Question 15

What is a Christian perspective about Porphyria’s lover? ☦️

Answer 15

• Since Porphyria will not be conserved for eternity, likewise the idea the speaker can escape won’t be conserved + he will eventually be punished, just as he tried to punish Porphyria for expressing her sexual desire.

Question 16

What is a Christian perspective about Porphyria’s lover? ☦️

Answer 16

• Furthermore, from a Christian viewpoint, the narrative of Porphyria sitting ‘together’ with the speaker is simply a facade, just like his freedom + idea that he won’t be judged aswell.

-There is only disharmony bewteen them, since Porphyria wouldn’t value being murdered. As he states: they haven’t ‘stirred’- once again this isnt true, because she is dead. So, his attempt to attack/assault God is a hallucination/illusion, reflecting his pyschotic nature.

Question 17

What is a Christian perspective about Porphyria’s lover? ☦️

Answer 17

• Ultimatelty, from a Christian viewpoint/persepctive, it would be expected that the speaker’s judgement to be eternal damnation.

Question 18

What is a psychoanalytic perspective about Porphyria’s lover? 🧠

Answer 18

• Created by Sigmund Freud, psychoanalytical theory argues personality is made of up solely three different parts known as: the id, the ego + the superego.
• the id, is fuelled/driven by basic needs/primal urges: sexual desire, thirst and hunger. The id acts on instinct/impulse + also acts to try and avoid suffering/pain, having no awareness to the result of its actions- reflecting how the lover in the poem, is furthered by his id.

Question 19

What is a psychoanalytic perspective about Porphyria’s lover? 🧠

Answer 19

• ; the superego is concerned with what is acceptable and unacceptable/right and wrong. Instead of acting on instinct [which the id does], the superego uses guilt/self-condemnation to persuade behaviour that is deemed as socially acceptable.

Question 20

What is a psychoanalytic perspective about Porphyria’s lover? 🧠

Answer 20

• But the ego, tries to strike a balance between the id and the superego. It attempts to fulfill the id; only in ways that aren’t socially unacceptable- it attempts to find a way, for the two/the lover’s to be together, in spite of the superego of civilisation/society which argues the two of them being together is immoral.
• The ego them tries to delay temporary pleasure, if it sees a advantage that will benefit the person for a long time/long term.

Question 21

What is a psychoanalytic perspective about Porphyria’s lover? 🧠

Answer 21

• From a psychoanalytic perspective, would examine the risks and hazards of the id possessing two much control. The speaker in Porphyria’s lover, is completely controlled by his id, to an extent.

Question 22

What is a psychoanalytic perspective about Porphyria’s lover? 🧠

Answer 22

• He is entirely in defiance with the superego, which he views as the control/authority of the social hierarchy/class system.
• The speaker then notices that the one he loves [Porphyria], is influenced/control by her superego. Porphyria’s ego has fulfilled her id- to be with her loved one- ; the speaker notices this is only short-term, and she will therefore renounce/reject him, due to his low-place in the social hierarchy- link to ‘passions sometimes would prevail’.

Question 23

What is a psychoanalytic perspective about Porphyria’s lover? 🧠

Answer 23

• But the speaker’s id, is petrified of Porphyria’s id. His response to her being the one to initiate physical and sexual contact and making him inferior to her: is to murder her, judging/punishing her by death.
• I= maybe the speaker’s superego is punishing Porphyria for the crime/offence of: being a woman [in a society that is patrachial] where she is not only of a higher class, but has sexual power over him, [which is prohibted] so therefore he kills Porphyria to regain control since she is dominant over him, which the speaker rejects.

Question 24

What is a psychoanalytic perspective about Porphyria’s lover? 🧠

Answer 24

• Furthermore, the speaker’s narrative/description of Porphyria makes her seem tiny/small, as he fixtates/focuses on her ‘little’ throat- this adjective, coupled with emotive language highlights to the reader, Porphyria’s vunlerability.
• ; Browning would see this as a token of the speaker’s obession for control, he constantly wants to remain dominant and powerful over Porphyria. [further highlights how the speaker can never see her as an equal to him, or perhaps even superior]