My last Duchess Flashcards
(8 cards)
The Dukes interaction
shows a visitor a portrait of his late wife. He says she was too friendly and smiled too much. He hints that he gave commands to stop her smiling - meaning he likely had killed her. Then casually moves on to showing off more of his art collection
Themes 1
Power and control - The duke wants to control everything
Jealousy - He was jealous of how his wife treated others kindly
Themes 2
Pride - He believes his family name makes him better than others
Objectification - He treats his wife like a possession, just like a painting or a statue
“That’s my last Duchess on the wall”
He owns the painting and he saw his wife as something to own too
“Too soon made glad, too easily impressed”
He didn’t like her being happy or kind to anyone but him
“I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together”
A chilling line - he likely had her killed, just because she smiled at others
“Notice Neptune… taming a sea-horse”
He ends by showing a statue of a god controlling a creature - showing how he sees himself: powerful and dominant
One long speech
no one else talks, which shows how the Duke dominates the conversation
