The interpretation of poems, plays, and stories will depend on the persons thought and values of whoever is reading them. Thus, any theme derived from a body of work depends on that persons interpretation. Robert Brownings My Last Duchess, Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House, and William Faulkners A Rose for Emily, each tell widely different stories about the life in the eighteen and nineteen hundreds. However, most would agree that there is an underlying theme of love in each authors work. Each work of fiction demonstrates the differing aspects and motivations that can result from the feeling of love. Love can make people act differently, as if they are different people completely.
Brownings poem, My Last Duchess, explores the possessive side of love and looks at the motivations behind this type of emotion. Throughout the poem, the duke is speaks of his first wife, by describing the painting by Fr Pandolf. After saying that he alone opens the curtain, the duke promptly begins a catalog of complaints about the way that his wife had acted (Marchino, 2). The duke felt that her cheeks were blushed due to Pandolfs compliments of her for being courteous to everyone she encountered to everyone she encountered, for enjoying life too much (Marchino, 2). He felt as if she never appreciated his name, and failed to see him as superior to others (Marchino, 2). Because he loved her he believed that he owned her and therefore he alone should be the only person allowed to ever see her smile and blushing cheeks.
Through the thoughts and actions of the duke, Browning shows the possessive and jealous nature of love and how this can affect the actions of people who claim to be in love. The duke felt that his wifes unchanging aspect was not a true form of love. However, Browning is less clear on weather the dukes possessiveness should be considered a true representation of love either. Love is not possessive or jealous it is caring deeply for another person, and acknowledging that you may never be able to change who they are as a person.
Ibsen examines the effect of keeping secrets in a relationship, and asks whether it is necessary to know everything about someone in order to be in love. In A Dolls House the theme is explored through the love of the main characters, Nora and Torvald. Nora secretly obtained a loan by forging her fathers signature so that they could travel to a warmer climate to cure Torvalds illness (Henry, 2). Though Torvald never knew the secret that Nora kept when it would have made a difference, He loved his wife dearly, but he regarded her very much as her own father had, as an amusing doll- a plaything (Kashdan, 2). He felt that she was just a funny little girl; because at times that is the way she behaved. He believed that he loved her for the way she was. Though she acted this way with her husband, she was mature in the ways she chose to express her love, devising a plan to pay back the moneylender. One winter she did copying, which she kept a secret from Torvald (Kashdan, 2).
Nora loved Torvald enough to keep this secret. She thought that if he knew the truth, he would be upset with her dishonesty, that he would see her actions as an extension of her fathers. She did not realize what his reaction would be until he had opened the letter and learned the truth about what she had done. However, his love for her turned his anger around when he received the bond from the money lender. Nora had lied to Torvald, but his love was still there for her. Conversely, although Nora loved Torvald enough to break the law, she discovered she was no longer in love with him. Love can make people break the law and make them keep secrets for the one they love. Eventually, the secrets will build to the point where they can no longer be covered up. In A Dolls House, Ibsen is saying that the strength of a couples love can only be known when the truth is told and there are no more secrets between them.
In Faulkners short story, A Rose for Emily, he shows the morbid aspect of love. This story discusses the darker side of what a person will do in the name of love. Emily felt she had to be in control of her relationship with Homer Baron. Emily knew that alive she would not have total control, Dead, however, she can own him, can dress his corpse like a groom, can sleep beside him perhaps every night at least until her hair turns gray (Pierce, 6). She decided to poison Homer so that he would never leave. She felt that she had to do this so that she would not lose another loved one, like she lost her father. She refused to bury her father after his death, and felt that she had to have the power to not bury Homer either. For Emily control was her way of showing love; love to her was enough control to kill her lover, keep his corpse, and lay beside his dead body for eternity.
Brownings My Last Duchess, Ibsenss A Dolls House, and Faulkners A Rose for Emily, all explore love and its many qualities. Possession, jealousy, honesty, and control are each facets of the love felt by each character in these works of fiction. Each character feels justified in their actions and beliefs because they see themselves as being motivated by love. Love is often seen as a pure and righteous emotion and thus only good actions should come out of it. However, the authors analyzed above each explored a different side of love, and showed that many dark things can be done in the name of love.
Works Cited
Browning, Robert. My Last Duchess. Discovering Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays. 3rd ed. Eds. Hans P. Guth and Gabriele Rico. Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003. 864-865.
Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. Discovering Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays. 3rd ed. Eds. Hans P. Guth and Gabriele Rico. Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003. 165-172.
Henry, Joyce E. A Dolls House. Masterplots II; Juvenile and Young Adult Literature Series, Salem, 1997. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Ebsco. Pellissippi State Technical Community Coll. Lib., Knoxville, 23 November 2006 1-4.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Dolls House. Discovering Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays. 3rd ed. Eds. Hans P. Guth and Gabriele Rico. Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003. 1156-1210.
Kashdan, Joanne G. A Dolls House. Masterplots, revd 2nd ed. Salem, 1996. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Ebsco. Pellissippi State Technical Community Coll. Lib., Knoxville, 23 November 2006 1-5.
Marchno, Lois A. My Last Duchess. Masterplots II: Poetry, revd ed. Salem, 2002. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Ebsco. Pellissippi State Technical Community Coll. Lib., Knoxville, 23 November 2006 1-4.
Pierce, Constance, William Faulkner. Critical Survey of Short Fiction, revd 2nd ed. Salem, 2001. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Ebsco. Pellissippi State Technical Community Coll. Lib., Knoxville, 23 November 2006 1-10.
Already have an account? Log In Now
6870