My Last Duchess Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My Last Duchess - Essay Example The duke is commanding the silent auditor to sit down and to have a look at her painting. The duke is also very possessive about the painting and that is why he has hidden it behind a curtain so that no one can look at her except for himself. This way he wants to control who sees it and how it is seen. Although the protagonist speaks in a polite way and treats the count’s legate with respect, the addresses to his guest (â€Å"Will’t please [...]† 1.5; â€Å"We’ll meet [...]† 1.47; â€Å"Nay, We’ll go[...]† 1.53) sound rather like orders. The duke is even certain to look inside his guest’s mind... (Mannle 2) The duke is a jealous husband and he doesn’t approve the fact that his lady could have derived pleasure from any other thing or company of any other person but him. He doesn’t think very highly of her; according to him she was too easily pleased and was attentive to everyone: â€Å"She liked whateer / She looked on, and her looks went everywhere†. (23-24) The duke seems to characterize his last duchess by virtue of her painting. He believes that his social status should have been enough for her to be proud of and she didn’t have to be courteous with everybody. The duke is proud of his nine hundred years old family name and status and wonders how anything else other than this can become a source of pleasure for her. He thought it was beneath her social status to be friendly to the commoners. Most of all, he is displeased with her smiles that she bestowed on everyone. The smile of the last duchess is of significant importance as it is mentioned for a couple of times. Her smile is secret- the duke doesn’t exactly know the reason behind her smiles. However, he is keen to learn about it. He knows for sure that the smile he received was not special- it was a typical gesture of the last duchess to smile all the time for everyone. Her smile also becomes a cause of jealousy of her husband- and her