Porphyria...the disease
I was curious as to where the word porphyria came from and if it had any meaning relevant to the story. I was surprised to find that porphyria is a genetic disease that causes various pains, high blood pressure, seizures, and most notably, purple urine. The word porphyria literally means "purple". After learning this I imagined that Browning uses this name for the woman to compare her murder to recovery from a disease. The narrator knows that Porphyria's (the woman) periodic visits are harmful to him overall, but he is unable to get rid of her. When he kills her, he sees an opportunity to permanently cure himself of the symptoms he may experience: loneliness, jealousy, etc. Additionally, porphyria (the disease) cannot be truly cured, so the narrator's conquering of Porphyria further emphasizes the his empowerment at the end of the poem. When he is able to hold up her dead body, he knows that he has regained control over his life, and problem he thought he would have forever is suddenly gone.
The color descriptions in this poem are pretty memorable and feel important (yellow hair, rosy head), so I think that the use of a name derived from purple can't be ignored. All the colors seem to be associated with Porphyria while the other elements like the weather are shown in different ways. Purple would stand out against the rest of the setting; could this represent how impactful Porphyria is to the narrator?
Conversely to my earlier idea, is it possible that Porphyria isn't the disease herself, but metaphorically has the disease? She may be suffering through her complicated love life and possibly psychotic lovers. "She was come through wind and rain" could refer to whatever difficulties and "illnesses" of her own she experiences and had to put herself through to visit the narrator. When he says she feels no pain when she dies, the narrator might think he is setting her free, thus curing her of disease. This would also add to his belief that his actions are completely justified.
The color descriptions in this poem are pretty memorable and feel important (yellow hair, rosy head), so I think that the use of a name derived from purple can't be ignored. All the colors seem to be associated with Porphyria while the other elements like the weather are shown in different ways. Purple would stand out against the rest of the setting; could this represent how impactful Porphyria is to the narrator?
Conversely to my earlier idea, is it possible that Porphyria isn't the disease herself, but metaphorically has the disease? She may be suffering through her complicated love life and possibly psychotic lovers. "She was come through wind and rain" could refer to whatever difficulties and "illnesses" of her own she experiences and had to put herself through to visit the narrator. When he says she feels no pain when she dies, the narrator might think he is setting her free, thus curing her of disease. This would also add to his belief that his actions are completely justified.
This goes to show that even a detail that you think might be random can shed new light on a story. I agree that the use of color in the poem is very important, it seems like too much of a coincidence that porphyria translates to purple. As for what that could mean, I think that in this instance he is seeing everything else that is good about her, but wants to ignore the purple, diseased part. Unfortunately, that part is literally her name. He knows he can never permanently get rid of that, so he chooses to end it in a brief moment when no purple is visible.
ReplyDeleteI like your interpretation about the disease. Porphyria is "unwell" because he believes she is not determined enough about being together with him against her class. He is just a lover of hers, and he is discontent and feels insecure even though she comes to him because her love can all be temporary. Therefore, Porphyria is the one who should be cured or purified, and murder is the way the narrator chooses to relieve himself from jealousy and loneliness and preserve the love for eternity. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your speculation about the disease. Is she the disease itself or has the disease consumed Porphyria? Was the narrator trying to rid himself of the disease or cure his beloved? The world may never know. Good job though!
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