In Browning's "My Last Duchess", the speaker who we discover to be the duke and husband of the duchess in question is an arrogant aristocrat. At first glance it may seem like he is a grieving husband, proud to show off the portrait of his last wife, but the more we hear him speak, the more his true personality is revealed. He criticizes his late wife and wants to make sure his visitor understands that she was not worthy to be his duchess. In the first line there is an allusion to the Duke's personality as he uses the title Duchess instead of his first or last name. word woman. This theme of objectivity continues when he says, “This room is a marvel, now.” When talking about a work, one might think that the work of art is the subject being discussed, but by adding the word now, it strongly suggests that he is talking about his wife. These are the first signs of the superficiality of his personality. He also uses the artist's name twice at the start of this conversation. This would seem to imply either that this is a name the visitor should recognize, or mocking the artist when he later alludes to impropriety. Either option is used to exalt oneself, boasting about entrusting the painting to a renowned artist or slandering the artist for their role in the Duchess's supposed behavior. Another sign of his arrogance is that this is not just a portrait that can be moved. or thrown away, but it's actually a painting on the wall. It would seem that only those who enjoyed great wealth and status owned a large mural or fresco. He clearly keeps it covered as he later states that he is the only one who moves the curtain; “But it is to me that they turned (since no one sets apart The curtain that I drew for you, except me)”. Again, middle of paper......the dowry will be refused ;". Throughout this speech, it is clear that the Duke is pompous and arrogant, not to mention a murderer. He has belittled his former wife, he bragged about his possessions, he puffed his chest with family history, but one of his last statements cements his personality and character He speaks of the count's daughter, his potential future wife. , from whom he expects a large dowry, and declares: “Although his beautiful daughter, as I admitted at the beginning, is my object, the duke considers women as objects, he believes that they are there for his sake.” pleasure, like a possession, and if they disappoint him, he obviously has no problem getting rid of them – permanently Kenedy, X., Gioia, D. (2012) Backpack literature: an introduction. in Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.