Smile Was Seized Through Power, A Glimpse of Victorian Male Dominant Society and Its Reflection in Twenty First Centurey in My Last Duchess by Robert Browning

Among the most well-known monologues of the Victorian era, Robert Browning's My Last Duchess is an ideal case study for analysing the representations of power, possession, and control. The poem makes it clear right away that those in positions of wealth and title hold the reins of power, and that those in positions of authority can become extremely controlling to the detriment of those under their authority. The duke in this instance represents a possessive and domineering person in a position of authority. The primary difference between the poem and contemporary society is that, regardless of money or status, a person today could not commit murder with impunity. The reasoning behind this is that in many countries, the people hold the authority, and leaders are thought to act in the best interests of the people. If they engage in such behaviour, even tyrants risk the wrath of their people. Furthermore, women are not regarded in Victorian times the same way they were in even the most conservative societies now. Nonetheless, there are still many instances of women controlling and dominating. It's possible that certain men's need to dominate and control their women, which drives them to use violence, is reflected in domestic violence in contemporary culture. However, compared to the Victorian age, when they would have been frequent, such incidents are unusual.