Student Question

What impression does the Duke try to convey about the Duchess, and what impression actually comes across?

Quick answer:

The Duke attempts to portray the Duchess as disloyal and overly affectionate, accusing her of not reserving her smiles and attentions solely for him. However, the Duchess is depicted as a joyful, innocent, and friendly woman who appreciated the world around her. The Duke's narrative inadvertently reveals his controlling and possessive nature, suggesting he viewed her more as a possession than a partner. This contrast highlights his sociopathic tendencies and her genuine warmth.

Expert Answers

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The Duke is trying to convey to the listener, who has come to broker a new marriage for the Duke, that his deceased wife was disloyal to him. He blames her for not bestowing her love, affection, and even smiles and blushes exclusively on him. As they are looking at a portrait of the late Duchess, he says to his listener:

Sir, ’twas not
Her husband’s presence only, called that spot
Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek

He implies she would have been unfaithful because her affections were too far ranging. She liked everything and everybody equally to his mind: cherries from the bough, the sunset, her white mule, other men. The Duke condemns her for this.

She comes across as a sweet, innocent, affection young woman who loves the world around her and expresses her joy in it. As mention above, she loves cherries, her mule, and other people. She seems to like the Duke as well, for he says she smiles at him. She is a friendly, likable person who has a far kinder and less snobbish character than her husband. As the Duke himself says:

She had
A heart—how shall I say?— too soon made glad,
Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er
She looked on

However, as for the Duke, the impression the reader carries away is that he is a snobbish, controlling sociopath who saw his wife as an another object he had purchased, not a human being.

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