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Nikole McGee

Mrs. Stanford

LIT 234

4 May 2017

An Epidemic: Religion

Religion dominated while science bloomed in Victorian England, class systems defined each and

every Briton, but this would soon change. The British government, during the Victorian Era, was based

mostly on ethical and religious views, anything that opposed Christianity also opposed the British

government, which is why not many people argued with the church. Towards the end of this era skeptical

Britons became more and more daring, challenging the church in poems, art, and even relationships. With

British imperialism on the rise, interracial relationships became a large point of controversy within the

British Empires population. People also began to step outside of their class systems in order to be in

relationships as well. As these relationships became more prominent so did other aspects of human

interaction. Christianity had many rules regarding relationships, leaving very limited options for a spouse,

which was unappealing to some Britons. Sex outside of marriage, modesty, and roles in society based on

class system were included in a large portion of British controversy. Robert Brownings Porphyrias

Lover defies Christian beliefs about modesty, highlights positives about being sinful, and is a great

example of changing views in Victorian England.

Robert Browning lived from 1812 to 1889, he was a poet and married Elizabeth Barrett who

was also a poet. Brownings poetry had two extremes: he wrote about religion and pros of Christianity

but he also wrote about unorthodox and unaccepted things that directly contradicted Christian views.

Early in his marriage, Browning was often referred to as Mrs.Brownings husband because Elizabeths
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writing gained publicity years before his, as he didnt have a public audience until the late 1860s.

Browning, born in a suburb in London named Camberwell, was raised by a bank clerk (his father) and a

very religious woman (his mother). Browning was lucky to have a literate father, this may have

contributed greatly to his writing abilities and maybe even his writing style. Also, like most people in

Victorian England, Browning was well educated in the ways of Christianity which is most likely what led

him to question or challenge those ways. Robert is known for his dark, unorthodox stories and was not

afraid to challenge the ideas of his viewers by discussing topics that were often ignored and only

acknowledged with silence.

One of the ideas that Browning challenged with his poem Porphyrias Lover was modesty.

During this time it was very disrespectful of a woman to show any type of skin to a man, unless they were

married to this man and they only did so behind closed doors. Porphyrias Lover describes an

encounter of forbidden love between the narrator and Porphyria. Porphyria instigates a sexual encounter

and admits to temporarily defy Victorian society just to be with the narrator for this one night:

From pride, and vainer ties dissever,

And give herself to me forever.

But passion sometimes would prevail,

Nor could tonights gay feast restrain

A sudden thought of one so pale

For love of her, and all in vain:

So, she was come through wind and rain.

Be sure I looked up at her eyes

Happy and proud; at last I knew

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Porphyria worshiped me: surprise

Made my heart swell (Browning lines 24 to 34 )

The narrator, knowing that the moment will only be temporary, uses Porphyrias luscious and beautiful

hair to strangle her and kill her. The narrator kills Porphyria not because he is psychotic (although that

option is not entirely ruled out) but because he knew that his moment with his love would last only a short

time before she would be consumed by societys judgement, so in order to make the moment last

forever, he made it her last. This would have been a difficult concept to grasp for Britons in this time

period considering how rare it was to even discuss sex or murder, let alone both in one poem. The

Church views intercourse as a sacred and spiritual bond between two people that should only be put into

action by husband and wife, and only in order to bear children, not for narcissistic reasons. This being

said, Brownings poem Porphyrias Lover portrays intercourse as a sacred bond between two people

that should be acted upon at anytime because it is a natural human function and people should not be

ashamed of it, however it should only be acted upon if the lovers are indeed in love.

Browning laughs in the face of Religion with Porphyrias Lover by writing not only an illicit story of

fornication, but a story about fornication that uses positive connotation about the illegal act, and negative

connotation about Victorian societal structures. Browning blatantly mocks God himself and all that

Christianity stands for when he finishes his poem by saying:

Her head, which droops upon it still:

The smiling rosy little head,

So glad it has its utmost will,

That all it scorned at once is fled,

And I, its love, am gained instead!

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Porphyrias love: she guessed not how

Her darling one wish would be heard.

And thus we sit together now,

And all night long we have not stirred,

And yet God has not said a word! (Lines 51 to 60)

Browning writes this poems last line to insinuate that the narrator is surprised that he has not been

punished by religion or God. This is likely because the British Church and Government system has

brainwashed Britons to believe that they would be immediately chastised if they were to sin. During the

experiences described, the narrator realizes that the negative connotation given to sin does not accurately

describe the act of sinning. The narrator discovered that there are many positives of partaking in sinful

actions, such as the feeling of freedom, and being able to express ones love regardless of strict societal

rules implemented by the Church. Humans enjoy the feeling of freedom because it directly correlates with

the idea of being in a powerful position. Examples of powerful positions of this time would be clergymen,

priests, and government officials; high class Britons had benefits that most other Britons didnt receive,

thus the appeal of power. This poem is just one example of many that contributed greatly to changing

societal structure in Victorian England.

The Victorian Era was a time of changing traditions and ideals, as demonstrated in Porphyrias

Lover. Browning was one of many authors challenging the church; although it may seem that Browning

was only questioning the church, once analyzed it is evident that he was indeed challenging the church

because he directly addressed God specifically. Brownings poem addresses and argues against religious

teachings that refer to romantic relationships, possibly showing that he supported relationships that would

not eventually result in marriage, and forbidden relationships between different classes and ethnicities.
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Browning was not the only Briton to challenge the church and many more would follow in his footsteps

as his work became increasingly popular. People not only rebelled via illegal relationships but also

through all types of art; women began to speak out more often and the issue of class system and the

negatives of imperialism were all brought to light throughout this time period as people became more

willing to speak their minds. Porphyrias Lover is more than a poem about a man deranged because of

love, it reflects issues that were present in Victorian society, and quite possibly issues that Browning

faced in his personal life.

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Works Cited

Browning, Robert. Porphyria's Lover. N.p.

Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New

York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2012. Print.