Comparative Analysis of Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess and Michael Ondaatje’s in The Skin of a Lion

Introduction

“We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.” When you see this quote, you can probably imagine people in society, in our everyday lives, telling each other stories of what they have been through that day or what happened in the past, which creates a connection, offering a deeper insight into that person. However, another way a connection can be formed between people through storytelling is through different textual forms. The two texts that I am comparing today are Robert Browning’s poem, My Last Duchess and Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion. Through these two texts, as the reader, we can form a connection with the composers and understand the message they are trying to convey to us through storytelling, via various methods, in this case, a novel and a poem. After analyzing these two texts, one of the themes I felt that the composers aimed to convey was the social hierarchy experienced in these respective texts.

Comparative Analysis of Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess and Michael Ondaatje’s In The Skin of a Lion

Robert Browning's poem, My Last Duchess, questions societal views towards women in 19th-century Victorian England. Set in the Italian Renaissance, My Last Duchess highlights its patriarchal society and invites the readers to criticize the values presented. Browning shares a dominating male's outlook on women through dramatic monologue, showing the possessive nature of the Duke who objectifies the Duchess in the painting, “that piece a wonder, now”. His controlling character is further expressed with the painting of the Duke’s last Duchess, which symbolizes the Duke’s jealousy and reputation against the promiscuity of his last Duchess. Browning uses verbal irony, in “She had / A heart—how shall I say?—too soon made glad, / Too easily impressed”, to exemplify that the Duke states a phrase that is completely opposite to the literal meaning. Hence through this, Browning foregrounds Victorian attitudes towards women. Moreover, the allusion “Notice Neptune, though, taming a sea-horse” uses Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, to represent the power the Duke possesses, which is utilized on a delicate and vulnerable seahorse that symbolizes the last Duchess. Browning tells his perspective in his poem to share his views on the expectations of women, reinforcing that narratives are powerful mediums to confer authors' views and welcome readers to establish their views. Whilst Browning himself was trying to convey his perspective, the main protagonist in the poem itself was also telling his own story. The Duke, through his monologue, speaks to both a character present in the poem, but also to the readers of the poem, conveying his exquisite tastes in women and art, to encourage his ego, highlighting his wealth and social status above his last Duchess.

In In the Skin of a Lion, through the lens of the introverted protagonist Patrick Lewis, Ondaatje metaphorically communicates his ideas regarding immigrant culture and the mistreatment of immigrants to Canada in the early 20th century. Ondaatje's abandonment of chronological stability throughout the text, where multiple perspectives are seen, reminds readers of how perspective can give voice to the hidden decisions of history. The awful working conditions of migrant workers, the conditions history chose to disregard, are portrayed within the chapters, ‘The Bridge’ and ‘The Palace of Purification’. The harsh labor of the men is shown in, “The men stood, ankle-deep in salt, filling casings, squeezing out shit and waste from animal intestines”, the low modality presenting the jarring circumstances of migrant workers, and the sibilance creating a tone of despairing labor. Additionally, the metaphor 'North America is still without language, gestures and work and bloodlines are the only currency', where 'gestures and work' exhibit the limitations of ways to express themselves, suggests that human connections in a post-colonial setting are marked by a lack of communication and comprehension, allowing readers to understand the extent to which migrants are denied a personal voice. The puppet scene is another illustration of the frustration of the migrant workers. Ondaatje's use of the puppet as a symbol of the oppression of language in 'They were all waiting for the large puppet to speak, but it could say nothing.', indicates the migrants' loss of personal voice due to the pervasiveness of the English language and Canadian culture. Ondaatje's metaphorical judgment that Patrick was 'a prism that reflected their lives', shows the power of storytelling to promote personal meaning, illustrating the heterogeneity of the migrant experience. Ondaatje gives the migrant workers a voice through the power of language, making their achievements appreciated in history. Whilst Ondaatje shows his point of view about the migrant workers, Patrick was also telling his story. His denial demonstrates the discontent of the awful conditions where the working class were forced to work by telling the workers’ stories and allowing their voices to be heard as fundamental. This underscores how storytelling not only gives a voice to the marginalized but also reshapes the narrative of history itself.

Conclusion

The main protagonists in their respective texts and the composers themselves each told their own story to portray their opinions and perspectives on the social hierarchy. It is by these methods of storytelling that we, as the readers, were able to feel a connection with the composer and the protagonist. To conclude, I’m not sure if you noticed but I've been holding up quotes every time I spoke of them. And through this, I just want to demonstrate that, like the quote I chose mentioned, we really do live in a network of stories. Each narrative adds a thread to the intricate tapestry of human experience, connecting us across time and space.

References

1. Browning, R. (1842). My Last Duchess. In Dramatic Lyrics. London: Edward Moxon.
2. Ondaatje, M. (1987). In the Skin of a Lion. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.