Alyssa Layden
ENGL 4039
Short Paper
The Woman Trapped in a Paradox
When Lord Henry introduces the Duchess of Monmouth as “very clever, too clever for a woman” (Wilde, 151) he defines a convoluted and annoying male influence that is exemplified throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray. The Duchess of Monmouth plays a small, yet vital role in the novel as she represents a class of women in the 19th century who are defined not by their capabilities or intelligence, but rather by the limiting connotations surrounding their gender. As the Duchess makes small appearances in the last few chapters of the novel, she proves to the reader and to her contemporaries that although she is of a powerful and responsive nature, Lord Henry limits her due to her…show more content… Lord Henry is quick to note that he does not take the Duchess seriously due to her female beauty. This is first alluded to when the Duchess’s advice to Lord Henry regarding royalties “fell as a warning from pretty lips” (Wilde, 161). The Duchess is the only female character in the novel capable of keeping up with the wits and epigraphs of Lord Henry and Dorian Gray. Although her stamina is celebrated by the male characters who entertain conversation with her, specifically Lord Henry whose “one quarrel is with words” when he initiates playful discussion after “catching the willfulness of her mood” (Wilde, 161), the Duchess remains limited by the his attention to her beauty and the disillusioned idea that beauty does not entertain complexity or intelligence. The contrasts between Lord Henry and the Duchess, as well as their foiled relationship, become a direct result of the Duchess’s physical attributes; although she is responsive to her environment, quick to snub Lord Henry’s rants, and capable of keeping up with fast-paced wit, she is not celebrated as an equal to her male