Abstract
This study argues that Robert Browning uses the method of “introspection,” the psychological method of self-examination or first-person observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes, used by the Victorian psychologists, to represent various psychological states of the speaker in Pauline: A Fragment of a Confession (1833). Accordingly, this study analyses it pursuing the different methods Browning used in the portrayal of the human soul to obtain an insight into the changes in the inner world of humans and to achieve a realistic representation of it. The endeavour of the speaker to achieve self-knowledge through self-analysis and how he is represented as an introspective individual are scrutinised. Furthermore, Browning’s use of the matters of self-consciousness, the first and/or third-person speech, and subjectivity and objectivity—that were discussed and used in the discourse of introspection—to examine the images of the self and subjective experience are studied and illustrated in the analysis of the work. In this analysis, scientific studies conducted by the leading figures in Victorian psychology, and definitions used and discussed by them are used in the discussion.
Highlights
As a prominent Victorian man of letters, Robert Browning’s work reflects the developments in mental sciences: he was a leading figure in psychological school of poetry since he referred to terms or used words from the new mental science, portrayed the psyche and the inner self of his characters, and reflected ideas concerning human nature (Faas, 1988, pp. 35-72; Shuttleworth, 1996, pp. 13-18)
Browning’s use of the first-person perspective in the observation, self-conscious examination, and report of the inner self of the persona can be considered as his application of the method of “introspection.” this article argues that Browning’s earliest work, as this analysis of Pauline claims, represents various psychological states, their causes, and their effects on the thoughts, emotions, decisions, acts, and life of the persona
In Pauline Browning employed the topics discussed in Victorian psychology and used terms that were widely referred to in the Victorian psychological discourse, such as “soul” and “mind.” Undoubtedly his reference to the terminology of the new mental science was not restricted to the use of these terms; in many instances, he made the persona relate his examination of the self by using words, such as “analyse,” “observe,” “perception,” “imagination,” “feel(ing),” “thought,” and “state,” which are often included in the definitions, explanations, and theories of Victorian psychologists
Summary
I strip my mind bare, whose first elements I shall unveil—not as they struggle forth In infancy, nor as they exist, When I am grown above them and can rule But in that middle stage when they were full Yet ere I disposed them to my will; And I shall show how these elements Produced my present state, and what it is. In Pauline Browning employed the topics discussed in Victorian psychology and used terms that were widely referred to in the Victorian psychological discourse, such as “soul” and “mind.” Undoubtedly his reference to the terminology of the new mental science was not restricted to the use of these terms; in many instances, he made the persona relate his examination of the self by using words, such as “analyse,” “observe,” “perception,” “imagination,” “feel(ing),” “thought,” and “state,” which are often included in the definitions, explanations, and theories of Victorian psychologists. Browning used the term soul in the sense of “mind,” and as in Bain’s definition of the mind, he developed the character in Pauline by fashioning him with certain feelings, acts, ideas, and impressions His prevalent portrayal of the mental state of this character makes references to the well-known psychological discussions of the day. Whatever the speaker in the poem expresses—including his experience and sensations—, he cannot possibly “describe them without interpreting them” (Richards, 2009, p. 114); and once interpretation comes in, objectivity disappears
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