My Last Duchess - Writing Game 5

Here I sit, staring out from a canvas, the intimate look on my face immortalised for everyone to see. I can tell by the way people look at me that they wonder about me – what could have possibly happened for me to suddenly disappear, with the only remnant of my time and privileged existence with the Duke being a painting? Their suspicion is evident in their eyes, yet they do not voice it or confront the Duke with these allegations. How am I ever going to get justice for my murder when people are too afraid to confront this powerful man who took my life?

I always knew that my husband was a temperamental and possessive man; he had an insufferable need to control my actions, where I went and even what I thought. But he couldn’t. The more he tried to restrain me, the more I rebelled against him. And his desire to capture me in a painting only left me desirous to provoke him even further. My sneaky scheme to have him remember, every time he looked at my painting, how none of my compelling features were just for his eyes to see was a success... But does that really justify him ending my life much too early? I truly did care for my husband. If only he had known other ways to express his affection for me than making me feel as if I was his prisoner. I know that he will remarry, and I know that another woman may just suffer the same fate as I. I only hope that she can content herself with living her life in chains.