The Eve of St. Agnes by John Keats. Women are not embraced as valued others but as a narcissistic projection of the lover's self.

PORPHYRO: LOVER OR CONQUERER? The Eve of St. Agnes For this paper I will focus on gender implications of romantic love in The Eve of St. Agnes, in agreement with Anne Mellor's theory. Mellor argues that women are not embraced as valued others in romantic poetry, rather they become a narcissistic projection of the lover's self. The Eve of St. Agnes provides many examples of the way a lover views the object of his desires. …

…his proposal or be socially outcast. The fact that Madeline allowed an enemy of the family to touch her would effectively alienate her from her family leaving her bereft. This was all part of the stratagem conceived by Porphyro early in the poem and he captured his prey with the skill of a hunter, not a lover. Madeline has become a bird in a cage to be admired by her owner when it pleases him.