Answer: During the duchess' life, the duke
explains, his wife would offer that beautiful smile to everyone, instead of
reserving her look of joy exclusively for her husband. She appreciated nature,
the kindness of others, animals, and the simply pleasures of everyday life. He
might not reveal his explosive emotions to the courtier as they sit and look at
the painting, but the reader can deduce that the duchess' lack of
worshipfulness infuriated her husband.
He
wanted to be the only person, the only object of her affection. The duke
self-righteously continues his explanation of events, rationalizing that
despite his disappointment it would have been beneath him to talk openly with
his wife about his feelings of jealousy.
Some
readers believe that the Duchess isn't so innocent, that her "smiles"
are really a code word for promiscuous behavior. Their theory is that whoever
she smiles is someone she engages in a sexual relationship.
However,
if she were sleeping around with
everything she smiled at (the setting sun, a branch from a cherry tree, a
mule), then we've got a duchess who is a not only a sexual deviant, but must
possess the physical prowess similar to a Greek goddess -
how else could she have sex with the sun? Although the Duke is not the most
reliable of narrators, he keeps most of his conversation on a literal, not a
symbolic, level.
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