Which quote reveals the Duke's cold use of power over the Duchess?

• A. "I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together."
• B. "She looked on, and her looks went everywhere."
• C. "My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name"
• D. "The house remains silent after the portrait"

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is how power and control are shown through a speaker's actions and choices. In this dramatic monologue, the Duke reveals his cold, procedural use of authority over the Duchess by describing commands as a tool he uses to shape her behavior and, effectively, to erase her happiness. The line “I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together.” is the clearest example: it presents power as a blunt, almost casual rule over her life. The verb “gave commands” is active and controlling, and the result—“all smiles stopped”—is abrupt and chilling, highlighting how he views her only in terms of compliance and usefulness. The image conjures a sense that her very warmth or joy can be extinguished by his will, underscoring a selective, dehumanizing approach to power.

Context helps: Browning builds the Duke as a figure who treats status, possession, and control as his prerogatives, and this line crystallizes that mindset in a single, stark sentence. The other quotes touch on related ideas—her gaze, the prestige of his name, or the lingering presence of the household and the portrait—but they don’t show the immediate, coercive action that defines the Duke’s exertion of power in the same way.