Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour,
To set its struggling passion free
From pride, and vainer ties dissever,
Explanation:
When Porphyria has made every seductive gesture she could configure, and the speaker has still made no move, she finally speaks of her love for him. The speaker describes her confession as a “murmuring” and then claims that she is “too weak for all her heart’s endeavour.” The fact that she murmured of her love to him in his ear rather than proclaiming it in public is of significance to the speaker. He believes that her claim to love him is “weak” and believes that her love itself is “too weak…to set its struggling passion free”.
This is the first time the speaker reveals to the reader that he has a reason for his hesitance in responding to Porphyria. He claims that her love is weak, too weak to withstand all that is set against her. This is why he claims that her passion for him is not strong enough to break free “from pride and vainer ties.” This reveals that a union between himself and Porphyria would not be accepted by society.
Perhaps this is why the speaker opens ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ with the description of the storm. The wrath of the wind and the rain represents society. It is hostile toward the two lovers, and the speaker knows that Porphyria’s passion is not strong enough to break free from societal restraints. He also blames her own pride and vanity for her inability to really love him. This is why he knows that even if she wants to give herself to him at this moment in time, she would never “give herself to [him] forever.”
