Porphyria’s Lover, opens up with a classic setting. It’s a stormy evening. The rain and the wind are harsh. The speaker is alone in a small cottage. Suddenly, a woman enters, bringing cheer and warmth in the midst of the dark and cold night. It seems like a classic love poem, but when the tone shifts and the speaker does the unthinkable, it leaves the reader questioning everything from the authority of the speaker, to the reality of his descriptions. The woman’s voice is not heard, and the reader is forced to draw conclusions from the voice of a speaker who proves to be less than trustworthy.