Symbolism in "Porphyria's Lover"

Porphyria herself was the symbol in this poem. To the listener she symbolized the speaker's need for comfort. "She shut the cold out and the storm, and kneeled and made the cheerless grate blaze up, and all the cottage warm" (lines 7-9). The speaker felt her presence soothed the chill of the storm and and made him more comfortable. She also symbolized his fantasy of being worshipped and desired. "And called me. When no voice replied, she put my arm about her waist...Murmuring how she loved me" (lines 15, 16, 21). He longed for this moment and soaked in the attention he was recieving. Porphyria also symbolized pureness and her presence was so infectious to him like a disease, which her name suggests, that he could not let her go. "Perfectly pure and good: I found a thing to do, and all her hair in one long yellow string I wound three times her little throat around," (lines 37-40). The speaker decided to strangle her so he could selfishly keep her to himself.