What Should We Do With Women?

    The role of a woman is something that has been debated for centuries. Those who lived in the Victorian era, however, had several questions about women. What is their role as a wife, mother, and daughter? Should women be educated? Should they be allowed to vote? Okay, that was a stupid question, we have to wait much longer for that to be taken seriously. There are several different pieces on women's issues, and though they fight for different things, most pieces agree that a woman's place is in the home. 

    The first piece I read is by Sarah Stickney Ellis. Her piece begins with a clear statement saying “To men belongs the potent- (I had almost said the omnipotent) consideration of worldly aggrandizement; and it is constantly misleading their steps…”. She is saying that men have too much power in the world and it is causing them to become blind to what is happening. Ellis argues for the education of women so that they can better guide men in the world, and so that a woman knows “what she ought to be”. Like many women before her, she argues that women should be educated on how to be better women. This is, however, a step towards actual education for women. 

Though not entirely for feminism,
Queen Victoria had several
thoughts on marriage.

     Next is "The Angel in the House" by Coventry Patmore. Although this does celebrate his marriage, it shows that a woman's place is in the house. He says that it his "chosen task/to sing her worth as Maid and Wife". Although he is celebrating his wife through this poem, she is nothing more than his wife. Sure, she is pretty and kindhearted, but she is also meek and that is why she just does work around the house. There is a role for women, but that does not exceed household duties and just being admired by others.  

     Dinah Maria Mulock had a voice to add in A Woman's Thoughts about Women. She believes that men and women are not equal, except for the fact that both have "the right of having something to do". She says that after being educated, boys "plunge into life" and women "come home, and stay at home". Both men and women need something to do, they have a right of contributing to society. She does not believe there is a definite answer to this. Some women will choose to do things close to home, such as caring for a child or parent. Other women will do work outside the home with the care that only a woman can offer. Mulock does not believe that a woman's life should be chronicled, instead it is only important if the woman knows she has done what she possibly could. This is an important step for women. It encourages them to go beyond their education, even if they still do work at home, and to do whatever will make them feel fulfilled. 

    The last person I want to mention is Walter Besant. I believe he made some of the largest improvements in the way women are seen. In The Queen's Reign, he begins by saying that women cannot currently hold a place in Law or in the Church, but he believes that "some day she will get over this restriction". Even though the time for women to be an important figure is not 1897, changes will happen. He is an advocate for the education of women and he believes that this can help them be successful. He goes beyond the woman's role being in the home, just as Mulock attempts to. He writes about the restrictions women have overcome, such as being able to practice medicine, journalism, music, etc. They do not hold high places in these professions yet, but he knows they are making progress. He believes that one day soon women will be seen as someone who can "protect herself perfectly well" instead of as a housewife who must be protected. He is one person who showed that it is okay for men to be, dare I say, feminists. Feminism was beginning to rise greatly around this time and Besant added to this.  

     It has been a long fight for women to gain any freedom, but thankfully there has been a great amount of progress made. For instance, women have the right to be educated and finally we can vote. That took longer than it should have. Sure, there are still some fights going on, like fair wages for women, but there is finally an understanding about what roles women hold. The future looks pretty good for us ladies. Perhaps we owe a little thanks to those in the Victorian era.

Here is an interesting article from BBC that talks about the roles of women in the Victorian era, and the change that began around 1900, right at the end of the Victorian era. 

Porphyria’s Lover Tells All

    In Robert Browning’s poem Porphyria’s Lover, published in 1836 and 1842, the speaker tells of Porphyria and the way he killed her. This is similar to Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, published in 1843. It is interesting that the second publication of Browning's poem comes so close to Poe's short story. Although it is unlikely Poe was inspired by Browning, the themes they include seem to be popular for the time. The actions that the speakers are involved in most likely speak of the time. Both speakers are presumably insane, but they are able to convince the reader otherwise. They appear to be normal characters until the action begins.

    Robert Browning’s speaker goes into detail about his murder. He says that he took Porphyria’s hair and “in one long yellow strong I wound/three times her little throat around/and strangled her”. The Lover seems to have loved Porphyria, but he then strangles her with her own hair. He knows that, at the moment, she "worships" him, and that she is currently "perfectly pure and good". In order to maintain this, he kills her. He does not want this to change so he thinks he is doing the right thing. This is obviously the last choice, but he does not want to lose the image that he has of her.  

    Edgar Allen Poe writes of a guy who kills an older man. At first, he appears to be guiltless as he says “The old man was dead. I removed the bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead”. Poe's character has been driven mad by the old man. Once he has killed the man, he checks to make sure he is actually dead. He is relieved, and proud, that there is no evidence left behind. The speaker does, however, quickly become guilty. There has been a movie made based on this story and it focuses on some of the guilt (trailer below from :15-1:40). 

  Both speakers start out believing that their victims felt no pain and they do not believe they are crazy. They are fairly convincing at first, but slowly the reader begins to wonder. When the Lover begins to open Porphyria's eyelids and when Poe's character hears the heart beating "louder! louder! louder! louder!" The murders are the turning points of these texts because it is when the readers realize that the speakers are crazy. 

    Although the lover of Porphyria does not seem to have any guilt, he brags that “God has not said a word”, he and Poe’s character are similar. They are also quite possibly insane, but the readers do not catch on to this at first. Both also kill people that they seem to love. These are not acts on anger, but they are definitely not acts of love. This theme seems to speak for the time as Browning and Poe often write about madness and murder. Using the speaker to tell this story can hide the madness of the characters, but it is also more crazy when reading that the thoughts of these speakers. They do not believe they are mad and that makes them all the more psychotic. 

    

The Modern Lady of Shalott

    As I was reading “The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, I immediately thought of “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry. There are parts of the song that remind me of the poem, but the music video really brings this to life. This poem is retold through a modern perspective. Although not obvious at first, this song has several references to the poem. 

    One of the first lines in the song says "Send me away with the words of a love song". Although it is not clear what the lady of Shalott is singing, as the boat travels down the river, she could be heard "singing her last song". The song is important to the poem because it is all the villagers know about the lady. They do not see her and she only sees a reflection of them. Her song is the last thing anyone hears from her.

    Perry also sings "And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom" which parallels that the lady is "robed in snowy white". The white represents how innocent she is, but also how little she has been able to experience life. Being locked in a tower, she has not been able to live the life everyone else has. 

    In the music video, lead singer Kimberly Perry is seen lying in a boat and her brothers send her down the river. She is holding a book of poems by Tennyson and, in the last frame, the book opens to “The Lady of Shalott”. This allusion is intentional, as Perry mentions in an interview which can be read here. Being in the boat is the biggest allusion, besides showing the poem itself, because the lady travels towards Camelot in a boat. This is what leads to her death, though. Since she left the tower, she has been cursed and knows she will die, but it is worth it to her. 

    Luckily for Kimberly Perry, she sits up when her boat begins to sink and her brothers save her. The real lady of Shalott is not quite as lucky. She does not arrive to her destination alive due to the curse that has been placed upon her. The Band Perry is able to bring "The Lady of Shalott" to life, though. Since Kimberly had read the poem several times before writing this song, it only makes sense that the imagery would find its way into her lyrics. Tennyson's poem has beautiful imagery that is worth bringing to life. 

Not Your Average Fairytale

    Very few people would classify Great Expectations by Charles Dickens as a fairytale, but it is hard to miss the similarities. In fact, Pip even believes that Miss Havisham intends for him to “do all the shining deeds of the young Knight of romance, and marry the Princess”. Of course he believes Estella to be his princess. There are other fairytale aspects, though. Young Pip is an orphan being raised by his sister and brother-in-law who is a blacksmith. Pip does not come from money until he receives his great expectations. He comes into money because he did a good deed. This money, though, seems to take our shining knight and turn him into a beast.

    Of all the fairy tales, I noticed a strong connection to “Beauty and the Beast”. When Pip receives his great expectations, he quickly becomes similar to Beast. At first Pip does not want to leave Joe, but as soon as he gets a taste of this new life, he becomes cold hearted. Pip does not start out as a selfish character, arguably, but he is very selfish when he comes into money. He becomes embarrassed of who he was and makes no effort to return home, unless it is to see Estella or Miss Havisham. He, like Beast, is not an easy character to like. They both seem incapable of being loved and do not seem like characters who should be forgiven. 

    Love, though, is what changes Beast to a human and reminds Pip of where he came from. Beast is changed by the love of Belle, the common princess; Pip is changed by the love of Joe. Joe is not a princess, and that is not an argument I wish to begin, but he is forgiving like Belle. Both Joe and Belle love their beasts through everything. This love breaks the actual spell cast on Beast and the spell of money that was cast upon Pip. Joe and Belle know who Pip and Beast can be, so they are able to see past the cold hearted appearance. 

    Great Expectations is not a fairytale at first glance, but looking for similarities does not require much effort. Pip may not be a prince, and Estella is not the average princess, but Pip does learn important lessons. The most important being that money is not important. Love changes both Pip and Beast, though it is a different kind of love. They both discover their selfish needs are not as important as they had once thought. It is not clearly stated if Pip lives happily ever after or not, but it’s nice to believe he does. 

Romance or Romanticism?

        When Taylor Swift sings “New Romantics”, I doubt she is referring to the Romantic literary period. The Romantics of the 18^th and 19^th century set out to inspire some kind of change, but they also seemed to have a “romantic” outlook on life. There were calls for change and an abundance or poems about nature. Basically nature is your best friend, if you're a romantic. Most importantly, though, Romanticism is about individuality.

           The Romantics were all about change, especially the women. Mary Wollstonecraft wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” in 1792. Wollstonecraft fought for the education of women. Sure, it was so they could “become the companion of man” but she also points out that women can only “be expected to co-operate unless she know why she ought to be virtuous”. Women need to be educated, even if it is so they can better serve their husbands. She believed in a cause and wrote about it, which did help to inspire change. She may not have been fighting for full rights of women, but she was fighting for something. That is what women of the time did. Feminists of this time were not what we now think of, but these women began the fight for equality.

            Nature is one of the biggest parts of Romanticism. William Wordsworth is a great example of this. In 1804, he wrote “I wandered lonely as a cloud”. He uses his memory, and Dorothy Wordsworth’s journal, to write about seeing “golden daffodils”. Wordsworth romanticizes nature through his descriptions. He also mentions that he always thinks of the daffodils when in a "pensive mood" and that his hear fills with pleasure and "dances with the daffodils". His individual experience is shown through this poem and that is what makes it worth writing about. 

            Taylor Swift’s song may be called “New Romantics”, and probably not have much to do with Romanticism, but there is one important component; her song is all about individuality. She writes about her own experience and how it has shaped her. Swift writes that she, along with her friends, are “too busy dancing to get knocked off our feet”. This song is full of emotion and how life will not get her down. Unlike the literary Romantics, though, Swift’s song is closer to what we think of as romantic.  

            So, the Romantic period may not have been all about romance, but this is still a time fueled by emotion. They focused on how the individual reacted to certain events and sometimes that fueled a need for change. Sometimes it focused on the memories of the writers and how they reflect on those memories. Although Taylor Swift is more modern romantic than the Romantics, there are probably some ideas they could get behind. 

Teach the Women for Goodness' Sake

    Although probably not a feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft does make a strong argument for the rights of women. In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman she argues that women need to be educated. In order to be the kind of wife that woman should be, a woman must first be educated. Originally published in 1792, this was the beginning of a long movement for women’s rights. Unfortunately, this is still a problem in some countries as seen in He Named Me Malala, a documentary about Malala Yousafzai.

    Mary Wollstonecraft had strong opinions and was not afraid to publish them. In the beginning she asks "And how can woman be expected to co-operate unless she know why she ought to be virtuous?". Without education, women cannot act the way they are supposed to. The education will give women the knowledge they need to be virtuous. Her hope is that women will "acquire strength, both of mind and body" during their education. She wants women to be healthy and smart instead of frail. This does not mean they have to be bodybuilders, they shouldn't be as strong as a man, but they should get some physical activity; they should be able to survive on their own. After her husband published details of her private life, her ideas were not talked about for over a century. When her work was republished, however, it had an influence on feminists. 

    Unlike Wollstonecraft, Malala Yousafzai would be considered a feminist. Malala dared to go to school and was shot by the Taliban because of it. This was meant to silence her and everyone else fighting for the education of women but now her story is being shared. Education is not normal for women in Swat Valley, Pakistan, where she is from. As she mentions in the trailer, if she had ordinary parents then she would “have two children now”. At 17, this is unimaginable for most people. In Pakistan, this is normal. For those who have not seen this documentary, check out the trailer. Malala has a very strong message to share about the need for education and nothing is stopping her now.          
     Mary Wollstonecraft would not be considered a feminist by today’s standards, but she does believe in a few rights for women. She pushed for strides towards equality even if it wasn’t quite total equality. Malala Yousafzai dared to fight for the rights of Pakistani women to be educated knowing there would be consequences. She stood amongst the crowd to fight for what she believes in. There is still an equality struggle now, but because of women like Wollstonecraft and Yousafzai, women can be educated and there is a continious fight for their equality. 

The Life of a Chimney Sweeper

    Chimney sweepers have been depicted in several different lights. The most recognizable are Oliver Twist and Mary Poppins. Reading William Blake’s poems showed yet another way of seeing chimney sweepers. These examples prove that there are two very different ways of seeing this job; it can be very positive or very negative. 

   Mary Poppins and Blake’s poem “The Chimney Sweeper” from his longer work Songs of Innocence show very positive examples of chimney sweepers. A popular song from Mary Poppins is “Chim Chim Cher-ee”. It is very upbeat and speaks of the luck that chimney sweepers have. This song is sung as the characters skip through the street and greet others. Although Blake’s poem is not quite this happy, it does speak of an angel who “had a bright key/ And he open’d the coffins & set them all free”. These children have hope that no matter how bad it gets, they will find happiness. As long as they do what they should they will “never want joy” nor will they “fear harm”. The innocent have hope for a better life. The poem is also very much like a song in the way it is read. It may not be "Chim Chim Cher-ee" but it does have an upbeat tone. 

      Oliver and “The Chimney Sweeper” from Songs of Experience provide a reaction similar to what we picture now. Having been in a school production of Oliver, I am familiar with the scene where Mr. Gamfield wants Oliver to be his apprentice. Mr. Gamfield is not a nice man and many of his sweepers died. Blake also has a negative view in his second poem about chimney sweepers. It is noticeably shorter than the first poem. This one does not speak of angels coming to save the children, it speaks of the sweeper being abonded by his parents and by society in general. Since the child is happy, everyone assumes "they have done [him] no injury/ And are gone to praise God & his Priest & King". This supposedly happy child has been abandoned by everyone because they are so focused on making it to Heaven. This poem is not similiar to a song the way the first is, in fact it is difficult to find a common rhyme scheme or rhythm in this poem. This experienced writer does not have a happy outlook when it comes to the life of a chimney sweeper. 

    The latter examples of chimney sweepers appear to be more likely. It seems unlikely that many chimney sweepers enjoyed their work. It is also unlikely that they lived long enough to sing about it. There are several different depictions of chimney sweepers, even within William Blake’s poems, but even he would agree that it is not good work. Audiences and experiences change the way chimney sweepers, or anything, are shown. When intended for young children, such as the former examples, there will be a happier outlook. There will be a sing song rhythm to keep everything upbeat. The former examples are for experienced audiences and raise awareness of issues. They appear to tell the truth the best they can. Sometimes the truth isn't good.