'An Analysis Of D. Rossetti's Jenny'

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Jenny:

I agree that the description of Jenny is very ambivalent. The biggest evidence that stood out to me is when the narrator tells about “...Poor shameful Jenny, full of grace…” (D. Rossetti 18). This line shows a war between positive and negative: is Jenny graceful or shameful? Surely it would be difficult to be both shameful and graceful. Again, these two extremes cause ambivalence to take form. Yet, it becomes clear that Jenny is a sex-worker when the narrator compares a flower to Jenny (a symbol to virginity?). He narrates about Jenny “...Poor flower left torn since yesterday…” (D.Rossetti 14). This insinuates that Jenny has sex a lot, and, given the time period, this may point to Jenny being a prostitute.

In the second and third …show more content…

Essentially, Jenny is thinking about her happiness to rest because she constantly must deal with heartache and the judgment of others. Yet the narrator does not ask Jenny about what she truly thinks because he fears that “...the pages of her brain/Be parted at such words…” (Rossetti 160-161). While I don’t fully understand this line, it seems clear that the narrator fears that he will badly and mentally affect Jenny by asking. He goes no to wonder if she can forget all that happens to her by referencing …show more content…

Rossetti 69). Here, this shows that Laura is curious. Very curious people may find themselves in trouble more often because they may try to figure out something which they ought not figure out. Also, the phrase “...Laura bowed her head to hear...” (C. Rossetti 34) points out that that Laura is curious about the goblins. This may foreshadow her future trouble with the goblins. In the next line, though, Lizzie is contrasted to Laura when the narrator states “...Lizzie veiled her blushes…” (C. Rossetti 35). Also, Lizzie becomes a heroic figure when she goes to the goblins to buy her sister fruit. She is beaten hower. Yet, she bears her wounds to help her sister. When it comes to words that exemplify her heroism, I would say the phrase, speaking about the Goblins beating her “...worn out by her resistance…” (C. Rossetti 438), solidifies her as a figure that can withstand evil. Perhaps this can be seen as heroic. Another phrase that shows her heroism is shown when Lizzie left the goblins. She “heard her penny jingle…” (C. Rossetti 452). This can be seen as Lizzie’s trophy of winning the “battle” between her in the goblins. By hearing the penny jingle, she know that she had won (otherwise she would have eaten the

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