Molly Holcombe
Professor Leslie Haines
ENGL 2240
30 April 2014
The Role of the Victorian Woman Exhibited in “The Lady of Shalott”
The Victorian Era in England is usually associated with a high sense of morality and very specific ideas on the rightful places of genders in society. This is seen quite evidently in the period’s clothing, art, and literature. “The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson is no different. In this poem, a cloistered woman is doomed to labor night and day, absent from the outside world, lest she be cursed. In this way, Lord Tennyson epitomizes the sequestered lifestyle of the typical Victorian woman with his illustration of the Lady of Shalott.
The poem begins with beautiful and descriptive language about Camelot and the area surrounding it, however, when the Lady of Shalott’s abode is described it is clear the two settings are drastically different. Camelot is full of life and movement and is easily accessible. On the other hand, the island of Shalott is unreachable, drab and dark with “Four gray walls, and four gray towers” where the Lady is circumfused. The island of Shalott is, essentially, a prison. The Lady is never seen by those in the outside world, only heard early in the morning by the reapers in the fields who, coincidentally, are also tied to the land. The Lady of Shallot has a very defined place in society, one that she cannot escape or alter. She must work, day and night, on her tapestry and she may not look upon the real world with her eyes; she can only see it through the mirror. She believes that if she does this she will be cursed, but she does not know how. Her life is marked by passivity. As she is introduced, she does no action she only receives it. Even her view on the world is ...
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...e rescued by an outside source. However, the liveliness and vigor is seen in Camelot. This is where the men are located with their loyal steeds and plumed helmets. All of the action that the Lady so desperately wants to be a part of is occurring in the masculine Camelot. This masculine land has the power in this poem. When the Lady dies, she passes “Knight and burgher, lord and dame…” (1165.) Even though the Lady must have some position because of her title; this rank is still usurped by the men of Camelot as men in that time would have had authority over practically any woman, noble or not. Moreover, the focus on gender association is very clear as everyone who is mentioned has some sort of gender identifier such as “damsels glad,” “shepherd lad,” “bold knights,” etc.. Even in her seclusion from society she is not sheltered from the suffocating emphasis on gender.
Frith's article entitled Sex, smallpox and seraglios: a monument to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was written in order to show the way life was for a woman in the eighteenth century. Her article illustrates what the role of men and women were during the 18th century. Furthermore, it shows what happened to women when they broke through these societal restrictions. There were three underlying points in Frith's article, she mainly focused on; the restrictions that women had in society, the extreme importance of beauty in western society and the societal differences between western society and eastern society regarding women. Frith is also trying to show that our world has not changed that much in the years since Montagu was alive, and that in the West women are still placed below men in many job situations and beauty is still extremely highly regarded. In the East, the world has changed even less in some ways, where many of the customs from the 18th century are still very predominantly practiced.
The lady seems to be poor “suffering along in her broke shows” tells us that she has nothing and is worthless. Emotive language has been used to visually describe how she looks. “with a sack of bones on her back and a song in her brain” this expresses that she in a free, happy minded lady and doesn’t really take note of what she doesn’t have. " to feed the outlaws prowling about the Domain” This tell us that she most likely does this act of kindness very often, not having much at all and simple giving the outlaws something to feed on. “proudly they step up to meet her” Giving this visual effect makes us understand the power this lady has for these feral cats and to also see how much this lady means to this cats. “with love and power” - juxtaposition, again shows us the emotive language between the two this also means that she has a sense of power which she doesn’t have with the outer world. This perception of the lady is very different as to what how we see her. She is to be seen as a person who you wouldn’t want so associate with. Throughout the poem she has been moved from a princess to a queen with the development of metaphors. But to the cats she is the queen and this really depicts the distinctively visual. Douglas Stewart is seeing her as this queen who is celebrated and appreciated by the cats but this is not how she feels with society. With this connection between the cats, it gives us a deeper understanding of how to perceptions of each individual sees the world. Every individual has their own sense of views of the
However, Camelot dashes this expectation and shows their first interaction to be one filled with disdain caused by Lancelot’s pride and Guinevere’s indignation. Upon their introduction, Lancelot not only steals the attention of her man, he insults Guinevere belittling her agency and placing her in a position of docile, simple minded woman. She responds with quick wit and constructs a plan for his demise. Her ability to control the actions of Arthur’s strongest, most capable men shows her power and favor in the court. Within her own right she has the power to do anything she wants and the mental capability to orchestrate a plan and sway men. In “Then You May Take Me to the Fair” she convinces Arthur’s strongest men to joust against Lancelot by telling them she’s “convinced that splendid Frenchman can easily conquer one and all / And besting all our local henchmen” thereby making them feel inferior and act defensive (Then You May Take Me to the Fair). In this song she wields power that extends past the feminine influence a queen has over the men in her court. She shows intelligence and keen observance skills that shape her into a strong character that does not just easily bend to her carnal whims. The woman she portrays in this song serves as a contrast to the woman
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During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...
Portrayal of Women in La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Lady of Shalott, My last Duchess, and Porphyria's Lover
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2. Growth of Consciousness and Development of Tension 2.1. Initial Isolation Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem starts out with the total seclusion of the beautiful, young Lady of Shalott surrounded by '…four grey walls, and four grey towers…';. Tennyson, line 15 -. She is largely unaware of the world outside and of her own existence as a woman, only being able to see shadows of reality, which are reflected by her magic. crystal mirror and worked into her web. At this point of time, it is unknown to the reader whether the Lady of Shalott is forced to be in this situation or chose to live this life of isolation.
In an essay on feminist criticism, Linda Peterson of Yale University explains how literature can "reflect and shape the attitudes that have held women back" (330). From the viewpoint of a feminist critic, "The Lady of Shalott" provides its reader with an analysis of the Victorian woman's conflict between her place in the interior, domestic role of society and her desire to break into the exterior, public sphere which generally had been the domain of men. Read as a commentary on women's roles in Victorian society, "The Lady of Shalott" may be interpreted in different ways. Thus, the speaker's commentary is ambiguous: Does he seek to reinforce the institution of patriarchal society as he "punishes" the Lady with her death for her venture into the public world of men, or does he sympathize with her yearnings for a more colorful, active life? Close reading reveals more than one possible answer to this question, but the overriding theme seems sympathetic to the Lady. By applying "the feminist critique" (Peterson 333-334) to Tennyson's famous poem, one may begin to understand how "The Lady of Shalott" not only analyzes, but actually critiques the attitudes that held women back and, in the end, makes a hopeful, less patriarchal statement about the place of women in Victorian society.
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There are a great number of issues in our society, dated back even further than 1800’s to present day. The struggles of today’s women are presented in Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott.” A vast majority of women are held back by society’s judgmental thought. Not just in third world countries like, Pakistan, India or Afghanistan, but also in first world countries, like America. Society should stop oppressing women by how they should dress, their freedom, and their love affairs in these countries and all over the world.