feminism

To what extent does a feminist approach help in your understanding of Mariana and Lady of Shallot?

Tennyson encourages a change in the Victorian era of domesticity for women. His heroine’s are trapped in a ‘lonely’ domesticated sphere and this is reflected in the 19th Century binary approach to women; a housewife, ‘a market girl’ or a spinster. Either way the women ultimately end up alone. The omniscient speaker represents society’s all seeing eye, always watching yet not intervening. Tennyson denigrates this unheeding and oblivious approach towards women and throws his heroines out into the world through their own self-acceptance.

‘Mariana’ and the ‘Lady of Shallot’ both go from a state of paralysis to self-realisation in order to save themselves from the patriarchal values that oppress them into domesticity. The Lady of Shallot is surrounded ‘four gray walls and four gray towers’ and the monosyllabic repetition creates a claustrophobic lifeless atmosphere. Symbolising women live in prison like state. This prison could be interpreted as a manifestation of a uterus which traps women but is also a place of rebirth. This is reinforced by the imagery of the river ‘round the island’ of Shallot. The river serves as an umbilical cord and the town represents life. Tennyson uses a woman’s body with connotations to nature to highlight the power women posses within themselves. Similarly, ‘Mariana’ is a static poem full of images of decay ‘thickly crusted’ flower pots, ‘rusted nails’ and ‘ancient hatches’ which created a heightened sense of foreboding for her future and the external yonic scenery reflects her internal struggles. Although Mariana is based on Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure the reader can see Tennyson’s own worries for hi...

... middle of paper ...

...ith the dew’, every part of her is in synchronization with nature. Feminist texts are essentially meant to ‘challenge representations of women as a part of nature’ and Tennyson fails to do so, Tennyson does the reverse by perpetuating the stereotype.

In essence, Tennyson shows the power women and men could gain from self-acceptance. In the 21st Century by accepting ourselves we claim our own independence from the patriarchal and chauvinistic infrastructure we live in. The marginalization of women has negative effects on individuals which Tennyson emphasises through the plight of his heroines. By accepting our situation and gender society will follow as in ‘The Lady of Shallot’ the last line is her name repeated by her community. The last line in ‘Mariana’ could be a metaphorical warning of the ‘dead[ly]’ consequences if we don’t change our approach towards women.