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Rossetti and power, gender and control - Coggle Diagram
Rossetti and power, gender and control
Power
Maude Clare
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The final line of the poem is Maude Clare showing her power over the relationship of Nell and Thomas and how even though Nell is speaking she will have to convince Thomas to 'love [her] most' rather than genuine love which he feels for Maude Clare
Despite her powerful presentation one could argue that in 1800s society she would have very little power as she is unmarried, a fallen woman and a woman - in reality Thomas would have the power as a man, not Maude Clare.
Twice
The man 'scans' the heart of the narrator with a 'critical eye' - this leads to the breaking of the person's heart showing the level of control they have over the narrator as they control their happiness
When the narrator turns to god they seem more free as the 'O my God' is not in brackets and is spoken out loud perhaps because that is more acceptable to the society but it gives the narrator more power through openness
The narrator has more power through the ability to question which they have developed throughout the poem after their rejection by man 'shall not question much' - only outlet is through religion
Winter: My Secret
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By the end of the poem we don't even know if there is a secret and they almost tell off the reader by saying 'you're too curious. Fie!' showing how they have power through curiosity
Perhaps Rossetti could be commenting on the lack of power women have and how they have been exploited and now the only way they have power is through secrets
Chooses not to open up their door to 'everyone who taps' as the wind will blow down the hall and they use their 'mask' for warmth - is this a real mask or is it the mask used to hide the secret?
Nora describes that it would be good to have something 'up [her] sleeve' when she gets older and Torvald doesn't love her in the same way, perhaps it is similar for the narrator of this poem whose only power or intrigue is through this secret - women in this period being excluded from society and real world issues so have to resort to secrecy to have any excitement or power over anything
No Thank You John
The narrator exerts the right to refusal over the character of John who has proposed to her - the only form of power that women had in the 1800s and still it was mostly influenced by their families and economic ambition
However, the length of the poem suggests that John doesn't accept this response and seems to not leave her alone as he haunts her like an 'hour old ghost' showing how she cannot explicitly get rid of him
Very little power over John but does use quite harsh language to reject him perhaps showing more assertiveness but still only limited to what women could do - so does he though saying that she 'has no heart'
Shut Out
The narrator describes a garden that was 'mine' but has since been taken away from them and is watched by a 'shadowless spirit' who refused to let them enter
The poem could be describing how women have been shut out of the garden of society and are refused access to it by men like the spirit - however, with Rossetti's religious background it is likely that she is drawing on the image of the Garden of Eden and 'The Fall'
Throughout the poem the narrator loses even more power as their view into the garden is blocked - wider ideas of the powerlessness of women
Harsh imagery of the 'iron bars' and the 'mortar and stone' - perhaps questioning the industrialisation process that was much more protested by the Romantics than the pre-Raphaelites but they still had an eye for beauty in nature which we can see in this poem - perhaps influenced by this.
Gender
Maude Clare
She has power over Thomas through their previous relationship - perhaps using her sexuality to gain power similar to Nora who also has a limited outlet to gain anything as a woman in 1800s society
Maude Clare in reality would not act in the way she does because of the gender double standard - Thomas gets no reproach for his behaviour, 'wading in the beck' with Maude Clare however, she is ostracized and would be treated as a social outcast and fallen woman
Rossetti's background in assisting these women in the St Mary Magdalene's Penitentiary gave her insight into their lives
Rossetti may have been commenting on how fallen women are treated by creating this more outspoken, bold and assertive female character to provide a contrast to how they would be treated in real life on the 1800s
One of Rossetti's most outspoken female characters as she herself struggled with conforming to the religious ideals of women as well as the societal expectations - limits her more feminist viewpoint as Ibsen lacked that restraint (despite not calling himself a feminist)
From The Antique
This female narrator is a very blank outspoken voice as she claims that it would be better to be 'nothing at all in all the world', rather than be a woman
The repetition of the word 'wish' in the sentence 'I wish and wish I were a man' emphasises how bad it is to be a woman in this time and Rossetti compliments this feminist view with a more nihilistic idea that shows how being nothing is better than being a woman
The pointlessness of being alive as a woman could be comparable to Nora's suicidal thoughts in the play with the 'icy black water'
Overtly describing the harsh reality of being a woman and this was only published after her death - perhaps not published in life because it would be very controversial as this was a very radical view at the time
Goblin Market
The only men described in the poem are the Goblins and they are often referred to as 'Goblin men', making them seem more human despite their frequent animalistic descriptions as 'ratel-like and wombat-like' for example. This could be a comment on the violent and manipulative nature of men
The Goblins end up attacking Lizzie as they 'bullied and besought her' and 'pinched her black as ink' - Rossetti could be using the medium of fairytale to mask the true meaning of the poem as a critique of the actions of men in this period
The sisters also have no male companions and it is Lizzie - a girl - who saves her sister in the end 'like a lily in a flood', 'like a royal virgin town...close beleaguered by a fleet mad to pull her standard down' - very heroic descriptions that appear almost biblical despite the bible being dominated by men - suggesting that Rossetti could be commenting on the power and strength of women
No Thank You John
The only power women have in the 1800s was the right of refusal and even then the poem shows us that it is long winded and not really accepted
In reality marriage was controlled by men and Nora describes it as a 'transaction' and how she was passed from father to husband - Rossetti never married and rejected 2 suitors so can draw on personal experience of the rejection to influence the poem
Control
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Maude Clare
Although she has linguistic control over Thomas and is superior in that aspect she has no further control over the situation
Nell also would have greater control over Maude Clare as she is now married and holds a greater position in society - which we see in ADH is crucial to power or control. She is also very determined to make him love her showing how ling term Maude Clare would be reduced to insignificance and would have much less control than Nell due to her determination and also her societal position
Thomas is also called a 'lord' this may be a title or not, however, it still shows us that he is a respectable figure in society showing how he would ultimately have greater control than Maude Clare
Goblin Market
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She becomes addicted to the fruit and her hair 'dwindle[s] and turned grey' after not being able to eat them anymore - showing an idea of withdrawal
The fruit could also have religious allegories with Adam and Eve eating forbidden fruit causing the fall of humanity - Laura eats the fruit and loses all innocence and purity as a result of the control of the goblins and the fruit reflecting the religious ideas of the fall.
Lizzie however, is able to counteract the control of the goblins due to her innocence and purity - lots of religious imagery used to describe her as a 'lily', 'rock of blue-veined stone'; 'fruit crowned orange tree' etc. Perhaps here Rossetti is creating a moral tale to show people how to behave by highlighting the contrast between the 'good' Lizzie and the 'curious' Laura
The theme of addiction and the parallels between the fruit and drugs is very distinguishable in the poem, in Victorian society opium addiction became a serious problem as it was used for medicine yet was highly addictive and eventually Rossetti's brother Dante died of an overdose as well as his wife
The poem could also show the lack of control of women as Laura is easily persuaded by the goblin men and their fruit - supporting the patriarchy? Rossetti never really questions the patriarchy and yet Laura is able to combat the goblins but also this could be due to a more religious message of purity and to abide by the rules of society rather than questioning the actions of men
Shut Out
Control of the garden is taken away from the narrator who describes the harsh treatment and how her view of the garden has been blocked
We never know why she has been removed perhaps she went against society or discovered the ability to question like Eve
The control only lessens throughout the poem ad appears to be a punishment for something - perhaps highlighting the lack of control women have in society and are kept out by 'iron bars' like the narrator
The poem was originally called 'What happened to me' suggesting that this is drawing on personal experience for Rossetti which highlights a more metaphorical meaning to the setting of the poem