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Rossetti + Ibsen Comparative Essay - Coggle Diagram
Rossetti + Ibsen Comparative Essay
'POWER'
FROM THE ANTIQUE
"I wish and I wish I were a man"
- Life as a women (specifically working class) is worse than a man.
SHUT OUT
Narrator describes the garden as once
'mine'
but has since been taken away by the 'shadowless spirit'
Poem could also be describing how women have been shut out the garden of society - however with Rossetti's religious background she is most likely drawing an image of
'The Garden Of Eden' or 'The Fall'
"Iron Bars", "Mortar and Stone"
- The narrator loses more power as their view in the garden becomes more blocked "Straining eyes might look" - Wider issue of women being powerlessness
WINTER: MY SECRET
'Veil', 'Cloak', "I cannot ope to everyone who taps...And let the draughts come whistling thro my hall."
- Rossetti could be comments on how women have exploited and the only way the have power is through secrets.
"I cannot ope to everyone who taps", "Only, my secret's mine, and I won't tell"
- Chooses not to reveal her secret and uses the power of the reader's curiosity to tease us.
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 - Similar to W:MS speaker whose only power is in a form of a something discrete; Women have been excluded from society and have to resort to secrecy to hold importance
MAUDE CLARE
"He faltered in his place"
, "He strove to match her scorn with scorn" - Thomas is superior/inferior to Maude Clare
"Maude Clare was like a queen."
"I'll love him till he loves me best, Me best of all Maude Clare."
- Nell gets that last word suggesting Rossetti has sympathy for powerless women in victorian society
CONTEXT
Despite her powerful presentation, Maude Clare reigns inferior to Thomas in society as she was a unmarried/fallen women
TWICE
"Broke, but I did not wince", "I smiled at the speech you spoke"
- Despite her lover breaking her heart (emphasises by the repetition of 'broke') she does not '
wince'
(flinch) suggesting she has control over her own feelings.
CONTEXT
Subverts the victorian stereotype of women being hysterical and not able to control their feelings
The second half focuses on her progression towards Godly love.It changes from
"(O my love)" to "O my God"
- It's also no longer enclosed and is spoken out loud with pride and openness. The narrator gains some kind of power through their openness to God
"You took my heart in your hand"
- The narrator's heart is broken by the man as he
'scans'
with a
'critical eye'
- This illustrates how much control they have over the narrator as they control their happiness
NO THANK YOU, JOHN
The length suggests that despite her explicit refusal he continues to pester her as if he is a
'hour-old ghost"
- However John's persistence to have some type of intimate relationship with the speaker despite her assertive and blunt tone illustrates that speaker through possible being a women has some type of sexual power over men, and through that will keep them coming.
"Use your common sense"
- Speaker belittles him and infantilizes him ( almost as if she is talking to a child). Through belittling him she almost takes his power and dominance
A DOLLS HOUSE
"It was almost like being a man"
- This idea of being a man giving you some type of power and upper hand in society.
As a husband who dictates what happens in his own home, even to the extent of controlling what his wife will wear and how she will dance the tarantella, and as a banker who has the power to both hire and fire staff, Torvald represents an authoritative masculine middle class power in the play - He reflects society’s belief that those who work in financial and legal institutions are important and that men are masters in their homes and that their wives are under their care and protection.
After realising his reputation is not at risk, he wields the power of forgiveness,
"There is something indescribably wonderful and satisfying for a husband knowing that he has forgiven his wife."
However by the end Torvald's power diminishes as Nora finds her voice and looks forward to independence; for all his 'power' is unable to stop her.
Nora's false belief in the power she has over her husband, that when it is shown to be misplaced, she reaches the extreme of deciding to leave forever.
Krogstad holds power over Nora as he blackmails her
Krogstad simply desires a position at the bank because
"My sons are grown up for their sakes I want to be respectable again.'
(ACT I) He wants to have power in a society, where someone who has committed forgery and is well known for lying has none. This is further demonstrated by the quotation
"What those spiteful men wrote about him in the paper, lies and slander.
He'd have lost his job if you hadn't been sent to enquire,' as said by Nora as she warns Helmer of the consequences of firing Krogstad. This implies that public opinion also has a form of control in determining what the characters created by Ibsen can and can't do.
"if it comes out that the new manager changes his mind when his wife demands it,"
as is said by Torvald, shows that society believes that giving into the desires of a wife is a sign of weakness, a sign of a distinct lack of power placed in the influence of a female party.
"First and foremost you are a wife and a mother" -
Torvald asserts his hegemonic masculinity
"First and foremost, I am a human being"
- Nora rejects
'
FOREBIDDEN
'
A DOLLS HOUSE
"I have loved you as deeply as anyone else."
- Dr Rank declares his forbidden love for Nora.
The symbolism behind the 'macaroons' - Explicitly forbidden by Torvald but Nora continues to secretly eat them.
"What, macaroons? I thought they were forbidden here."
(DR RANK)
GOBLIN MARKET
Cautionary tale against female sexual desire in which Rossetti thinks is forbidden.
"She sucked and sucked and sucked the more fruits with which that unknown orchard bore."
- attraction to what Rossetti feels women should not give into lead to Laura's demise.
The forbidden fruit refers to female sexuality, yet it can also relate to female education and knowledge. After all, it was from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that Eve ate -The issue for Rossetti is not wholly sexual or intellectual; rather the poem addresses all forms of female desire.
This idea is reflected in Barbara Garlick's statement that within the Pre-Raphaelite movement "forbidden pleasures [were] clearly associated both with wild nature...and the secret delight of books" Furthermore, Diane D'Amico points out that Eve ate the forbidden fruit in order to be like God, which is "prideful, not lustful" and also that in none of Rossetti's work is Eve represented as "an evil seductress" On the whole, Rossetti steers away from equating female sexuality with sinfulness, which in itself is a radical move: .
AO5 - CRITICAL PERSPEXTIVE
CONTEXT
Sexual pleasure was forbidden to Victorian women, for they were seen as "too pure and sacred to share in the disgusting lusts that afflicted men" (Karen Armstrong) - At the same time, they were not to be given the same education as men because it was believed that too much intellectual activity would cause their reproductive organs to malfunction, securing the double bondage of sexuality and the intellect on women
'POSSESSION'
A DOLLS HOUSE
"It's incredible what an expensive pet she is for a man to keep"
- (ACT I) Torvald belittling and use of zoomorphism in order to illustrate his possession over her.
“Can’t I look at my most treasured possession?”
- (ACT III) after Nora denies him
"You know I could never act against your wishes.", "You are one of my husband's employees."
- Nora reinforces Torvald possessive attitude
SONG: WHEN I AM DEAD, MY DEAREST
Song is the opposite of possession but based on selfishness and moving on from their death
REMEMBER
"Remember me when no more, day by day, you tell me of our future that you planned"
- Refuses to allow her lover to move on. Sister poem to Song: WIADMD. However in the setset we see the volta,
"Yet if you should forget", "Better by far you should forget and smile."
'MISUNDERSTANDING'
NO THANK YOU, JOHN
"I never said I loved you John."
- The dramatic monologue uses an implied speaker to illustrates some type of misunderstanding in their relationship.
A DOLLS HOUSE
"Let me go!" You're not going to suffer for my sake."
(ACT III) - Nora thought Torvald would take blame
"Now you have destroyed all my happiness", "Condemned to humiliation and ruin simply for the weakness of a woman."
"take everything upon yourself and say, 'I am the guilty one'."
'RANK + SOCIAL CLASS'
A DOLLS HOUSE
"I must make up my mind which is right - society or I."
(ACT III)
"You talk like a child. You don't understand the society in which you live in."
(ACT III)
FROM THE ANTIQUE
Low social status of a women
'
SACRIFICE
'
IN THE ROUND TOWER
"I wish I could bear the pang for both
" in comparison to Torvalds
"Do you understand now what it you have done for me?"
A DOLLS HOUSE
Nora expects Torvald to sacrifice himself for her - she waits for the
'miracle'
Krogstad and Helmer share the opinion that suicide is not a noble sacrifice, even if it is an admission of responsibility. The play moves the audience, too, towards that conclusion. Dr Rank’s final resentment at leaving his life without even being able to offer
‘the most wretched token of gratitude
’ (Act II) change the life of someone he loves, reminds us that as long as people hold on to life, they can also change it for the better.
GOBLIN MARKET
Lizzie is prepared to sacrifice herself to save her sister - relation to Christ saving him for us
GOOD FRIDAY
Rossetti redeemed by christ - Nora is alone and shunned
'DEATH'
Rossetti's thoughts often turn to death when contemplating love; death allows a move from earth to heaven
A DOLLS HOUSE
Dr Rank's "death" of the Helmers' marriage - The two ideas are linked when the cards with black crosses come in the same mailbox as Krogstad's marriage-shattering letter.
REMEMBER
Desire to be forgotten rather than to cause sadness links to Ranks attitude towards his death
SONG: WHEN I'M DEAD MY DEAREST
In this poem the speaker tries to comfort and reassure their lover after the s/he has died. It mirrors Rossetti’s Remember, which also deals with comforting a bereaved lover.
'CONTROL'
GOBLIN MARKET
Poem show the lack of control women have over the precise persuasion of men - Rossetti's could be insinuating the power of the patriarchy. However in the end Laura combats the Goblin men, but this could be purely due to a more religious message of purity and abiding the rules of society
Theme of addiction is heavily prevalent - The link between the forbidden fruit and drugs is very distinguishable; opium addiction was common in the victorian era as it prescribed as medicine and eventually Rossetti's brother Dante died from overdosing as well as his wife.
Laura becomes addicted to the fruit and her hair
["dwindle[s] and turned grey"
after not being able to eat anymore - showing signs of withdrawl
Lizzie however is able to counteract the control of the goblins due to her innocence and purity - lots of religious imagery used to describe as
'lily', 'rock of blue-veined stone', 'fruit crowned orange tree'
- Rossetti creates a more tale by highlighting the contrasting between the good 'Lizzie' and 'Curious' Laura
Laura is controlled by the goblins and the forbidden fruit for most of the poem
IN THE ROUND TOWER
Because he is a man, Skein has the gun, What if Skein's wife was given the gun, would the situation been different? - Gender divide reduces her controls over the situation and the decision and in the end is killed by her husband
In religious society, suicide was considered a sin and frowned upon - Skein's dramatic exit is seen as a sacrifice and illustration of his power
MAUDE CLARE
MC has linguistic control over Thomas, however he is superior in society as a whole
Nell is in greater control than Maude Clare as she is now married and holds a greater position in society - Which we see in ADH is a crucial to power or control.
Nell is determined to love Thomas till
"I'll love him till he loves me best"
- Shows the longevity of Maude Clare insignificance and forever have less control due to her determination and social position