Examine Eliot’s treatment of women in Prufrock, Preludes, Portrait of
a Lady and Rhapsody on a Windy Night
In all four of the poems; ‘Prufrock’, ‘Preludes’, ‘Portrait of a
Lady’ and ‘Rhapsody on a Windy Night’, Eliot makes references to
women. Eliot seems to treat women almost as objects to either be
looked at with wonder and, at times, fascination or as objects to be
scorned upon. In all of the poems Eliot makes the voice of the poem
slightly distanced from the women and this, to me, makes the women
seem almost untouchable.
When looking at the poem ‘Prufrock’ we must first notice that the full
title is ‘The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock.’ This title seems almost
ironic as, after reading the poem, we realise that the poem is not a
love song at all. The title is beauteous however, like the women Eliot
makes reference to in the poem; “In the room the women come and go /
Talking of Michelangelo.” This small, non-descriptive mention of women
tells us much about Eliot’s perception of women in ‘Prufrock.’ These
two lines, presented to us almost like a chorus, interrupt the flow of
the poem, which is perhaps what women did in Eliot’s life. These lines
also show Eliot’s fascination with women as women were less educated
than men around 1910 when ‘Prufrock’ was conceived, so for these women
to talk of Michelangelo is almost shocking and something to be
marvelled upon. In Prufrock, I believe Eliot is concerned with the
high society of women and the poem shows his fascination with them.
The tone of ‘Prufrock’ is not bitter towards the women, nor does it
celebrate them, it merely comments on the women and Eliot seems to
give a fairly neutral view of women.
‘Portrait of a Lady’ is another poem in which Eliot ex...
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...apsody on a
Windy Night’. By appealing to our senses, Eliot draws us in to his
poetry up to a point where we can almost smell exactly what he is
describing, which brings us closer to the women in his poems.
Between the four poems “Prufrock”, “Portrait of a Lady”, “Preludes”
and “Rhapsody on a Windy Night” Eliot provides us with a rounded view
of women. He describes the beautiful and untouchable side of them in
‘Prufrock’, the darker, more sordid side of women in ‘Preludes’ and
‘Rhapsody on a Windy Night’ with a description of how false women can
be in ‘Portrait of a Lady’. Eliot’s imagery is effective in the poems,
as by using it he justifies his reasons for describing the women in
the way he does. I feel that Eliot describes women in the way in which
he views them, drawing from personal experiences and what he takes
from poets who have gone before him.
Throughout the course of history, the concept of women being subordinate to men has always existed. However, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, a woman named Hester Prynne tries to break prejudicial notions against women in a patriarchal society. In the story, Hester commits the crime of adultery and is sentenced by the government to wear a scarlet letter as it symbolizes ignominy. Since she lives in Puritan New England, the people do not value women a lot, her actions becomes a sight of public scrutiny. Yet, with her strength as a woman, she is able to not only survive the situation, but also reverse as she later becomes an important member of their community. In a feminist perspective of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter,
Another interesting note to mention is that Mrs. Jellyby is one of the few matriarchs within the Victorian age; her husband is described as a “nonentity” by Richard and literally has no voice, which consequently bequeaths Mrs. Jellyby with the power in the household (44). The dynamic of their relationship thus becomes a transgression of the Victorian feminine archetype also, in which the gender balance is traditionally firmly skewed toward the male spectrum. Through Esther’s interactions with the Jellyby children, the two mother figures are juxtaposed, which consequently works to highlight the maternal qualities of Esther. As Ada says, Esther “would make a home out of even this house” (46). These comparisons also help bring to light the image of the Victorian ideal in
The most obvious stylistic device used by Eliot is that of personification. She uses this device to create two people from her thoughts on old and new leisure. The fist person is New Leisure, who we can infer to be part of the growth of industry in the 19th century. He is eager and interested in science, politics, and philosophy. He reads exciting novels and leads a hurried life, attempting to do many things at once. Such characteristics help us to create an image of New Leisure as Eliot sees him.
Eliot has constructed a beautiful poem in which he described his views of modern society using literary techniques such as imagery, diction and metaphoric allusions. He expressed societal views using Alfred as the speaker to whom the events of the poem are revolved around. Eliot understands society to be a thing that is constantly watching and dissecting ones ways of living and ones views. Thus, a person is never free to be just simply him or her in the way he/she wants to be. Eliot expresses society to be that which drowns the individualistic voice in a crescendo of "human voices."
The poem goes on to tell of the women, who "...haven't put aside desire/ but sit at ease and in pleasure,/ watching the young men" (Murray 837). This work obviously shows how the women lust after the attractive young men, and clearly are not in love; any one of these men could have been replaced with another attractive man and would have m...
Comparing the Roles of Women in Arcadia, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Look Back in Anger
In the literature piece "The Disquieting Muses" the speaker opens the stanza with such anger towards her mother for allowing three women, who are unwanted by the speaker, into her bedroom. The speaker makes it seem as if these three women are immoral and surreal, because these women are described as "illbred", "disfigured", "with heads like darning-eggs" (Plath, page 1047). The first stanza represents failure as a mother who did not provide her child with security and protection from evil mishaps. The connection in their mother and daughter bond is nonexistent. The speaker is broken and speaks on the unhappy memories that disturb her mind. As the poem deepens, these three women muses have become a permanent haunting to the speaker. For example in the second paragraph, "Mother, whose witches always, always, Got baked into gingerbread, I wonder Whether you saw them, wh...
The last part of this stanza discusses how women should be little rocking horses. This seems to portray an image that a woman is merely a childish prize. This relates back to childhood and how the prettiest toy is always the best, and children always want the best toy or prize. Still, this part of the stanza gives another image of how women should be moving, just like the poem.
walks down at the start of the poem is a pattern. After her fiancée perishes she says that
The Portrayal of Women in American Literature Throughout American Literature, women have been depicted in many different ways. The portrayal of women in American Literature is often influenced by an author's personal experience or a frequent societal stereotype of women and their position. Often times, male authors interpret society’s views of women in a completely different way than a female author would. While F. Scott Fitzgerald may have represented his main female character as a victim in the 1920’s, Zora Neale Hurston portrays her as a strong, free-spirited, and independent woman only a decade later in the 1930’s. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the main female character, Daisy Buchanan, is portrayed by, Nick, the narrator, only by her superficial qualities.
Mary Ann Evans was a woman who lived controversial and unconventional life. Many of her choices in her life have shocked many people. She eventually earned the deserved credit of an accomplished author. Her works stand on their own, and where not overshadowed by her personnel life decisions. She was known as one of the best Victorian writers, she deals with issues of social change and triumphs of the heart. Her remarkable talent that shows is the depth and scope of English life. Many of her novels today are included in the Cannon of Classic Nineteenth Century Literary Works. Mary Ann Evans has changed her name so she would be taken seriously as a writer. Silas Marner was based on a childhood memory of a linen-weaver. This novel was a rustic novel, which shows the contrast between the evils of modern society and the value of a simple life close to nature. Silas Marner is a linen-weaver who lives in a remote village. The people of the town would make fun of him. Silas had been falsely accused of stealing. Silas starts caring more about his gold from his weaving than about God and society. Silas was robbed of all his gold. Molly Farren is walking in the snow and collapses and dies. Her daughter wanders to Silas cottage. Silas thinks that the girl is his dead sister who has come back to life. Marner takes in the orphan girl and named her Eppie after his dead sister. Eppie becomes more precious that the stolen gold. The villagers are content to hear that Silas adopts the girl. Silas is forgiven since he is doing something good. Silas Marner does not wish to separate from Eppie when she is tried to be adopted by Godfrey Cass who is her real father who was secretly married to Molly. After her death he married Nancy...
The concept of feminism is defined as “political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” (Merriam-Webster). Contrary to prior belief, it is not raising women above men. This was a fear held by many men in the nineteenth century. Therefore, Hawthorne was restricted in how he made the characters of The Scarlet Letter powerful within the society by what society feared. Throughout the novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne attempts to write a novel that is ahead of its time by showing feminist tendencies through Hester, however the constraints of his society and that of Puritan society force his writing to portray women in a negative light.
The Mill on the Floss is full of recreations of George Eliot’s memories of her youth and infancy. This is very much similar to Wordsworth’s style. Given the topic of discussion this not only suggests that Eliot was influenced by Wordsworth but that perhaps their style was somewhat determined by lack of maternal influence. Biographical studies suggest that although Eliot’s mother was present Ruby Redinger speculates in her biography of George Eliot that her mother was strong-willed and incapable of relating to her children. It is believed that Mrs. Evans became ill shortly after her daughter’s birth. This prolonged illness has been interpreted as an unconscious decision to distance herself from her children. As a result of this Mary Anne Evans, George Eliot, along with her siblings were sent out of the home. It is the feelings of rejection and isolation believed to be part autobiographical in The Mill on the Floss that leads to identifying and sympathizing with the characters. This is created by the overwhelming lack of strong maternal counterparts to the central characters. The majority of the community is stunted in some way as a reflection of this. The novel therefore becomes not only a display of the consequences of lacking maternal influence but also of problematic instances of seeking substitution for that which leads to isolation.
Eliot says “No sooner does a woman show that she has genius or effective talent, then she receives the tribute of being moderately praised and severely criticized (Eliot, 17). The readers see how the talents of woman are undermined in a patriarchal order but they want to do things their own way. These women have grown up in a patriarchal order and they seek to reform themselves to their own perspectives. Part of this reform was women’s education. Woman were offered an opportunity to receive their own education, which only strengthened male dominance in a male dominated society. In Prelude, Eliot writes “the offspring of a certain spiritual grandeur ill matched with the meanness of opportunity (Eliot,3). This is demonstrated in Cobbe’s writing, Life of Frances Power Cobbe as Told By Herself explains how she was required in her education to put emphasis on things that men look for in a future spouse. Cobbe describes “Everything was taught us in the inverse ration of its true importance. At the bottom of the scale were Moral and Religion, and at the top were Music and Dancing” (Cobbe,1522-1524). This shows how women want to be themselves especially in their respect to their education. This is interesting in Eliot’s writing because she argues that “silly novels” challenge the basis of women’s education. The readers see how education, societal roles, and gender identification influence the dominate
Do you believe that women of this present generation have always received the same level of respect as they receive now? Today, women are treated exceptionally well as compared to their counterparts in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and treated even better than those in the very early years of America. Women in the past were restricted from freedoms and rights; their individuality was stripped and they were constantly forced to meet the constraining view of a “traditional” America. In contrast, women of modern America are granted a level of recognition and respect unexplored by American women of previous generations.