Agency and Servitude via Hopelessness in The Moonstone and “The Woman’s Labor”
Upon an initial read, both Mary Collier’s “The Washerwomen” and Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone show the servant as a figure who has little control over their own life and choices. In Collier’s poem, the washerwoman toils from early morning to late at night in order to make ends meet, all while dealing with the abuse of the mistress. In The Moonstone, servants are treated with more respect than the Washerwomen Collier describes, but they still have their own trials to contend with; for example, Rosanna Spearman dealt with the harsh reality of the workhouse and later is suspected of thievery. While in the beginning both works seemingly portray the servants as helpless in their own way, this helplessness only remains constant throughout “The Washerwomen”. Both Rosanna and the unnamed narrator from “The Washerwomen” lack hope for life to improve, however, they use this hopelessness in different ways; the washerwoman allows her hopelessness to control her, whereas
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Rosanna uses it to gain agency. The Oxford English Dictionary defines agency as: “Ability or capacity to act or exert power; active working or operation; action, activity.” (“Agency”). Rosanna uses her own hopelessness to exert power over her own life by ending it, and the washerwoman lacks capacity to act due to her own despair. The two opposing figures show the often-harsh reality of the life of a servant in previous times, that the upper class often did not see. In The Moonstone, many of the servants seem to be treated quite well, Betteredge and his daughter are financially stable and have a great respect for their masters. Rosanna Spearman however, is not as fortunate as many of the other servants in the Verinder household. Throughout Rosanna’s life, her unhappiness is made clear through the opinions and narratives of the other characters. In Betteredge’s narrative, it is revealed that Rosanna is forced to live in the work houses for thievery. The workhouses were a place of suffering and hard work that Betteredge described as a place for “forlorn women [to stop them] from drifting back into bad ways,” (Collins 21). Rosanna suffers further misfortune in the Verinder household through her unrequited love for Franklin that will never come to be because, as Cuff explains, she is unfortunate in appearance. Not only do other characters prove Rosanna’s suffering, but Rosanna shows her lack of faith in the world in her final letter, “good-bye to the world which has grudged me the happiness that it gives others.” (Collins 327). While Rosanna’s lack of hope does not come explicitly from her profession as a servant, but rather from the circumstances of her life, she does lack options for self-improvement due to her social standing. The washerwoman from Collier’s work on the other hand suffers overtly due to her profession. The unnamed speaker in “The Washerwomen”, unlike Rosanna, suffers due to her work and at the hand of her mistress.
The washerwoman works long hours, from: “When bright Orion glitters in the skies,” (Collier 1) to until their “work is done,” (Collier 54), deals with harsh conditions and faces a cruel mistress. The mistress forces her workers to extensively clean her garments all while accusing them of stealing, “Her clothes are fewer than the time before.” (Collier 37). Collier makes clear that the washerwoman lacks hope for her future through the melancholy tone of the poem and the language used throughout. A moment in which the washerwoman shows her complete lack of hope is the final two lines of the poem, “For all our pains no prospect can we see/Attend us, but old age and poverty.” (Collier 57-8). This line shows the speaker`s hopelessness when she states that the only thing she will receive in life is old age and
poverty. Rosanna in The Moonstone, lacks hope for her future, particularly due to the unreciprocated love she feels for Franklin. When Rosanna suspects that Franklin has stolen the moonstone, her despair is furthered because she fears for the man she loves. At this point, Rosanna`s hopelessness forces her to make a choice and act in order to do what she wants. By making the choice to end her own life, Rosanna gains agency because she uses her own authority to make change. By killing herself, Rosanna simultaneously ended her suffering, while also hiding the evidence that would implicate Franklin. Rosanna also exercises her own voice in her suicide note by revealing her feelings for Franklin. In death, Rosanna was able to tell her Franklin how she felt and protect him as a final act of love; which is something she felt she could never have done in life. By using her lack of hope as a reason for death, Rosanna is able to impact the world around her. The washerwoman however, chose to continue to survive despite her hopelessness. In Collier’s “The Washerwoman”, the narrator does not use her lack of hope to gain agency. Agency, as defined above, is when one acts in order to make change; the washerwoman does not act. The washerwoman does not decide to find a new job, speak out about her mistress, kill herself, or do anything to end her suffering, unlike Rosanna. The washerwoman does not hope for her future and thus is trapped in a cycle of abuse and suffering. Each day, the washerwoman wakes and does, “what [she] can… do most willingly;” (Collier 40) despite the “sweat [and] blood [that] runs trickling down/ [her] wrists,” (Collier 41-2). By continuing to do work that made her lose hope, the washerwoman gives into her hopelessness and makes no effort to change. Both the washerwoman and Rosanna suffer throughout their daily life. Due to their suffering, the two give up hope for a better life and live in despair. While the two women share a feeling of hopelessness, their lack of hope makes them act in different ways; Rosanna’s lack of hope helps her to gain agency, whereas the washerwoman’s lack of hope caused her to give up. Rosanna was perhaps able to gain control over her own life when the washerwoman could not, because she had been pushed further than the washerwoman had. When one first reads Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone and Mary Collier’s “The Washerwomen” the reader is shown servants who have minimal control over their own lives, and thus their choices. However, upon a deeper read, one can see that only one of the servants presented in the works is helpless; the washerwoman is trapped in a cycle of suffering and abuse, whereas Rosanna takes control of her life. In The Moonstone, Rosanna Spearman lives an unfortunate life; she survives the workhouses, is deemed unattractive, experiences unrequited love for Franklin, and is accused of stealing the moonstone. Understandingly, Rosanna is not hopeful for her own future and uses this hopelessness to gain control of her own life by terminating it. Similarly, the washerwoman has lost all hope for a better future away from her work. Unlike Rosanna, the washerwoman gives into her hopelessness and allows the cycle to continue. Both Rosanna and the washerwoman’s lack of hope shows the bleak choices that a servant of the time faced.
The narrator who saw the woman cleaning in the airport did not like the scene due to the fact that she believes that there are better jobs and options out there. However, we do not know whether or not the lady actually cleaning feels the same way. Oliver states in the poem, “Her beauty and her embarrassment struggled together, and neither could win”. (Line 13). Even though this situation seems to be very sad Oliver tries to turn a sad situation into a hopeful and joyful situation. The speaker sees how the woman is struggling, but she thinks she is beautiful. Furthermore, the perspective of the speaker shows that the cleaning woman has a right to “stand in a happy place”, which means everyone deserves a good job. Oliver mentions, “Yes, a person wants to stand in a happy place, in a poem, but first we must watch her as she stares down at her labor, which is dull enough” (line 16). This quote shows that the narrator dislikes the fact that she is doing such a low job and yet she thinks she is beautiful. The author did not understand her perspective, she has to do this job for a
The readers are apt to feel confused in the contrasting ways the woman in this poem has been depicted. The lady described in the poem leads to contrasting lives during the day and night. She is a normal girl in her Cadillac in the day while in her pink Mustang she is a prostitute driving on highways in the night. In the poem the imagery of body recurs frequently as “moving in the dust” and “every time she is touched”. The reference to woman’s body could possibly be the metaphor for the derogatory ways women’s labor, especially the physical labor is represented. The contrast between day and night possibly highlights the two contrasting ways the women are represented in society.
This ESSAY discusses the female Lowell factory worker as portrayed in the Offering. Although the magazine never expressed an overtly feminist view of the factory girls' condition, nor invoked a working-class consciousness similar to later labor expressions in Lowell, there is evidence of a narrative strategy and ideology speaking both to the factory women and the middle-class readership outside of the mill town. The paper's short stories, epistolary narratives and commentaries seek to legitimize an operatives' role within the feminine ideal of domesticity. In conforming to the norms of feminine literature, the Offering reconstructs the operatives' character. It subordinates the evidence for independence or autonomy to relate stories of familial or sentimental ties binding the factory girl to the world outside of factory life. The magazine sought to provide an answer to this question: given her new liberties, what kept the "factory girl" from losing contact with her moral sentiments?
Fulfilling the roles of both mother and breadwinner creates an assortment of reactions for the narrator. In the poem’s opening lines, she commences her day in the harried role as a mother, and with “too much to do,” (2) expresses her struggle with balancing priorities. After saying goodbye to her children she rushes out the door, transitioning from both, one role to the next, as well as, one emotion to another. As the day continues, when reflecting on
The White apron is a powerful play about socioeconomic problems and inequality in our community. In the play we are introduce to two main characters, the madam and the house cleaner. Secondary characters include the distinguish gentleman and swimmers on the beach. The play takes place on the beach during the month of March. In the beginning of the play, the author reminds us the readers the immediate difference between the physical appearances of the two women. We are also made aware that there are not only physical differences between the two women, but also that of social status and financial stability. The madam is a woman of her thirty; she has light hair and has a somewhat attractive face. We also know that the madam has a husband and a young son. Whereas the maid is in her twenties, she has a fair complexion, black hair, placid and pleasant face. She is from a lower social class.
The theme of the poem “Woman Work” is that she is a very busy, lonely
In the second half of the poem, a new facet of the speaker's attitude is displayed. In line 17, she wants to improve the ugliness of her "child" by giving him new clothes; however, she is too poor to do so, having "nought save homespun cloth" with which to dress her child. In the final stanza, the speaker reveals poverty as her motive for allowing her book to be sent to a publisher (sending her "child" out into the world) in the first place. This makes her attitude seem to contradict her actions.
The submission of women is demonstrated in the text through the symbolic colors of the couple’s bedroom. Indeed, as the young woman’s husband is asleep, the wife remains wide-awake, trying her best to provide the man with comfort, while enjoying her newlywed life. As she opens her eyes to contemplate “the blue of the brand-new curtains, instead of the apricot-pink through which the first light of day [filters] into the room where she [has]
Parry, Joseph D. "Interpreting Female Agency and Responsibility in The Miller's Tale and The Merchant's Tale." 80.2 (2001): 133-67. Academic Onefile. Web. 16 May 2013.
“The Pastoralization of Housework” by Jeanne Boydston is a publication that demonstrates women’s roles during the antebellum period. Women during this period began to embrace housework and believed their responsibilities were to maintain the home, and produce contented and healthy families. As things progressed, housework no longer held monetary value, and as a result, womanhood slowly shifted from worker to nurturer. The roles that women once held in the household were slowly diminishing as the economy became more industrialized. Despite the discomfort of men, when women realized they could find decent employment, still maintain their household and have extra income, women began exploring their option.
Mr. Pontellier “looks at his wife as looks at a valuable piece of property” (2). This demonstrates the idea that men just viewed women as non human. The men just saw the women as a person who has to clean and can be controlled. No one married for love. Furthermore, this demonstrates the fact that women had to sacrifice the emotions that they were harboring in their hearts and continue to be unhappily married. This examines the idea that men are undermining the way women are treated by having them do all the work that they don’t want to do. In The Awakening, this idea is shown when Edna just decided to go “just simply felt like going out so [she] went out (58). This was not allowed at all and if they went against what their husbands and everyone told them they were shunned and judged.
She also did many activities such as spinning, weaving, keeping the house up and also nursed the sick, which could relate to the time period this poem is taking place in also. The intent that the author was trying to get across is one that, people could live happy lives in a very simplistic way, such as Lucinda did. In his poems, Masters used free verse patterns to make his subjects seem more natural. There are no historical or literary allusions to this poem. Although she barely includes any similes or metaphors in her poem, there are a few.
"A woman 's light dressing gown, often made from a sheer fabric",(pg.619). By giving her that description she is being objectified. She is seen not wearing too much clothing, usually women that show too much skin are given a bad connotation. They are not respectable in society, and are often talked wrongly about. The title of the poem itself has a hidden message. "The Young Housewife", means that the woman could have been married as young as the age of eighteen. Since she stays at home being the "housewife", she is depends on her husband to take care of her needs. The poem gives no hope of her being independent so she will forever depend on someone to support her. From this interpretation the poem is saying that women are to marry young, and stay at home. Not given the opportunity to pursue a career, and obtain a decent job to support herself
However, it does not contain nearly as much loss as “Gwilan’s Harp”, as a result, the story has a much happier voice. The main example of loss in “The Washwoman” comes at the very end of the story when the family the washwoman works for, finds out that she dies. The narrator of the story recounts it in this way “But she never came back. The wash she had returned was her last effort on this earth.” (Singer). Just the opposite of “Gwilan’s Harp” the main theme of loss does not come till the end of the story, while joys fills the rest of the story. Although the story ends with loss, Singer leaves the reader with a great example of perseverance and good integrity. In the end, the utilization of loss in “The Washwoman” contrast sharply with its use in “Gwilan’s Harp”, but similarly, it also teaches a precious
Men and women led very much different lives, it was the idea that men belonged to the public sphere and women to the domestic sphere. It was at a time when men went to work to generate income for the family, socialised and held political power, whereas women on the other hand were confined to the home and left to raise the children, as well as doing the cooking and cleaning. Despite women’s roles mainly revolving around the home, their duties were important none the less and were considered as crucial for society by the Victorians, as demonstrated by Martin Wiener who states that a wife’s behaviour and character became more crucial than ever to the happiness and viability of the home . It was here in the nineteenth century that the ideal women was based on ‘Mary’- the ‘divine guide, p...