Tennyson's Princess - The Woman's Cause Is Man's

1006 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on feminism in literature

The Woman's Cause Is Man's

Alfred Lord Tennyson, the author of The Princess, 1847, was born as the fourth of twelve children on August 6th, 1809, in Somersby, Lincolnshire to George and Elizabeth Tennyson. In 1827 he began his higher education at Trinity College, Cambridge; where he won university prizes for his poetry and became involved in an undergraduate club, The Apostles, which greatly influenced his life and later works. Tennyson died on October 6, 1892 at the age of 83 years after enjoying a delayed but satisfying and profitable literary career (Everett)

The Princess was the work that turned Tennyson's struggling career around and laid the foundation for his continued success and ultimate acclaim as the Poet and Prophet of the Victorian era. The composition of The Princess was a lengthy process beginning in 1839 and culminating in its publication in 1847. Tennyson's works, in general and The Princess, in particular are representative of the Victorian era and the societal quest for self-identification. During this time period there existed a strong desire to understand and in some cases, remake male/female relations. Many of Tennyson's works deal with this Victorian issue - "The Woman's Cause is Man's" is one example of a literary attempt to define a social issue. The Victorian era also highly prized the value of self-control, which was considered the defining quality of masculinity (Riede). Due to the influences of industrialization during this time period and the residual class distinctions of previous time periods, this work addresses the male/female issue as it relates to middle and upper class men and women and does not attempt to include the issues facing men and women of the working class, which were distinctly different.

"The Woman's Cause is Man's" is an excerpt from the long narrative poem, The Princess. The story is set in a fairy-tale realm and deals with the effort to establish a women's college. Interestingly, the very first British institution of higher education for women, Queen's College in London, was opened the year following the publication of The Princess. The story's heroine, Princess Ida, has sworn never to marry and has dedicated her life to the founding of a women's college. The Prince, on the other hand, is determined to win the Princess and to convince her that her efforts on behalf of feminists are futile.

Show More
Related

  • Cesar Chavez's Work as a Civil Rights Activist

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cesar Chavez, a civil rights activist, was a major proponent of workers’ rights in Hispanic history. Cesar was born in 1927, in Yuma, Arizona, as a Mexican- American. He grew up in a large family of ranchers and grocery store owners. His family lived in a small adobe house, which was taken away during the Great Depression. In order to receive ownership of the house, his father had to clear eighty acres. Unfortunately, after his father cleared the land, the agreement was broken, and the family was unable to purchase the house. Since Cesar’s family was homeless, they had to become migrant farmers. In order to find work, they relocated to California.

    Read More

  • Summary Of In Spite Of Women By Kenon Breazeale

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    “In Spite of Women: Esquire Magazine and the Construction of the Male Consumer” Much of society’s perception of women today, according to Kenon Breazeale in the piece, “In Spite of Women: Esquire Magazine and the Construction of the Male Consumer”, is based upon the attempts to construct women as consumers. Breazeale claims that much of society’s one-dimensional view of women has everything to do with how consumerism has been viewed primarily as a feminine attribute. Using an in-depth analysis of the early years of Esquire Magazine, Breazeale uses an academic, stoic tone in an effort to remain impartial, although it is rather apparent that she feels strongly against the magazine and all it stood for during this time period. Breazeale effectively

    Read More

  • Cesar Chavez Book Report

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    After having read and watched the video about Cesar Chavez’s union, I gained an understanding about his long struggle to gain rights for field workers. But after having attended the event “What I learned about Cesar Chavez” I even gained a better understanding about how Cesar Chavez accomplished what he did. Throughout Grossman's lecture I was able to form several connections to what I learned from the book. Grossman spoke about Cesar Chavez’s determination and ability to inspire others. These characteristics inspired me to fight for what I believe in.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Susan B. Anthony

    2088 Words  | 5 Pages

    Today, women and men have equal rights, however, not long ago men believed women were lower than them. During the late eighteenth century, men expected women to stay at home and raise children. Women were given very few opportunities to expand their education past high school because colleges and universities would not accept females. This was a loss for women everywhere because it took away positions of power for them. It was even frowned upon if a woman showed interest in medicine or law because that was a man’s place, not a woman’s, just like it was a man’s duty to vote and not a woman’s.

    Read More

  • Cesar Chavez Research Paper

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    Also as a young boy during the 1930’s he saw how many people lost their jobs and homes, and had to basically walk around the country in order to find a new job (“Cesar Chavez” 1). When Cesar was ten, due to the drought in the southwest, his parents were forced to become migrant farm workers (“Cesar Chavez” 1). After his parents became migrant farm workers Cesar Chavez had attended over thirty different schools and was only able to obtain a seventh grade education (“Cesar Chavez” 1). Through all of these harsh and tiring experiences, Cesar Chavez decided to start a migrant farm workers movement that would be very successful. Cesar Chavez was able to win the civil rights battle by being a strategic leader, having perseverant hope, and by gaining the support of common people, politicians, and Hollywood stars.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Little House on the Prairie

    2315 Words  | 5 Pages

    During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...

    Read More

  • Cinderella The Legend By Hurston

    421 Words  | 1 Pages

    This passage from the story insinuates that men need women to see it they way they do, and men don’t appreciate it when women are free-thinking. Women in fiction, not just in books but in movies and television as well, are often represented in certain molds or ideas. The story of Cinderella and the story by Hurston both reinforce the idea that fictional portrayals of women are

    Read More

  • Comparing Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Eighty Years And More

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    This discrimination towards this sex was reinforced by the idea that women was made for man. Not only was this idea prevalent within society but it furthermore is resonated through the laws and documents the government put in place. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony fought to establish equality between both sexes within the nation. This is illustrated within the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions at Seneca Falls when these women stated, “The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object he establishment of an absolute tyranny over her.” This quote expresses the past of women rights and how from the beginning of time women have been seen as inferior to man. This furthermore resonated to express the idea that women were not only inferior but also a material object in a man’s life. Stanton and Anthony put a large emphasis into this ideal, making it their driving force into establishing women’s rights in America.

    Read More

  • The American Dream: César Chavez

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Centro Cultural César Chávez." César Chávez's Bio. Oregon State University, n.d. Web. 04 May 2014. .

    Read More

  • The Power of the Written Word: Literary Greats Paving the Way for Social Equality

    1276 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against, oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structures. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In 'The Awakening' By Kate Chopin

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 19th and 20th centuries were a time period of change. The world saw many changes from gender roles to racial treatment. Many books written during these time periods reflect these changes. Some caused mass outrage while others helped to bring about change. In the book The Awakening by Kate Chopin, gender roles can be seen throughout the novel. Some of the characters follow society’s “rules” on what a gender is suppose to do while others challenge it. Feminist Lens can be used to help infer and interpret the gender roles that the characters follow or rebel against. Madame Ratignolle and Leonce Pontellier follow eaches respective gender, while Alcee Arobin follows and rebels the male gender expectations during the time period.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Patriarchy In Jane Austen's Emma

    1968 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, the idea of patriarchy ruled the many societies all over the world. Particularly in Britain, its “overarching patriarchal model” (Marsh) had “reserved power and privilege for men” (Marsh). Also during this time period feminist literature began to arise and was invaded by, “the complex social, ethical, and economic roots of sexual politics… as testimony to gender bias and the double standard” (“Sexual Politics and Feminist Literature”). In Jane Austen’s writing, readers have been aware of her constant themes of female independence and gender equality. However, many have criticized the author for the fact that many of her “individualistic” female characters have ended up

    Read More

  • Sleeping Beauty: Feminist Critics

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    The biological differences that set apart the male and female gender throughout any culture remain eminent. Men are perceived as the stronger and dominant gender; women play the role of the weaker. In each culture the expectation of the manner in which men and women behave are influenced by the ideals and customs of that culture. In most predominant cultures, the man undertakes the role as a leader, and the woman devotes her life to the husband. Throughout history, traditions and literature provide a template to the identities of various cultures. Sleeping Beauty’s classic tale of a beautiful princess takes a central precept that previous patriarchal archetypes dominated during the 17th Century. The archetypal perceptions of women resulted from conscious and unconscious literature influenced by male-dominated perspectives and social standards.

    Read More

  • A Feminist Perspective of The Lady of Shalott

    2170 Words  | 5 Pages

    In an essay on feminist criticism, Linda Peterson of Yale University explains how literature can "reflect and shape the attitudes that have held women back" (330). From the viewpoint of a feminist critic, "The Lady of Shalott" provides its reader with an analysis of the Victorian woman's conflict between her place in the interior, domestic role of society and her desire to break into the exterior, public sphere which generally had been the domain of men. Read as a commentary on women's roles in Victorian society, "The Lady of Shalott" may be interpreted in different ways. Thus, the speaker's commentary is ambiguous: Does he seek to reinforce the institution of patriarchal society as he "punishes" the Lady with her death for her venture into the public world of men, or does he sympathize with her yearnings for a more colorful, active life? Close reading reveals more than one possible answer to this question, but the overriding theme seems sympathetic to the Lady. By applying "the feminist critique" (Peterson 333-334) to Tennyson's famous poem, one may begin to understand how "The Lady of Shalott" not only analyzes, but actually critiques the attitudes that held women back and, in the end, makes a hopeful, less patriarchal statement about the place of women in Victorian society.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Isolation In The Lady Of Shalott

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tennyson's poetry has stood the test of time because it successfully paints a time and place and reflects the feelings of the people in it. His ability to capture the feelings of uncertainty and loss that were characteristic of this time period, through his use of descriptions, diction, and pathetic fallacy made his poetry not only pleasing to the ear, but also historically important. He surpassed Wordsworth and other poets of his generation as Poet Laureate because his poems capture the important social issues of the Victorian Age such as the shift in religious belief as a result of science, the confusion surrounding women's roles in society, and the isolation that came as a result of the rapid social and economical changes that occurred.

    Read More

More about Tennyson's Princess - The Woman's Cause Is Man's

Open Document