Premium Essay

Discuss the 'Fallen Woman' as a Familiar Feature of Victorian Writing

In:

Submitted By Cat678
Words 2804
Pages 12
Discuss the 'Fallen Woman' as a Familiar Feature of Victorian Writing Elizabeth Gaskell's Mary Barton may be characterised as a 'social problem' novel. Basch (1974: 263) states, 'Mrs Gaskell's impure women came from ... the work and exploitation which she knew, relatively speaking, better than other novelists.' Gaskell was the wife of a Unitarian clergyman in Manchester. She devoted her time to setting up homes for fallen women, and after Mary Barton women became her central characters, her novels primarily seen through women's eyes. Thomas Hardy, since his career began, has been notably associated with his portrayal of female characters. Erving Howe even writes about 'Hardy's gift for creeping intuitively into the emotional life of women.' (Boumelha 1982: 3) From this point of view, I intend this essay to establish a comparison between Gaskell's 'fallen woman' in Mary Barton and the way in which Thomas Hardy frames his central female character in Tess of the D'Urbervilles.In the context of the nineteenth century, there emerged an increasingly ideological 'rethinking' of sexuality, particularly of the female. Darwin's Origin of Species in 1859 and The Descent of Man later in 1871 argued that men and women were somehow mentally different. Darwinian sociology led to sexual stereotypes such as Clement Scott's 'men are born "animals" and women "angels" so it is in effect only natural for men to indulge their sexual appetites and, hence, perverse, "unnatural" for women to act in the same way.' (Quotation from Boumelha 1982: 18). The centrality of the female characters in both novels brings into question the problems concerning the female nature.The first time we are introduced to the 'fallen woman' character - Esther - in Mary Barton is on learning of her disappearance. John Barton and George Wilson, two mill workers in the industrial town of Manchester, are discussing

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Discuss the 'Fallen Woman' as a Familiar Feature of Victorian Writing

...Elizabeth Gaskell's Mary Barton may be characterised as a 'social problem' novel. Basch (1974: 263) states, 'Mrs Gaskell's impure women came from ... the work and exploitation which she knew, relatively speaking, better than other novelists.' Gaskell was the wife of a Unitarian clergyman in Manchester. She devoted her time to setting up homes for fallen women, and after Mary Barton women became her central characters, her novels primarily seen through women's eyes. Thomas Hardy, since his career began, has been notably associated with his portrayal of female characters. Erving Howe even writes about 'Hardy's gift for creeping intuitively into the emotional life of women.' (Boumelha 1982: 3) From this point of view, I intend this essay to establish a comparison between Gaskell's 'fallen woman' in Mary Barton and the way in which Thomas Hardy frames his central female character in Tess of the D'Urbervilles. !Note the same structure for the next paragraph: a broad display of reference and knowledge, with a strong final sentence. In the context of the nineteenth century, there emerged an increasingly ideological 'rethinking' of sexuality, particularly of the female. Darwin's Origin of Species in 1859 and The Descent of Man later in 1871 argued that men and women were somehow mentally different. Darwinian sociology led to sexual stereotypes such as Clement Scott's 'men are born "animals" and women "angels" so it is in effect only natural for men to indulge their sexual appetites...

Words: 3305 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

'Discuss the Fallen Woman' as a Familiar Feature of Victorian Writing

...was the wife of a Unitarian clergyman in Manchester. She devoted her time to setting up homes for fallen women, and after Mary Barton women became her central characters, her novels primarily seen through women's eyes. Thomas Hardy, since his career began, has been notably associated with his portrayal of female characters. Erving Howe even writes about 'Hardy's gift for creeping intuitively into the emotional life of women.' (Boumelha 1982: 3) From this point of view, I intend this essay to establish a comparison between Gaskell's 'fallen woman' in Mary Barton and the way in which Thomas Hardy frames his central female character in Tess of the D'Urbervilles. In the context of the nineteenth century, there emerged an increasingly ideological 'rethinking' of sexuality, particularly of the female. Darwin's Origin of Species in 1859 and The Descent of Man later in 1871 argued that men and women were somehow mentally different. Darwinian sociology led to sexual stereotypes such as Clement Scott's 'men are born "animals" and women "angels" so it is in effect only natural for men to indulge their sexual appetites and, hence, perverse, "unnatural" for women to act in the same way.' (Quotation from Boumelha 1982: 18). The centrality of the female characters in both novels brings into question the problems concerning the female nature. The first time we are introduced to the 'fallen woman' character - Esther - in Mary Barton is on learning of her disappearance. John Barton and George...

Words: 548 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Prose

...Dominance Male Dominance in Tess of the D’urbervilles The Victorian era, as described by Professor of History and Women's & Gender Studies Nancy Reagin in her essay “Victorian Women: the Gender of Oppression”, witnessed the ideology of separate spheres in which society viewed men as independent and reasonable while viewing women as passive, dependent on men, emotional, and submissive. Men were given the governing role in which they would dominate society due to their ability to make rational decisions while women were expected to unquestionably fill the social roles that men decided for them, and those roles usually revolved around a woman’s duties as a mother and a wife. In marriage, a woman was expected to abide by the orders and views of her husband, and man and wife became one in terms of a woman’s rights, property, and identity. In Tess of the D’urbervilles, a book written in the Victorian Era, Hardy conveys this ideology of separate spheres in his portrayal of men and their dominance over women in society, primarily Tess. Their dominance is shown in how the men act as the masters of society, but it is also seen in how the women in Tess unquestionably view the men as the dominant gender. Often, the women are blindly influenced and act passively when interacting with male characters such as Alec and Angel. They are also seen to be very dependent on the men, and the men acknowledge that, for that is expected of a woman in that age to not be able to make a living for herself....

Words: 671 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Fallen Woman

...Discuss the 'Fallen Woman' as a Familiar Feature of Victorian Writing Victorian social conventions placed the female inside the male domain, a domestically cultivated flower rather than a wild one, uncontrollable and free to roam. Woman was idealised: the angel in the house, the wife complementing her husband, the helpmate of man. Social conditions offered the Victorian woman little in occupation so her aim in life was to secure a husband, succumbing to the political propaganda. As Foster states: Because so much importance was attached to the roles of wifehood and motherhood, marriage was deemed the apotheosis of womanly fulfilment, alternatives to which were regarded as pitiable or unnatural.( Foster 1985: 6) In this role of wife, woman's great function is to praise her husband and, in return, she shall be praised for ruling inside the home where she can be 'incapable of error' (Ruskin 1865: 149) In Ruskin's lecture his view is that a husband is a chivalric knight guarding his wife from the 'peril and trial' he encounters. For the 'noble' woman, her true place is in the home, an 'incorruptibly good household nun', praised for choosing 'self-renunciation' over 'self-development'(D'Amico 1992: 69). This could also be viewed as oppression. Rather than the female 'complementing' the male, she is oppressed by him, and the praise offered by Ruskin could be viewed as a weapon, lulling the female into a false consciousness, trapping her inside the home. For the Victorian...

Words: 2542 - Pages: 11

Free Essay

The Outline of English Literature

...Министерство образования и науки Республики Казахстан Кокшетауский государственный университет им. Ш. Уалиханова An Outline of British Literature (from tradition to post modernism) Кокшетау 2011 УДК 802.0 – 5:20 ББК 81:432.1-923 № 39 Рекомендовано к печати кафедрой английского языка и МП КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, Ученым Советом филологического факультета КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, УМС КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова. Рецензенты: Баяндина С.Ж. доктор филологических наук, профессор, декан филологического факультета КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова Батаева Ф.А. кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры «Переводческое дело» Кокшетауского университета им. А. Мырзахметова Кожанова К.Т. преподаватель английского языка кафедры гуманитарного цикла ИПК и ПРО Акмолинской области An Outline of British Literature from tradition to post modernism (on specialties 050119 – “Foreign Language: Two Foreign Languages”, 050205 – “Foreign Philology” and 050207 – “Translation”): Учебное пособие / Сост. Немченко Н.Ф. – Кокшетау: Типография КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, 2010 – 170 с. ISBN 9965-19-350-9 Пособие представляет собой краткие очерки, характеризующие английскую литературу Великобритании, ее основные направления и тенденции. Все известные направления в литературе иллюстрированы примерами жизни и творчества авторов, вошедших в мировую литературу благодаря...

Words: 82733 - Pages: 331

Premium Essay

Kuharenko

...Кухаренко В.А. Практикум з стилістики англійської мови: Підручник. – Вінниця. «Нова книга», 2000 - 160 с. CONTENTS FOREWORD...............................................................................…………………………………………... 2 PRELIMINARY REMARKS.....................................................………………………………………….. 3 CHAPTER I. PHONO-GRAPHICAL LEVEL. MORPHOLOGICAL LEVEL…............................... 13 Sound Instrumenting. Craphon. Graphical Means…………………………………………………………...6 Morphemic Repetition. Extension of Morphemic Valency………………………………………………….11 CHAPTER II. LEXICAL LEVEL..............................................……………………………………….…14 Word and its Semantic Structure…………………………………………………………………………….14 Connotational Meanings of a Word………………………………………………………………………….14 The Role of the Context in the Actualization of Meaning…………………………………………………….14 Stylistic Differentiation of the Vocabulary…………………………………………………………………..16 Literary Stratum of Words. Colloquial Words…..…………………………………………………………..16 Lexical Stylistic Devices…………………………………………………………………………………….23 Metaphor. Metonymy. Synecdoche. Play on Words. Irony. Epithet…………………………………………23 Hyperbole. Understatement. Oxymoron. ……………………………………………………………………23 CHAPTER III. SYNTACTICAL LEVEL..................................…………………………………………38 Main Characteristics of the Sentence. Syntactical SDs. Sentence Length…………………………………..38 One-Word Sentences. Sentence Structure. Punctuation. Arrangement...

Words: 57354 - Pages: 230

Premium Essay

A Book of Practice in Stylistics

...Кухаренко В. А. Практикум з стилістики англійської мови: Підручник. — Вінниця: Нова книга, 2000. — 160 с. Кухаренко Валерия Андреевна, д.ф.н., проф., кафедра лексикологии и стилистики английского языка факультетеа РГФ ОНУ им. И. И. Мечникова CONTENTS FOREWORD...............................................................................…………………………………………... 2 PRELIMINARY REMARKS.....................................................………………………………………….. 3 CHAPTER I. PHONO-GRAPHICAL LEVEL. MORPHOLOGICAL LEVEL…............................... 13 Sound Instrumenting. Graphon. Graphical Means…………………………………………………………...6 Morphemic Repetition. Extension of Morphemic Valency………………………………………………….11 CHAPTER II. LEXICAL LEVEL..............................................……………………………………….…14 Word and its Semantic Structure…………………………………………………………………………….14 Connotational Meanings of a Word………………………………………………………………………….14 The Role of the Context in the Actualization of Meaning…………………………………………………….14 Stylistic Differentiation of the Vocabulary…………………………………………………………………..16 Literary Stratum of Words. Colloquial Words…..…………………………………………………………..16 Lexical Stylistic Devices…………………………………………………………………………………….23 Metaphor. Metonymy. Synecdoche. Play on Words. Irony. Epithet…………………………………………23 Hyperbole. Understatement. Oxymoron. ……………………………………………………………………23 CHAPTER III. SYNTACTICAL LEVEL..................................…………………………………………38 Main Characteristics...

Words: 56594 - Pages: 227

Premium Essay

The Rise of the Tale

...BRITISH SHORT FICTION IN THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY This page intentionally left blank British Short Fiction in the Early Nineteenth Century The Rise of the Tale TIM KILLICK Cardiff University, UK © Tim Killick 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Tim Killick has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Gower House Croft Road Aldershot Hampshire GU11 3HR England Ashgate Publishing Company Suite 420 101 Cherry Street Burlington, VT 05401-4405 USA www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Killick, Tim British short fiction in the early nineteenth century : the rise of the tale 1. Short stories, English – History and criticism 2. English fiction – 19th century – History and criticism 3. Short story 4. Literary form – History – 19th century I. Title 823’.0109 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Killick, Tim. British short fiction in the early nineteenth century : the rise of the tale / by Tim Killick. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7546-6413-0 (alk. paper) 1. Short stories, English—History and criticism. 2. English fiction—19th...

Words: 98420 - Pages: 394

Premium Essay

British Short Fictions

...BRITISH SHORT FICTION IN THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY This page intentionally left blank British Short Fiction in the Early Nineteenth Century The Rise of the Tale TIM KILLICK Cardiff University, UK © Tim Killick 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Tim Killick has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Gower House Croft Road Aldershot Hampshire GU11 3HR England Ashgate Publishing Company Suite 420 101 Cherry Street Burlington, VT 05401-4405 USA www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Killick, Tim British short fiction in the early nineteenth century : the rise of the tale 1. Short stories, English – History and criticism 2. English fiction – 19th century – History and criticism 3. Short story 4. Literary form – History – 19th century I. Title 823’.0109 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Killick, Tim. British short fiction in the early nineteenth century : the rise of the tale / by Tim Killick. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7546-6413-0 (alk. paper) 1. Short stories, English—History and criticism. 2. English fiction—19th...

Words: 98420 - Pages: 394

Premium Essay

Marxist

...BRITISH SHORT FICTION IN THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY This page intentionally left blank British Short Fiction in the Early Nineteenth Century The Rise of the Tale TIM KILLICK Cardiff University, UK © Tim Killick 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Tim Killick has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Gower House Croft Road Aldershot Hampshire GU11 3HR England Ashgate Publishing Company Suite 420 101 Cherry Street Burlington, VT 05401-4405 USA www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Killick, Tim British short fiction in the early nineteenth century : the rise of the tale 1. Short stories, English – History and criticism 2. English fiction – 19th century – History and criticism 3. Short story 4. Literary form – History – 19th century I. Title 823’.0109 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Killick, Tim. British short fiction in the early nineteenth century : the rise of the tale / by Tim Killick. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7546-6413-0 (alk. paper) 1. Short stories, English—History and criticism. 2. English fiction—19th...

Words: 98420 - Pages: 394

Free Essay

Moonstone

...(1824-1889) was born in London, the son of a successful landscape painter and member of the Royal Academy, who was also very strict with both his religion and his money. While his son inherited much of his father’s parsimony, he rebelled against the strict morality of his upbringing, and against Victorian morality in general. After the death of his father, he scandalized his family and friends by setting up housekeeping with Caroline Graves, a young woman who already had a daughter, and presumably a husband. Even when the opportunity presented itself later in life, he refused to marry her, encouraged her to marry another man, and then moved in with her again when that marriage failed. In the meantime, he kept a mistress on the side, Martha Rudd, by whom he had three children. At his death, he divided his estate equally between his two mistresses and two families. Through much of his life, he was plagued by bad health. He was small and somewhat deformed, and rheumatism contracted in his thirties caused him to take increasingly-large doses of laudanum. He himself admitted that he was a bit of a hypochondriac, and eventually became a recluse much like Frederick Fairlie in The Woman in White. To please his parents, he tried the tea business for five years and later studied law, but had no love for either pursuit. He was drawn to the arts, as was his brother Charles, who for a time worked among the Pre-Raphaelites (and later married Charles Dickens’ daughter), and determined ...

Words: 16240 - Pages: 65

Premium Essay

Title

...[pic] ББК 81.2.1. Англ. М41 Рецензенты: кафедра английского языка Новгородского государственного университета им. Ярослава Мудрого (зав. кафедрой, доцент, кандидат филологических наук Е. Ф. Жукова) доцент кафедры английской филологии № 2 Санкт-Петербургского государственного университета М. В. Сорокина Меркулова Е. М., Филимонова О. Е., Костыгина С. И., Иванова Ю. А., Папанова Л. В. М41 Английский язык для студентов университетов. Чтение, письменная и устная практика. Серия «Изучаем иностранные языки».— СПб.: Издательство Союз, 2000.— 384 с. ISBN 5-87852-114-8 Настоящая книга представляет собой вторую часть учебного комплекса "English For University Students". Учебник включает текстовый материал и комплексную систему упражнений для отработки навыков устной и письменной речи на продвинутом этапе обучения. Материал отредактирован профессором кафедры современных языков и литератур Оклевдского университета Н. Ф. Лонганом. Все права защищены. ( «Издательство Союз», 2000 ( Меркулова Е. М.. Филимонова О. Е., Костыгина С. И., Иванова Ю. А., Папанова Л.В., 2000 ( В.А. Гореликов, художественное оформление, 2000 ISBN 5-87852-114-8 CONTENTS Lesson 1 FAMILY LIFE 3 Lesson 2 HOME 16 Lesson 3 DAILY ROUTINE 29 Lesson 4 DOMESTIC CHORES 41 Lesson 5 SHOPPING FOR FOOD 54 Lesson 6 SHOPPING FOR CONSUMER GOODS 68 Lesson 7 MEALS AND COOKING 81 Lesson 8 COLLEGE LIFE 96 ...

Words: 96008 - Pages: 385

Free Essay

C: UsersMikeDocuments-WaldenClasses Kam I Principles of Social ChangeKamMoore M Kam1 Final.Pdf

...Knowledge Area Module I: Principles of Societal Development Student: Michael Moore Michael.Moore@waldenu.edu Program: PhD in Applied Management and Decision Sciences Specialization: Leadership and Organizational Change KAM Assessor: Dr. Javier Fadul Javier.fadul@waldenu.edu Faculty Mentor: Dr. Javier Fadul Javier.fadul@waldenu.edu Walden University February 5, 2011 ABSTRACT Breadth This Knowledge Area Module (KAM) broadens common knowledge of societal and cultural development by looking beyond economic and conflict theories for understanding other positions regarding social advancement. The Breadth Component studies societal and cultural development in terms of evolutionary, cyclical, and fundamentalist theories and demonstrates why it is important to looking beyond the popularly accepted knowledge about social development represented by economic and conflict theory. This approach provides a more robust generalization that more adequately describes social advancement, and concludes that classical researchers did not consider leadership as a social segment to be studied, that influences societal and cultural development. Leadership understanding of societal and cultural development is critical for enabling them to lead positive social change. ABSTRACT Depth The Depth section compares modern research in societal and cultural development to the theories of classical researchers in order to further develop the findings of the classical study, and to determine if leadership...

Words: 29149 - Pages: 117

Premium Essay

Reading a Novel in 1950-2000

...Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 i RTNA01 1 13/6/05, 5:28 PM READING THE NOVEL General Editor: Daniel R. Schwarz The aim of this series is to provide practical introductions to reading the novel in both the British and Irish, and the American traditions. Published Reading the Modern British and Irish Novel 1890–1930 Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 Daniel R. Schwarz Brian W. Shaffer Forthcoming Reading the Eighteenth-Century Novel Paula R. Backscheider Reading the Nineteenth-Century Novel Harry E. Shaw and Alison Case Reading the American Novel 1780–1865 Shirley Samuels Reading the American Novel 1865–1914 G. R. Thompson Reading the Twentieth-Century American Novel James Phelan ii RTNA01 2 13/6/05, 5:28 PM Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 Brian W. Shaffer iii RTNA01 3 13/6/05, 5:28 PM © 2006 by Brian W. Shaffer BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Brian W. Shaffer to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and...

Words: 123617 - Pages: 495

Premium Essay

Business

... GETTING STARTED (OR SOUP-CAN LABELS CAN BE FASCINATING) For many writers, getting started is the hardest part. You may have noticed that when it is time to begin a writing assignment, you suddenly develop an enormous desire to straighten your books, water your plants, or sharpen your pencils for the fifth time. If this situation sounds familiar, you may find it reassuring to know that many professionals undergo these same strange compulsions before they begin writing. Jean Kerr, author of Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, admits that she often finds herself in the kitchen reading soup-can labels—or anything—in order to prolong the moments before taking pen in hand. John C. Calhoun, vice president under Andrew Jackson, insisted he had to plow his fields before he could write, and Joseph Conrad, author of Lord Jim and other novels, is said to have cried on occasion from the sheer dread of sitting down to compose his stories. To spare you as much hand-wringing as possible, this chapter presents some practical suggestions on how to begin writing your short essay. Although all writers must find the methods that work best for them, you may find some of the following ideas helpful. But no matter how you actually begin putting words on paper, it is absolutely essential to maintain two basic ideas concerning your writing task. Before you write a single sentence, you should always remind yourself that 1. You have some valuable ideas to tell your reader, and 2. More than anything, you want...

Words: 234754 - Pages: 940