Friday, July 3, 2020
The role of the outsider in Christina Rossettiââ¬â¢s Poetry - Literature Essay Samples
Many of Christina Rossettiââ¬â¢s poems explore the theme of those who are placed outside of society, supporting the claim that the outsider is always an intriguing figure in literature. However, this concept is explored and presented by many ways by Rossetti in a variety of her poems. ââ¬Å"Shut Outâ⬠is a poem that deals directly with the theme of the outsider and the narrator and events within the poem can be interpreted in a variety of different ways. The narrator describes how ââ¬Å"the door was shutâ⬠on her and she can no longer access her ââ¬Å"beautifulâ⬠ââ¬Å"gardenâ⬠. The narrator describes how she is ââ¬Å"quite aloneâ⬠and ââ¬Å"blinded with tears ââ¬Å"in her ââ¬Å"iron barâ⬠prison. This description does generate some sympathy from the reader especially when Rossetti contrasts the despair of the narrator with the beautiful natural imagery of the garden outside. The poem also includes a ââ¬Å"shadow less spirit at the gateâ⬠guarding the narrator and showing her no mercy. One way this poem can be interpreted as a fallen woman ââ¬Å"shut outâ⬠of society for her sins. In the Victorian era, women who had sex before marriage were declared ââ¬Å"fallenâ⬠. It was believed that they were eternal ly tarnished due to their grave sin and were ââ¬Å"shut outâ⬠of society to repent. During her lifetime, Rossetti did a lot of work with fallen women, particularly prostitutes, and believed that they should not be treated so harshly. This poem could be seen as a representation of this, Rossettiââ¬â¢s attempt for readers to feel sympathy for these women. However, the poem can also be interpreted as a portrayal of Eve being removed from the garden of Eden for her sins. Rossetti was a devout Christian who would have held great importance to this biblical story, ââ¬Å"The Shadow less spiritâ⬠may be a depiction sinners. Regardless of which interpretation is applied, the narrator is clearly an extremely intriguing figure, as the reader is left to ponder why they have been shut out in this way. Similar in some ways to ââ¬Å"Shut Outâ⬠ââ¬Å"from the Antiqueâ⬠also depicts a narrator outside of society. Whilst the narrator of ââ¬Å"From the antiqueâ⬠has not been forcibly shut out, it seems as though she feels she would rather be out of society than in it, due to the hardships it entails. The narrator first claims ââ¬Å"I wish and wish I were a manâ⬠before taking it a step further by saying ââ¬Å"or better than any being were notâ⬠. This is a direct contrast to ââ¬Å"Shut Outâ⬠as this narrator is longing to be removed from society, whereas the narrator of shut out longs to be returned to it. The narrator of ââ¬Å"From the Antiqueâ⬠presents a very bleak version of life, by describing how all we do is ââ¬Å"wake and weary and fall asleepâ⬠. The Victorian era was full of poverty and life for the working class was full of hardships. As the poem suggests, life for women was particularly hard. Seen as inferior to men, they faced large inequalities, in education, employment, political and social opportunities. As previously mentioned, Rossetti did lots of work with struggling women, and this knowledge enhances the reading of this poem as one about wanting to be removed from the hardships of society. Once again, this narrator is extremely intriguing as an outsider, we are curious to find more about her life and why she has come to feel this way. This is also particularly interesting when contrasted to ââ¬Å"Shut Outâ⬠as the narrators have very different view of outsiders ââ¬â one longs to be reinstated back in her society whilst the other wants to remove herself from it. Maude Clare is another one of Rossettiââ¬â¢s poems that deals with the role of an outsider. Maude Clare is a proud fallen women, unashamedly attending the wedding of her former lover. Whilst Maud Clare is clearly on outsider in this environment she is more intriguing as she has not fully been removed from society like the narrator of ââ¬Å"Shut Outâ⬠, but rather walks with a ââ¬Å"lofty stepâ⬠and remains proud ââ¬Å"like a queenâ⬠. Because of her work with fallen women, Rossetti saw them as real women who shouldnââ¬â¢t face such exclusion from society. It is likely that Rossetti deliberately contrasts Maude Clare to shut out, to show how she believed fallen women should have the right to behave, against how they are actually treated in society in a way that she believed is wrong. The character of Maude Clare is also on outsider in her treatment of Tom, her former lover. Maude Clare public ally embarrasses him with ââ¬Å"scornâ⬠whilst he ââ¬Å"hi d his faceâ⬠. This is a gender reversal the opposite of what would have been expected to happened in Victorian society. Maude Clareââ¬â¢s disregard for traditional Victorian behaviour makes her seem even further removed from Victorian society and causes us to see her as even more intriguing. In Souer Louise de la Misericord, Rossetti presents the story of Louise, a real mistress to king Louis who gave up her life of luxury and sin to become a nun and devote herself to God, In the poem, Rossetti presents Louise as an outsider to her previous life, looking back on a former version of herself, Louise remarks that now ââ¬Å"the days are over of desireâ⬠and that ââ¬Å"the rose of my life has gone all to pricklesâ⬠. This poem is extremely reflective ââ¬â it shoes how drastically Louiseââ¬â¢s life has changed the former ââ¬Å"roseâ⬠is now ââ¬Å"pricklesâ⬠. This shares similarities with From the Antique ââ¬â Louise has chosen to remover herself from a corrupt society that she no longer wants to be a part of, however she has achieved this unlike the narrator in From the Antique who just longs for death to remove her. This poem is also slightly reminiscent of Maude Clare, similarly to Maude Clareââ¬â¢s pride and ââ¬Å"lofty stepâ⬠, Louise boldly and openly declares that ââ¬Å"I have desired and I have been desiredâ⬠suggesting she shares the same pride and shameless attitude. This makes her even more intriguing, as someone who has chosen to make themselves an outsider by walking away from their previous luxurious life. To conclude, it can be said that Rossettiââ¬â¢s poems do support the idea that the outsider is always an intriguing figure in literature. She explores the removal of those from society in several different ways, from those who desire to these to those forcibly removed, the reasons for this and the reactions and emotions that follow.
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