Representations Of Women In The Victorian Culture English Literature Essay

Both verse forms by Elizabeth Brownings Aurora Leigh and Christina Rossettis Goblin Market use highly powerful nonliteral linguistic communication in their texts. Each of these plants portrays adult females that are unusually aberrant from the typical adult female of Victorian society. While the typical Victorian adult female was a quiet, domesticated and weak kind of adult female, the chief female characters from both these two plants are heard, confident, and strong. Both these two plants take a expression at adult females in a domestic and familial environment, and yet the adult females themselves are non the peculiar because instead than fall under some stronger adult male, these adult females are the strong forces that hold the full household together. Therefore, in each of these two verse forms, the nonliteral linguistic communication was used to portray the ceaseless subjugation that adult females had to face during the Victorian period, along with illustrations of adult females who were able to get the better of this subjugation, uncovering themselves to be strong and capable plenty to keep an full household together.

One peculiarly profound metaphor in Aurora Leigh reflects the type of subjugation of personality adult females had to cover with in Victorian society: “ I merely thought / Of lying quiet there where I was thrown / Like sea-weed on the stones ” ( Leigh 1141 ) . Here, Aurora describes how she imagines herself “ lying quiet ” where she was “ thrown ” or abandoned. Browning is utilizing Aurora here as a representation of the mundane Victorian adult female being “ thrown ” to the side in society. Womans were expected to merely “ [ ballad ] lull, ” maintain their ideas to themselves, and non voice any of their sentiments. They were expected to allow the work forces handle all the of import elements of the household, and of society in general.

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Bing “ thrown ” off highlights the sentiment of being insignificant, which is precisely what adult females were thought to be in Victorian society. They were required to be seen and non heard ; being appreciated merely for their expressions and non for their ideas and sentiments, therefore the emphasis on “ lying quiet. ” Aurora so compares herself to “ sea-weed on the stones. ” Ironically, seaweed, green algae that lives in most big organic structures of H2O, really produces about 70 to 80 per cent of the O in the Earth ‘s ambiance. Therefore, although it may look an insignificant, immobile portion of our planet, seaweed is really improbably of import for all life animals that depend on O to take a breath. If all the algae in the universe were to vanish, most oxygen-dependent animals would smother and decease. This makes the metaphor Aurora uses improbably meaningful. Taking herself to be a representation of the Victorian adult female once more, we can see that utilizing the seaweed analogy, a society without adult female merely can non be. As undistinguished as work forces think that adult females are to society, every bit undistinguished as people frequently believe seaweed to be, they are still unusually of import to the wellness of society as a whole, merely as seaweed is of import to the wellness of the planet as a whole. Womans are improbably of import to the place, to their households. They look out for everyone ‘s demands and keep the household together. This of import function is overlooked, like the importance of seaweed is overlooked. Yet, unluckily, adult females are believed to be unneeded and expendable in Victorian society. They are pretty things that serve no existent social intent. Yet we can see from Aurora Leigh that although this is what the work forces, and society as a whole, typically thought of adult females, it surely is non true.

Rossetti ‘s “ Goblin Market ” has a likewise edifying literary phrase to the metaphor found in Aurora Leigh. The literary phrase is a simile that describes the ideal family in Victorian society: “ Like two flowers on one root ” ( 1500 ) . Her careful pick of enunciation, “ flowers ” could hold many important significances, the most apparent being a adult female ‘s two bosoms on her organic structure and her organic structure as a mention to nature. A adult female ‘s chests plays a important function to their individuality since it signifies their femininityA and the features that are associated with muliebrity. Social perceptual experiences sing the function of a adult female in the family are quite traditional, particularly during the Victorian epoch where adult females must possess certain qualities in order to be qualified as an idyllicA place shaper. A adult female must be able to care for the household and cater to her hubby by being both the health professional and the married woman, equilibrating between affectionate and maternally.

Second, it can besides mean two flowers, one being utile and the other non. These flowers are the representation of a domestic family, the adult male in the house is of importance, the one doing the money and the adult female, who merely carries out her domestic functions. The word “ flowers ” can besides intend to nurture or boom transporting out deduction of artlessness and adulthood of a adult female in the Victorian society. The simile reveals the deficiency of acceptableness of adult females in the society, and the patriarchal perceptual experience of adult females in the Victorian civilization. This relates to how Lizzie, Laura ‘s sister whom offers herself up for the hob maltreatment to acquire the fruits to salvage her sister ; likewise to how Aurora ‘s aunt offers herself up to be locked in the domestic coop. Thus said, this simile besides is a representation of how adult females are the 1s keeping down the family, connoting the usage of “ one root ” , like every flower or works, there ‘s merely one root. Last, this simile can besides transport out a dual significance of the “ virtuous adult female ” and the “ revengeful adult female ” , two elements instilled in every being of non merely the Victorian society, but of today ‘s society every bit good.

In Victorian society, adult females were expected to hold the virtuousnesss of “ piousness, pureness, entry, and domesticity, ” ( talk ) all attributes that minimize their possible to be intelligent and powerful figures in society, and even in their ain place. As a consequence adult females were required to be submissive to their partner, since work forces were considered to be superior to them in about all facets. Browning and Rossetti fought against these stereotypes of their twenty-four hours with their authorship, demoing how adult females can be strong, and how adult females are of import regardless of how society thinks of them.

The usage of nonliteral linguistic communication in both Aurora Leigh and “ Goblin Market ” express the unfortunate subjugation that adult females had to confront in Victorian society while besides showing how of import adult females truly were albeit the unfortunate belittlement they faced. The nonliteral linguistic communication helps pull the reader ‘s attending to these peculiar lines, which are rather profound in significance and packed with penetration. The literary devices in each of these texts emphasize how of import adult females were in their domestic functions even though they were disregarded in society. Therefore, both Browning and Rossetti saw the job that faced the adult females in their society and spoke out about it utilizing their authorship.

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