As we make way for Australia, I am reminded of Matthew Arnold’s poem Dover Beach.
“Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Aegan, and it brought
Into his mind he turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.”
Will misery haunt me wherever I go because of my failed marriage? As a child, the sound of the waves always frightened me. They brought death and despair. I heard the cries of those who drowned. Even as I fled from Steerforth, I was always surrounded by the “ebb and flow of human misery,” water, and my receding faithfulness. I let myself wave goodbye to Davy and couldn’t help but remember how, as a child, I almost jumped into the waves. It seems even then I knew that happiness was not for me.
Editor’s Note: Steven Seidman’s article explains that most accounts of Victorian sexuality tend to “reveal a sort of nostalgia for a time when sexual longing was more firmly embedded in a moral and social framework involving extended commitment and elaborate rules and rituals of courtship and romance” (61). This quote suggests that there was a shift away from this ideal. Arnold’s “Dover Beach” and Emily’s actions also support the shift from this ideal and the consequential nostalgia and desire for it. “Dover Beach,” and this excerpt from it, show how the narrator sees the world as moving in the wrong direction; the Sea of Faith is receding. Emily’s choice to sail away from her problems could represent the fact that she is struggling to sail faithfully amidst so much misery.
Arnold, Mathew. “Dover Beach.” 1862. Longman Anthology of British Literature Volume 2B. Ed. David Damrosch. London: Longman, 2009. 1562. Print.
Seidman, Steven. “The Power and Desire and the Danger of Pleasure: Victorian Sexuality Reconsidered.” Journal of Social History 24.1 (1990): 47-67. Web.
-- Emilie Schiess
“Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Aegan, and it brought
Into his mind he turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.”
Will misery haunt me wherever I go because of my failed marriage? As a child, the sound of the waves always frightened me. They brought death and despair. I heard the cries of those who drowned. Even as I fled from Steerforth, I was always surrounded by the “ebb and flow of human misery,” water, and my receding faithfulness. I let myself wave goodbye to Davy and couldn’t help but remember how, as a child, I almost jumped into the waves. It seems even then I knew that happiness was not for me.
Editor’s Note: Steven Seidman’s article explains that most accounts of Victorian sexuality tend to “reveal a sort of nostalgia for a time when sexual longing was more firmly embedded in a moral and social framework involving extended commitment and elaborate rules and rituals of courtship and romance” (61). This quote suggests that there was a shift away from this ideal. Arnold’s “Dover Beach” and Emily’s actions also support the shift from this ideal and the consequential nostalgia and desire for it. “Dover Beach,” and this excerpt from it, show how the narrator sees the world as moving in the wrong direction; the Sea of Faith is receding. Emily’s choice to sail away from her problems could represent the fact that she is struggling to sail faithfully amidst so much misery.
Arnold, Mathew. “Dover Beach.” 1862. Longman Anthology of British Literature Volume 2B. Ed. David Damrosch. London: Longman, 2009. 1562. Print.
Seidman, Steven. “The Power and Desire and the Danger of Pleasure: Victorian Sexuality Reconsidered.” Journal of Social History 24.1 (1990): 47-67. Web.
-- Emilie Schiess
I am rereading Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park in London. When I was young, I saw myself as Fanny; poor and trapped. I wanted her to marry Crawford, the rich, new gentleman. She’d be a lady and they’d be happy. But now I realize how wrong he was for her. The more I read, the more I see Steerforth in Henry’s character. I see how deceptive he was!
“Fanny's attractions increased—increased twofold; for the sensibility which beautified her complexion and illumined her countenance was an attraction in itself. [Henry Crawford] was no longer in doubt of the capabilities of her heart. She had feeling, genuine feeling. It would be something to be loved by such a girl, to excite the first ardours of her young unsophisticated mind! She interested him more than he had foreseen. A fortnight was not enough. His stay became indefinite.”
How could he manipulate her? She was young and emotional. She loved him strongly, but he was only ‘interested more than he planned.’ Interest isn’t love. If only I could tell Fanny my story. An adventurous Steerforth could never keep you as happy as a loving, dependable Ham.
Editor’s Note: Because Emily tried to replicate the life of a lady, I assume she read lots of books and learned from them. Mansfield Park and Emily’s story have a lot of similarities. In her young phase, Emily might have seen Steerforth as a Prince Charming and would have overlooked the messages she had learned from her books. Chris Vanden Bossche explains that most Victorian novels place women between “two suitors, one who fails to recognize her intelligence and autonomy, and another who, although perhaps less attractive in other ways, not only appreciates her intellect and respects her independent spirit but also acknowledges her superiority” (92). For Em’ly, these would be Steerforth and Ham. For Fanny in Mansfield Park, they are Henry Crawford and Edmund. Henry and Steerforth are similar because they see women as playthings rather than seeking a commitment. Ham and Edmund are similar because they both seek the true happiness of the female character but are not considered the same status as her. Finally, Fanny and Emily both have a desire to be of a different class (Emily wants to be a lady to avoid pain and suffering, and Fanny, who has always been treated as not equal, sees Henry as her chance to prove her uncle’s family wrong).
After having more experience in the real world, Emily would be able to read 19th-century literature with a deeper understanding. Marriage for social status, money, or charm is not a good marriage. She could also be more protective of women who think the same thing - such as the Fanny who falls for Henry Crawford’s charms and tricks. Emily might be able to see these tricks and charms for what they are: a game.
Austen, Jane. Mansfield Park. Paris: Feedbooks, 1814. EPUB file.
Vanden Bossche, Chris. “Moving Out: Adolescence.” A Companion to Victorian Literature & Culture. Ed. Herbert Tucker. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers Inc, 1999. Print.
-- Emilie Shiess
I am rereading Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park in London. When I was young, I saw myself as Fanny; poor and trapped. I wanted her to marry Crawford, the rich, new gentleman. She’d be a lady and they’d be happy. But now I realize how wrong he was for her. The more I read, the more I see Steerforth in Henry’s character. I see how deceptive he was!
“Fanny's attractions increased—increased twofold; for the sensibility which beautified her complexion and illumined her countenance was an attraction in itself. [Henry Crawford] was no longer in doubt of the capabilities of her heart. She had feeling, genuine feeling. It would be something to be loved by such a girl, to excite the first ardours of her young unsophisticated mind! She interested him more than he had foreseen. A fortnight was not enough. His stay became indefinite.”
How could he manipulate her? She was young and emotional. She loved him strongly, but he was only ‘interested more than he planned.’ Interest isn’t love. If only I could tell Fanny my story. An adventurous Steerforth could never keep you as happy as a loving, dependable Ham.
Editor’s Note: Because Emily tried to replicate the life of a lady, I assume she read lots of books and learned from them. Mansfield Park and Emily’s story have a lot of similarities. In her young phase, Emily might have seen Steerforth as a Prince Charming and would have overlooked the messages she had learned from her books. Chris Vanden Bossche explains that most Victorian novels place women between “two suitors, one who fails to recognize her intelligence and autonomy, and another who, although perhaps less attractive in other ways, not only appreciates her intellect and respects her independent spirit but also acknowledges her superiority” (92). For Em’ly, these would be Steerforth and Ham. For Fanny in Mansfield Park, they are Henry Crawford and Edmund. Henry and Steerforth are similar because they see women as playthings rather than seeking a commitment. Ham and Edmund are similar because they both seek the true happiness of the female character but are not considered the same status as her. Finally, Fanny and Emily both have a desire to be of a different class (Emily wants to be a lady to avoid pain and suffering, and Fanny, who has always been treated as not equal, sees Henry as her chance to prove her uncle’s family wrong).
After having more experience in the real world, Emily would be able to read 19th-century literature with a deeper understanding. Marriage for social status, money, or charm is not a good marriage. She could also be more protective of women who think the same thing - such as the Fanny who falls for Henry Crawford’s charms and tricks. Emily might be able to see these tricks and charms for what they are: a game.
Austen, Jane. Mansfield Park. Paris: Feedbooks, 1814. EPUB file.
Vanden Bossche, Chris. “Moving Out: Adolescence.” A Companion to Victorian Literature & Culture. Ed. Herbert Tucker. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers Inc, 1999. Print.
-- Emilie Shiess
Martha had begged, “‘Em’ly, Em’ly, for Christ’s sake, have a woman’s heart towards me. I was once like you!’” Little did I know how I was so close to becoming Martha.
I thought her plan to flee to London was too rash and childish, but now I understand her reasoning more than ever. She told us, “ I never can do worse than I have done here…take me out of these streets, where the whole world knows me from a child!”
I, too, long for escape: from this fall from grace, from Steerforth and his leech Littimer, from the confines of dependence. I will do as Martha did. I am no longer a child and can never be again. I have decided to escape Littimer’s cage through my window tonight. To where, I do not know. But anywhere is better than the world that knows me as a failed woman.
Editor’s Note: Both Martha and Emily are aware that they are no longer children and that society’s stigma will keep them from ever experiencing full recovery and acceptance. Steven Seidman’s article about sex and marriage in the Victorian era explains that sex was only proper in the bounds of marriage. A key aspect was that sex in the marriage was considered spiritual, a sign of devotion and communion. Marriage to one man meant that the couple was on a moral high ground. Steidman concludes that deviation from this, “was deemed such a powerful force that it could bring ruin to the individual and to civilization…the sexual instinct had to be strictly regulate and a range of sexual feelings and acts vigorously censored and silenced” (51).
When Martha hears about Em’ly’s fall, she even recognizes, “people would remember she once kept company with me, and would say I had corrupted her” (667). Martha presents the Victorian belief that her behavior is somehow an infectious sin. Martha and Emily’s rejection of their men and pursuits afterwards suggest they are neither on the moral high ground or successful as Victorian women and therefore corrupted. Seidman’s article explains why Martha and Emily would escape and travel. Their fallen status was considered corrupt and could almost spread like a disease. Traveling would allow them to run away from those who know of their situation and momentarily live as a moral woman. But both women would know that they are still fallen and failed.
Dickens, Charles. “David Copperfield.” Paris: Feedbooks, 1850. EPUB file.
Seidman, Steven. “The Power and Desire and the Danger of Pleasure: Victorian Sexuality Reconsidered.” Journal of Social History 24.1 (1990): 47-67. Web.
-- Emilie Schiess
I thought her plan to flee to London was too rash and childish, but now I understand her reasoning more than ever. She told us, “ I never can do worse than I have done here…take me out of these streets, where the whole world knows me from a child!”
I, too, long for escape: from this fall from grace, from Steerforth and his leech Littimer, from the confines of dependence. I will do as Martha did. I am no longer a child and can never be again. I have decided to escape Littimer’s cage through my window tonight. To where, I do not know. But anywhere is better than the world that knows me as a failed woman.
Editor’s Note: Both Martha and Emily are aware that they are no longer children and that society’s stigma will keep them from ever experiencing full recovery and acceptance. Steven Seidman’s article about sex and marriage in the Victorian era explains that sex was only proper in the bounds of marriage. A key aspect was that sex in the marriage was considered spiritual, a sign of devotion and communion. Marriage to one man meant that the couple was on a moral high ground. Steidman concludes that deviation from this, “was deemed such a powerful force that it could bring ruin to the individual and to civilization…the sexual instinct had to be strictly regulate and a range of sexual feelings and acts vigorously censored and silenced” (51).
When Martha hears about Em’ly’s fall, she even recognizes, “people would remember she once kept company with me, and would say I had corrupted her” (667). Martha presents the Victorian belief that her behavior is somehow an infectious sin. Martha and Emily’s rejection of their men and pursuits afterwards suggest they are neither on the moral high ground or successful as Victorian women and therefore corrupted. Seidman’s article explains why Martha and Emily would escape and travel. Their fallen status was considered corrupt and could almost spread like a disease. Traveling would allow them to run away from those who know of their situation and momentarily live as a moral woman. But both women would know that they are still fallen and failed.
Dickens, Charles. “David Copperfield.” Paris: Feedbooks, 1850. EPUB file.
Seidman, Steven. “The Power and Desire and the Danger of Pleasure: Victorian Sexuality Reconsidered.” Journal of Social History 24.1 (1990): 47-67. Web.
-- Emilie Schiess
“Em'ly's run away! Oh, Mas'r Davy, think how she's run away, when I pray my good and gracious God to kill her (her that is so dear above all things) sooner than let her come to ruin and disgrace!” - Chapter 31 (Dickens 440).
Looking back, I feel terrible for putting my loved ones through this, but at the time I truly believed that Steerforth would bring me the social standing and wealth necessary to reach my goals in life. I only ever wanted to be seen as a lady, but Ham and David placed too much emphasis on what others thought of me. The men in my life are dear to me, but their independence is encouraged, while mine is seen as “ruin and disgrace.” It doesn’t seem fair.
Editor’s Note: In the Victorian era, women were discouraged from straying away from their designated roles, both socially and economically. Women were expected to remain pure and pious, acting as “angels” of their families and households. In 1854, poet Coventry Patmore published the narrative poem "Angel in the House," in which he “paid tribute to his ‘angel wife Emily,’ and in the process of doing so reinforced a Victorian ideal of feminine self-sacrifice, submissiveness, and motherly devotion” (Weber). A woman who failed to achieve this archetype was seen as damaged and socially untouchable. They were often labeled as “fallen women,” in reference to those who made sexual transgressions, or “odd women,” in reference to those who failed to be spouses or mothers and chose other life paths.
In this passage, Em’ly is shamed for exactly this reason. As a young, middle-class woman, she is expected to stay within the social roles that are deemed acceptable for her. She is allowed to be independent, but not too independent. She can work outside the home as a dressmaker’s apprentice, but is still expected to be subservient to Mr. Peggoty (her father figure) and Ham (her fiancé). When Em’ly chooses to run away with Steerforth, the shame of a woman rejecting her predisposed social roles is so dire that Ham would rather see her dead than see her be labeled a disgrace. Em’ly abandons her obligations in favor of gaining sexual freedom and upward social mobility, and as a result is stigmatized as a “fallen woman” by the men of her household.
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.
Weber, Brenda R. "Situating the Exceptional Woman." Nineteenth-Century Gender Studies. 5.1 (2009): n. pag. Web.
-- Jenn Kunkle
Looking back, I feel terrible for putting my loved ones through this, but at the time I truly believed that Steerforth would bring me the social standing and wealth necessary to reach my goals in life. I only ever wanted to be seen as a lady, but Ham and David placed too much emphasis on what others thought of me. The men in my life are dear to me, but their independence is encouraged, while mine is seen as “ruin and disgrace.” It doesn’t seem fair.
Editor’s Note: In the Victorian era, women were discouraged from straying away from their designated roles, both socially and economically. Women were expected to remain pure and pious, acting as “angels” of their families and households. In 1854, poet Coventry Patmore published the narrative poem "Angel in the House," in which he “paid tribute to his ‘angel wife Emily,’ and in the process of doing so reinforced a Victorian ideal of feminine self-sacrifice, submissiveness, and motherly devotion” (Weber). A woman who failed to achieve this archetype was seen as damaged and socially untouchable. They were often labeled as “fallen women,” in reference to those who made sexual transgressions, or “odd women,” in reference to those who failed to be spouses or mothers and chose other life paths.
In this passage, Em’ly is shamed for exactly this reason. As a young, middle-class woman, she is expected to stay within the social roles that are deemed acceptable for her. She is allowed to be independent, but not too independent. She can work outside the home as a dressmaker’s apprentice, but is still expected to be subservient to Mr. Peggoty (her father figure) and Ham (her fiancé). When Em’ly chooses to run away with Steerforth, the shame of a woman rejecting her predisposed social roles is so dire that Ham would rather see her dead than see her be labeled a disgrace. Em’ly abandons her obligations in favor of gaining sexual freedom and upward social mobility, and as a result is stigmatized as a “fallen woman” by the men of her household.
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.
Weber, Brenda R. "Situating the Exceptional Woman." Nineteenth-Century Gender Studies. 5.1 (2009): n. pag. Web.
-- Jenn Kunkle
“The love of change, in cousin Nell,
Shall find the best and hold it dear.
The unconquered mirth turn quieter
Not through her own, through others’ woe:
The conscious pride of beauty glow
Beside another’s pride in her,
One little part of all they share.
For Love himself shall ripen these
In a kind soil to just increase
Through years of fertilizing peace.
Of the same lump (as it is said)
For honour and dishonour made,
Two sister vessels. here is one.
It makes a goblin of the sun.” (Rossetti 1627-1628)
This poem reminds me very much of Martha and me. It is surprising to see a man writing of prostitution with such understanding and with much less contempt than I have overheard in my own life. The comparison between Jenny and Nell is just how I feel Martha is treated alongside me. Nell and Jenny are exactly the same at heart even though Jenny is forced to become a prostitute. I am hardly different from Martha at all, it is only our circumstances that separate me from her. I wish everyone else held attitudes like Rossetti's and refrained from judging young girls like Martha.
Editor’s Note: In “Jenny,” Rossetti portrays prostitution in contrast with the attitudes held by the majority of Victorian England. Rather than condemning Jenny as immoral and deplorable, he points out the hypocrisy of social attitudes many held toward prostitutes:
Not through her own, through others’ woe:
The conscious pride of beauty glow
Beside another’s pride in her,
One little part of all they share” (1627).
Rossetti makes the case that prostitutes have more in common with middle-class women than not, and that defaming one woman based upon only “one little part” of her identity is harmful and short-sighted. The poem is a direct parallel to the different circumstances Em’ly and Martha face simply based on Martha’s choice to engage in prostitution. In the article “Geographies of Regulation: Policing Prostitution in Nineteenth-Century Britain and the Empire” Norberg review's Howell's book on nineteenth century prostitution, positing that women were not only judged against each other, but were judged much more harshly for their perceived sexual transgressions than were men. According to Norberg's analysis of Howell’s book:
“In Liverpool and Cambridge, “containment” or “localization” (the corralling of prostitutes and brothels into designated districts) achieved informally what the CDA created legally (77). The Liverpool police adopted this policy without recourse to formal legislation, and the University of Cambridge’s medieval statutes authorized university proctors to incarcerate prostitutes who consorted with students” (Norberg 449).
Rather than placing the onus on both female prostitutes and the men who paid for their services, the Victorian attitude was that the women were solely to blame. They were prosecuted for prostitution, while men who created the demand for prostitutes were not. The Contagious Diseases Act allowed police to arrest and force a physical examination on any woman they believed to be a prostitute (“Contagious”). Rossetti’s poem is especially interesting in the context of these social attitudes, as he seems to question the condemnation that fallen women like Em’ly and Martha faced during the Victorian era.
“The Contagious Diseases Act.” The Victorian Web. n.p., 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
Norberg, Kathryn. " Geographies of Regulation: Policing Prostitution in Nineteenth-Century
Britain and the Empire." Journal of Interdisciplinary History 41.3 (2011):
448-449. Project MUSE. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. “Jenny.” The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Fourth Edition.
Ed. David Damrosch and Kevin J.H. Dettmar. Longman, 2010. 1622-1632. Print.
--Jenn Kunkle
Shall find the best and hold it dear.
The unconquered mirth turn quieter
Not through her own, through others’ woe:
The conscious pride of beauty glow
Beside another’s pride in her,
One little part of all they share.
For Love himself shall ripen these
In a kind soil to just increase
Through years of fertilizing peace.
Of the same lump (as it is said)
For honour and dishonour made,
Two sister vessels. here is one.
It makes a goblin of the sun.” (Rossetti 1627-1628)
This poem reminds me very much of Martha and me. It is surprising to see a man writing of prostitution with such understanding and with much less contempt than I have overheard in my own life. The comparison between Jenny and Nell is just how I feel Martha is treated alongside me. Nell and Jenny are exactly the same at heart even though Jenny is forced to become a prostitute. I am hardly different from Martha at all, it is only our circumstances that separate me from her. I wish everyone else held attitudes like Rossetti's and refrained from judging young girls like Martha.
Editor’s Note: In “Jenny,” Rossetti portrays prostitution in contrast with the attitudes held by the majority of Victorian England. Rather than condemning Jenny as immoral and deplorable, he points out the hypocrisy of social attitudes many held toward prostitutes:
Not through her own, through others’ woe:
The conscious pride of beauty glow
Beside another’s pride in her,
One little part of all they share” (1627).
Rossetti makes the case that prostitutes have more in common with middle-class women than not, and that defaming one woman based upon only “one little part” of her identity is harmful and short-sighted. The poem is a direct parallel to the different circumstances Em’ly and Martha face simply based on Martha’s choice to engage in prostitution. In the article “Geographies of Regulation: Policing Prostitution in Nineteenth-Century Britain and the Empire” Norberg review's Howell's book on nineteenth century prostitution, positing that women were not only judged against each other, but were judged much more harshly for their perceived sexual transgressions than were men. According to Norberg's analysis of Howell’s book:
“In Liverpool and Cambridge, “containment” or “localization” (the corralling of prostitutes and brothels into designated districts) achieved informally what the CDA created legally (77). The Liverpool police adopted this policy without recourse to formal legislation, and the University of Cambridge’s medieval statutes authorized university proctors to incarcerate prostitutes who consorted with students” (Norberg 449).
Rather than placing the onus on both female prostitutes and the men who paid for their services, the Victorian attitude was that the women were solely to blame. They were prosecuted for prostitution, while men who created the demand for prostitutes were not. The Contagious Diseases Act allowed police to arrest and force a physical examination on any woman they believed to be a prostitute (“Contagious”). Rossetti’s poem is especially interesting in the context of these social attitudes, as he seems to question the condemnation that fallen women like Em’ly and Martha faced during the Victorian era.
“The Contagious Diseases Act.” The Victorian Web. n.p., 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
Norberg, Kathryn. " Geographies of Regulation: Policing Prostitution in Nineteenth-Century
Britain and the Empire." Journal of Interdisciplinary History 41.3 (2011):
448-449. Project MUSE. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. “Jenny.” The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Fourth Edition.
Ed. David Damrosch and Kevin J.H. Dettmar. Longman, 2010. 1622-1632. Print.
--Jenn Kunkle
“In general, the females who come to Edinburgh, and degrade themselves in this manner, preserve the utmost secrecy as to their name and place of abode. They never divulge any particular relative to the object or intention of their visit. From the exorbitant demands they make upon the persons who are foolishly attracted into their company, there can be little doubt that their main object in resorting to this questionable mode of living, is to recruit their languishing finances” (Tait 20).
Reading this report, I cannot help but think of Martha and I. Martha has run away to England, telling no one of her whereabouts or plans, just as Tait’s book suggests. I fear that, as a girl going to a large city, with no money and no one to help her, Martha will resort to prostitution. Tait paints all prostitutes as dirty and immoral, but I know better. Martha is my friend and she doesn’t deserve to be judged. I worry that Martha will be shamed and shunned by society, just as my family has sees me a fallen woman for my relationship with Steerforth.
Editor’s Note
Tait’s book Magdelenism: An Inquiry Into the Extent, Causes, and Consequences of Prostitution in Edinburgh examines social trends in prostitution in Edinburgh, Scotland during the nineteenth century. I think Em’ly would have found this book of interest, since it delves into the lives of women and girls like Martha and herself, who have fallen from their accepted social paths. Although the Tait’s work takes an unfavorable view of prostitution, Em’ly is a character who is acutely aware of her social standing and would have been interested to see how those more privileged than she and Martha viewed prostitutes and fallen women.
Both Martha and Em’ly are viewed as fallen women by those close to them. Australia, though separate from the United Kingdom, held similar attitudes toward prostitution during the nineteenth century. The article "Age, prostitution and punishment in the late nineteenth century,” states that “the reputation of women as street rowdies, petty criminals, and the carriers of disease were deciding factors in official regulation of their lives” (Wimshurst). The social stigmatization and regulation of young women such as Em’ly and Martha would have been forefront in their minds during their daily lives. Viewpoints like Tait’s and those examined in Wimshurst’s article act as an interesting contrast to Mr. Peggoty’s compassionate treatment of Martha.
Tait, William. Magdelenism: An Inquiry Into the Extent, Causes, and Consequences, of
Prostitution in Edinburgh. Edinburgh: P. Rickard, South Bridge, 1842. HathiTrust. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Wimshurst, K. "Age, prostitution and punishment in the late nineteenth century." Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 47.1 (2014): 102-122. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
--Jenn Kunkle
Reading this report, I cannot help but think of Martha and I. Martha has run away to England, telling no one of her whereabouts or plans, just as Tait’s book suggests. I fear that, as a girl going to a large city, with no money and no one to help her, Martha will resort to prostitution. Tait paints all prostitutes as dirty and immoral, but I know better. Martha is my friend and she doesn’t deserve to be judged. I worry that Martha will be shamed and shunned by society, just as my family has sees me a fallen woman for my relationship with Steerforth.
Editor’s Note
Tait’s book Magdelenism: An Inquiry Into the Extent, Causes, and Consequences of Prostitution in Edinburgh examines social trends in prostitution in Edinburgh, Scotland during the nineteenth century. I think Em’ly would have found this book of interest, since it delves into the lives of women and girls like Martha and herself, who have fallen from their accepted social paths. Although the Tait’s work takes an unfavorable view of prostitution, Em’ly is a character who is acutely aware of her social standing and would have been interested to see how those more privileged than she and Martha viewed prostitutes and fallen women.
Both Martha and Em’ly are viewed as fallen women by those close to them. Australia, though separate from the United Kingdom, held similar attitudes toward prostitution during the nineteenth century. The article "Age, prostitution and punishment in the late nineteenth century,” states that “the reputation of women as street rowdies, petty criminals, and the carriers of disease were deciding factors in official regulation of their lives” (Wimshurst). The social stigmatization and regulation of young women such as Em’ly and Martha would have been forefront in their minds during their daily lives. Viewpoints like Tait’s and those examined in Wimshurst’s article act as an interesting contrast to Mr. Peggoty’s compassionate treatment of Martha.
Tait, William. Magdelenism: An Inquiry Into the Extent, Causes, and Consequences, of
Prostitution in Edinburgh. Edinburgh: P. Rickard, South Bridge, 1842. HathiTrust. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Wimshurst, K. "Age, prostitution and punishment in the late nineteenth century." Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 47.1 (2014): 102-122. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
--Jenn Kunkle
When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget.
I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain:
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.
Ever since I first read this poem, I can’t help but think about Ham. I know I can never have him again, but I do miss him. I can’t contact him for that would only add to my poor behavior. I know he’s a good man, and he deserves a better wife than I could be. I will gladly welcome the day where I can no longer feel this heartache and when I’m no longer forced think about my mistakes. Oh, I would send him a letter, if only I could do so without bringing him shame once more… I shall keep it here in my book where I collect all things I enjoy to read.
Editors notes: Upon re-reading this poem, I really got the feeling that this would remind Em’ly of Ham, and since David kept his death from her and Mr. Peggotty, it seems reasonable that she would think of him often and wonder what he’s doing back home. She knows that she needs not be praised at all, and she doesn’t feel she deserves anyone mourning her if she dies, but she would still want to put him at ease. She knows him well enough to know that he would mourn her, because he truly loved her.
While Rossetti wrote her fair share of positive poems, many of Rossetti’s poems explore this darker side of reality (Curran 576), and in the same ways that David comes of age through all his mistakes, Em’ly also sees the bitter truth of reality and she is not shielded from it as she was when she was a child.
Dickens, Charles. “David Copperfield.” Paris: Feedbooks, 1850. Ebook.
Curran, Stuart. “The Lyric Voice of Christina Rossetti.” Victorian Poetry. Nd 1971. Literary Criticism Online. Web. 24 April 2015
Rossetti, Christina. “When I am Dead my Dearest.” Longman Anthology of British Literature. Vol. 2B. 4th Ed. Ed. David Damrosch. London: Longman, 2009. 1562. Print.
-- Ciara Aguayo
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget.
I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain:
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.
Ever since I first read this poem, I can’t help but think about Ham. I know I can never have him again, but I do miss him. I can’t contact him for that would only add to my poor behavior. I know he’s a good man, and he deserves a better wife than I could be. I will gladly welcome the day where I can no longer feel this heartache and when I’m no longer forced think about my mistakes. Oh, I would send him a letter, if only I could do so without bringing him shame once more… I shall keep it here in my book where I collect all things I enjoy to read.
Editors notes: Upon re-reading this poem, I really got the feeling that this would remind Em’ly of Ham, and since David kept his death from her and Mr. Peggotty, it seems reasonable that she would think of him often and wonder what he’s doing back home. She knows that she needs not be praised at all, and she doesn’t feel she deserves anyone mourning her if she dies, but she would still want to put him at ease. She knows him well enough to know that he would mourn her, because he truly loved her.
While Rossetti wrote her fair share of positive poems, many of Rossetti’s poems explore this darker side of reality (Curran 576), and in the same ways that David comes of age through all his mistakes, Em’ly also sees the bitter truth of reality and she is not shielded from it as she was when she was a child.
Dickens, Charles. “David Copperfield.” Paris: Feedbooks, 1850. Ebook.
Curran, Stuart. “The Lyric Voice of Christina Rossetti.” Victorian Poetry. Nd 1971. Literary Criticism Online. Web. 24 April 2015
Rossetti, Christina. “When I am Dead my Dearest.” Longman Anthology of British Literature. Vol. 2B. 4th Ed. Ed. David Damrosch. London: Longman, 2009. 1562. Print.
-- Ciara Aguayo
“For intelligible reasons I made no reference in the lecture, in its original form, to what has been considered as the particular province of all Sisters of Charity deserving the name,-- the management of Penitentiaries and Houses of Refuge for the erring and the Fallen of their own sex. I shall merely observe that there is no department of active benevolence requiring more careful preparation and more [special] instruction than this:
The treatment of women, whose habitual existence has been a perpetual outrage of their nature, must be special and exceptional; and I do not think that this is always well understood by the excellent and virtuous ladies who undertake to manage these scarcely manageable creatures… I believe it to be true that women, even from the superior delicacy of the moral and physical organization, can be more thoroughly, hopelessly, and constitutionally vitiated than men; this I have often heard urged as an argument for rejecting and punishing them when bad, never for protecting and sparing them when good” (Jameson 38).
In my year away from home, I have found myself working in a lovely home, for a lovely woman who has become my friend. I have confided in her my history as a fallen woman. To my great relief she did not punish me for this, and she often talked with me about fallen-ness as a social issue in our society. I’ve become more educated on this, and I have come to understand that I need not punish myself forever for my mistake with Steerforth. She has lent me this book in which a women, Anna Jameson, gave a lecture about women in society, and in it she discusses the treatment of fallen women. She claims that we are not defective and should be encouraged to continue living normal lives and not be harshly punished. This has given me a new perspective as an older woman, and I feel as though 100 pounds has been lifted off my shoulders.
Editor’s note: Anna Jameson gave two lectures on “Social Employments of Women,” and the title for the lectures published in printed form bares the same title. I am reading this from the perspective of a much older Em’ly. I imagine her starting a new life in Australia and finding some work while also continuing to grow and learn from her mistake. Since Em’ly would likely believe she was not fit for marriage, I believe she would seek out work as a housemaid, such as Peggotty was to Clara and David. I also imagine her being taken in by someone like Miss Betsy, who is caring and an advocate for the better treatment of women in general.
This was still a very hot topic in Victorian society, and even more than a decade after Dickens and Miss Angela attempted to open a safe refuge for fallen women, the mistreatment of fallen women and women in general is an issue that had not been widely dealt with.
Rogers, Jane. "Dickens and His Involvement in Urania Cottage." The Victorian Web. Web. 22 Feb 2015. http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/rogers/8.html
Jameson, Mrs (Anna). "Sisters of Charity; and, the Communion of Labour. Two Lectures on the Social Employments of Women. A New Edition Enlarged and Improved with a Prefatory Letter to the Right Hon. Lord John Russell, President of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, on the Present Condition and Requirements of the Women of England." 1859. Haithi Trust. Web. 25 April 2015.
-- Ciara Aguayo
The treatment of women, whose habitual existence has been a perpetual outrage of their nature, must be special and exceptional; and I do not think that this is always well understood by the excellent and virtuous ladies who undertake to manage these scarcely manageable creatures… I believe it to be true that women, even from the superior delicacy of the moral and physical organization, can be more thoroughly, hopelessly, and constitutionally vitiated than men; this I have often heard urged as an argument for rejecting and punishing them when bad, never for protecting and sparing them when good” (Jameson 38).
In my year away from home, I have found myself working in a lovely home, for a lovely woman who has become my friend. I have confided in her my history as a fallen woman. To my great relief she did not punish me for this, and she often talked with me about fallen-ness as a social issue in our society. I’ve become more educated on this, and I have come to understand that I need not punish myself forever for my mistake with Steerforth. She has lent me this book in which a women, Anna Jameson, gave a lecture about women in society, and in it she discusses the treatment of fallen women. She claims that we are not defective and should be encouraged to continue living normal lives and not be harshly punished. This has given me a new perspective as an older woman, and I feel as though 100 pounds has been lifted off my shoulders.
Editor’s note: Anna Jameson gave two lectures on “Social Employments of Women,” and the title for the lectures published in printed form bares the same title. I am reading this from the perspective of a much older Em’ly. I imagine her starting a new life in Australia and finding some work while also continuing to grow and learn from her mistake. Since Em’ly would likely believe she was not fit for marriage, I believe she would seek out work as a housemaid, such as Peggotty was to Clara and David. I also imagine her being taken in by someone like Miss Betsy, who is caring and an advocate for the better treatment of women in general.
This was still a very hot topic in Victorian society, and even more than a decade after Dickens and Miss Angela attempted to open a safe refuge for fallen women, the mistreatment of fallen women and women in general is an issue that had not been widely dealt with.
Rogers, Jane. "Dickens and His Involvement in Urania Cottage." The Victorian Web. Web. 22 Feb 2015. http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/rogers/8.html
Jameson, Mrs (Anna). "Sisters of Charity; and, the Communion of Labour. Two Lectures on the Social Employments of Women. A New Edition Enlarged and Improved with a Prefatory Letter to the Right Hon. Lord John Russell, President of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, on the Present Condition and Requirements of the Women of England." 1859. Haithi Trust. Web. 25 April 2015.
-- Ciara Aguayo
”I want to be a better girl than who I am. I want to feel a hundred times more thankful than I do. I want to feel more, what a blessed thing it is to be the wife of a good man, and to lead a peaceful life.” Speaking to Martha before she left for London sparked this confession, because I knew I deep down Martha and I were the same. Seeing how hard it was for her to resist, it made me fearful that I would be just as weak… Martha made me realize how easily I could be weak (Dickens 423).
Looking back on this moment, I’m sad to think of what came next, but now I am a better girl than who I was and I feel a hundred times more thankful than I did. I leave my home with a heavy heart because I shall never be a good wife to a good man. And now, slightly older and wiser, I’m off with Uncle to Australia where he assures me no one will know of my misfortunes. Uncle does not understand that, while I am glad to travel with him, I know what I’ve done no matter where I go.
Editor’s note: Much like David, Em’ly has a better understanding of her actions and their results at the end of novel. It makes sense, at least to me,that Em’ly won’t marry. Not simply because she’s fallen, but because Dickens was very involved in work the work to establish the Urania Cottage for Fallen Women beginning in May 1846 (Rogers). The Urania focused on redemption and teaching the girls how to be useful in a household, whether as a wife (or angel in the house) or as the assistant to the woman of the house (Rogers). Unlike the women of Urania Cottage, Em’ly doesn’t really have the opportunity to go through any redemption process. Dickens may have been making a plea for better treatment through his portrayal of Emi’ly. Australia was a common place for these redeemed women to go, so I find it very interesting that Em’ly going there without going through the redemption process, and I think she would be very afraid of it happening again. To me, Em’ly would reflect on the moment with Martha as an adult and always know that she is in danger of making another misstep.
Dickens, Charles. “David Copperfield.” Paris: Feedbooks, 1850. Ebook.
Rogers, Jane. "Dickens and His Involvement in Urania Cottage." The Victorian Web. Web. 22 Feb 2015. http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/rogers/8.html
--Ciara Aguayo
Looking back on this moment, I’m sad to think of what came next, but now I am a better girl than who I was and I feel a hundred times more thankful than I did. I leave my home with a heavy heart because I shall never be a good wife to a good man. And now, slightly older and wiser, I’m off with Uncle to Australia where he assures me no one will know of my misfortunes. Uncle does not understand that, while I am glad to travel with him, I know what I’ve done no matter where I go.
Editor’s note: Much like David, Em’ly has a better understanding of her actions and their results at the end of novel. It makes sense, at least to me,that Em’ly won’t marry. Not simply because she’s fallen, but because Dickens was very involved in work the work to establish the Urania Cottage for Fallen Women beginning in May 1846 (Rogers). The Urania focused on redemption and teaching the girls how to be useful in a household, whether as a wife (or angel in the house) or as the assistant to the woman of the house (Rogers). Unlike the women of Urania Cottage, Em’ly doesn’t really have the opportunity to go through any redemption process. Dickens may have been making a plea for better treatment through his portrayal of Emi’ly. Australia was a common place for these redeemed women to go, so I find it very interesting that Em’ly going there without going through the redemption process, and I think she would be very afraid of it happening again. To me, Em’ly would reflect on the moment with Martha as an adult and always know that she is in danger of making another misstep.
Dickens, Charles. “David Copperfield.” Paris: Feedbooks, 1850. Ebook.
Rogers, Jane. "Dickens and His Involvement in Urania Cottage." The Victorian Web. Web. 22 Feb 2015. http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/rogers/8.html
--Ciara Aguayo
"One shamed herself in love; one temperately
Grew gross in soulless love, a sluggish wife;
One famished died for love. Thus two of three
took death for love and won him after strife;
One droned in sweetness like a fattened bee:
All on the threshold, yet all short of life" (1647).
This is a very interesting take on marriage. These women are all feeling different ways about marrying a man. I always thought that women could not have opinions because we were supposed to be good girls; but these women have so many different emotions. The line “One famished died for love” seems to have been written just for me. Steerforth and I had such an amazing love before he decided to leave me and now I am afraid that I can never marry again. I will forever remember what I did to Ham, and for that I will most likely die alone, all because of love.
Editor’s Note: Everyone is shocked when Em’ly leaves with Steerforth instead of getting married. Then, when Steerforth leaves her, everyone expects that she will end up prostituting herself. From the way that the characters in David Copperfield spoke, I assume that prostitution is common when I woman becomes fallen. It is exacting what happened to Martha in David Copperfield. Once a woman is fallen, it is very hard for them to become a respectable woman again. Both their peers, and usually themselves, are too ashamed of them to help them. In Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s painting Found, a husband finds his former lover and tries to save her; but she does not want to be saved. “The unfinished painting focuses in on the struggle between them as the man tries to lift her, but she seems both too ashamed and self-determined to go with him. The question of why she should resist him when his face is so contorted in pity and concern. It seems that either the woman is too entangled in her life of sin of else she refuses to be caught in the impositions of married life, represented in the net which holds the calf" (1).
In the line Em’ly pointed out, “One famished died for love,” the woman is dying because of the love that she had, which somewhat relates to Rossetti’s painting. The lover would rather die because of the love she had than get help from her former lover.
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Paris: Feedbooks, 1850. Print.
"Fallen Woman in Victorian Art." Victorianweb.org. n.p, n.d. Web. 22. Feb. 2015.
-- Krista Sanford
Grew gross in soulless love, a sluggish wife;
One famished died for love. Thus two of three
took death for love and won him after strife;
One droned in sweetness like a fattened bee:
All on the threshold, yet all short of life" (1647).
This is a very interesting take on marriage. These women are all feeling different ways about marrying a man. I always thought that women could not have opinions because we were supposed to be good girls; but these women have so many different emotions. The line “One famished died for love” seems to have been written just for me. Steerforth and I had such an amazing love before he decided to leave me and now I am afraid that I can never marry again. I will forever remember what I did to Ham, and for that I will most likely die alone, all because of love.
Editor’s Note: Everyone is shocked when Em’ly leaves with Steerforth instead of getting married. Then, when Steerforth leaves her, everyone expects that she will end up prostituting herself. From the way that the characters in David Copperfield spoke, I assume that prostitution is common when I woman becomes fallen. It is exacting what happened to Martha in David Copperfield. Once a woman is fallen, it is very hard for them to become a respectable woman again. Both their peers, and usually themselves, are too ashamed of them to help them. In Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s painting Found, a husband finds his former lover and tries to save her; but she does not want to be saved. “The unfinished painting focuses in on the struggle between them as the man tries to lift her, but she seems both too ashamed and self-determined to go with him. The question of why she should resist him when his face is so contorted in pity and concern. It seems that either the woman is too entangled in her life of sin of else she refuses to be caught in the impositions of married life, represented in the net which holds the calf" (1).
In the line Em’ly pointed out, “One famished died for love,” the woman is dying because of the love that she had, which somewhat relates to Rossetti’s painting. The lover would rather die because of the love she had than get help from her former lover.
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Paris: Feedbooks, 1850. Print.
"Fallen Woman in Victorian Art." Victorianweb.org. n.p, n.d. Web. 22. Feb. 2015.
-- Krista Sanford
"'It ain't that she's not as pretty as ever, for she's prettier--I do assure you, she is prettier. It ain't that she don't work as well as ever, for she does. She is worth any six. But somehow she wants heart. If you understand,' said Mr. Omer" (Ch. 30, pg. 427).
I was quite flattered when I heard that Mr. Omer had said these things about me. It was very nice of him to call me pretty. But I don’t really know what he means that I want heart. Sure, I want to fancy the man that I marry, but I know how important marriage is in this society. Maybe this is why I am feeling so conflicted lately.
Editor's Note: Em’ly understands that, in this time period, who you marry not only reflects on yourself but also on your family. Along with that, the majority of women try to marry up in order to get into a better class of society. Em’ly is set to marry Ham, one of her family members and therefore someone of the same social class as her. Despite this marriage proposal, she starts to fall in love with Steerforth, who is in a better social standing than Ham. Marrying Steerforth would give her more money, and she would be choosing her own marriage, but marrying Ham is what her family wants her to do.
In a comic titled “Social Satire in Punch and Trollope: Marriage” a group of women are sitting around talking about marriage. None of the women in the comic ever talk about love within their marriages, only money and social class. Because of this, marrying for money and power is a very talked about issue and is a target for criticism. But Em’ly obviously has feelings for Steerforth, which would go against society rules. If she ends up leaving Ham for Steerforth, she would become a fallen women because she would be breaking her commitment to Ham and running away against her family’s wishes; but if she stays with Ham, she would be unhappy. I believe that she probably thought a long time before coming to a decision.
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Paris: Feedbooks, 1850. Print.
"Social Satire in Punch and Trollope: Marriage." Social Satire in Punch and Trollope: Marriage.
N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
-- Krista Sanford
I was quite flattered when I heard that Mr. Omer had said these things about me. It was very nice of him to call me pretty. But I don’t really know what he means that I want heart. Sure, I want to fancy the man that I marry, but I know how important marriage is in this society. Maybe this is why I am feeling so conflicted lately.
Editor's Note: Em’ly understands that, in this time period, who you marry not only reflects on yourself but also on your family. Along with that, the majority of women try to marry up in order to get into a better class of society. Em’ly is set to marry Ham, one of her family members and therefore someone of the same social class as her. Despite this marriage proposal, she starts to fall in love with Steerforth, who is in a better social standing than Ham. Marrying Steerforth would give her more money, and she would be choosing her own marriage, but marrying Ham is what her family wants her to do.
In a comic titled “Social Satire in Punch and Trollope: Marriage” a group of women are sitting around talking about marriage. None of the women in the comic ever talk about love within their marriages, only money and social class. Because of this, marrying for money and power is a very talked about issue and is a target for criticism. But Em’ly obviously has feelings for Steerforth, which would go against society rules. If she ends up leaving Ham for Steerforth, she would become a fallen women because she would be breaking her commitment to Ham and running away against her family’s wishes; but if she stays with Ham, she would be unhappy. I believe that she probably thought a long time before coming to a decision.
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Paris: Feedbooks, 1850. Print.
"Social Satire in Punch and Trollope: Marriage." Social Satire in Punch and Trollope: Marriage.
N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
-- Krista Sanford
I am reading “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen and am really loving it! Elizabeth Bennett is so strong and independent. I love that about her! When she rejected Darcy’s proposal in chapter 34 I nearly cried because I enjoyed it so much. And then when he says, “In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you” and she still rejects him, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I couldn’t believe she was saying that to Darcy. I want to be just like her one day.
Editor’s Note: Around the time Em’ly would’ve been alive, women strived to be the Angel of the House. That role meant that they took care of everyone in the house. She respected her husband and hid her feelings. Basically, she had to be the perfect person, doing no wrong. Elizabeth Bennett, on the other hand, was not very Angel in the House-like. In the quote that Em’ly mentioned, she had just denied a marriage proposal, choosing to be single instead of getting married. Similarly, Em’ly denies a marriage with Ham in order to run away with Steerforth, something that is extreme scandalous in that age.
In “Moving Out: Adolescence,” Chris Vanden Bossche talks about how adolescent women struggle when growing up into adulthood. Emilie notes in her research that fiction novels suggest women can only move upward with a good marriage when that marriage is solely based on money and not entirely happiness. Fictional women, like Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, find men that love their independence and individual qualities. Em’ly is commenting on Elizabeth’s independence because it is a lot like her own. While Elizabeth turns down Darcy’s proposal at first, Em’ly does not marry Ham because she does not want to.
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Paris: Feedbooks, 1850. Print.
Vanden Bossche, Chris. “Moving Out: Adolescence.” A Companion to Victorian Literature &
Culture. Ed. Herbert Tucker. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers Inc (1999). Print.
-- Krista Sanford
Editor’s Note: Around the time Em’ly would’ve been alive, women strived to be the Angel of the House. That role meant that they took care of everyone in the house. She respected her husband and hid her feelings. Basically, she had to be the perfect person, doing no wrong. Elizabeth Bennett, on the other hand, was not very Angel in the House-like. In the quote that Em’ly mentioned, she had just denied a marriage proposal, choosing to be single instead of getting married. Similarly, Em’ly denies a marriage with Ham in order to run away with Steerforth, something that is extreme scandalous in that age.
In “Moving Out: Adolescence,” Chris Vanden Bossche talks about how adolescent women struggle when growing up into adulthood. Emilie notes in her research that fiction novels suggest women can only move upward with a good marriage when that marriage is solely based on money and not entirely happiness. Fictional women, like Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, find men that love their independence and individual qualities. Em’ly is commenting on Elizabeth’s independence because it is a lot like her own. While Elizabeth turns down Darcy’s proposal at first, Em’ly does not marry Ham because she does not want to.
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Paris: Feedbooks, 1850. Print.
Vanden Bossche, Chris. “Moving Out: Adolescence.” A Companion to Victorian Literature &
Culture. Ed. Herbert Tucker. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers Inc (1999). Print.
-- Krista Sanford