Caroline Norton married George Chapple Norton in June 1827. The marriage was a disaster because they had nothing in common. She was outgoing, witty, and headstrong while he had no personality. After two months, he became abusive to keep her in line. Caroline began to write for pleasure and to support her family. She also pressured friends and family to give her unemployed husband a job. By her third child, the abuse had become unbearable. They separated after having an argument about the children’s vacation location, which led to George removing the children from the home and evicting Caroline. The fate of this marriage would be decided in court. Caroline realized for her to survive she would have to fight the court to change laws that were bias against women.
I saw Caroline as a hero for women because she set out to change history and the laws which governed our people. All laws benefited the rich and men. Her first step was the draft of a letter. This letter was to the Queen about Lord Chancellor Cranford’s Marriage and Divorce Bill.
In reading this letter, I chose to focus on three of the laws that deny women their rights.
(1) A woman is denied the right to own possessions whether received before marriage or as gifts. I believe an old saying “what is mine is mine and what is your is yours”. No one should be able to take this from you. It says that a woman does not exist. The laws of England felt otherwise. “A woman’s person and property were at her husband’s disposal…The thinking was that”husband and wife are one person and the husband is that person” (564).
(2) A woman can not legally receive a salary for work performed. I feel that the job is hers and all work completed was done by her so the money does not belong to the husband. In a marriage, you should work with your mate to provide a staple home which can include contributing to the financing of it. “Whether wages for manual labour or payment for intellectual exertion… her salary is the husband’s; and he could compel a second payment, and treat the first as void, if paid to the wife without sanction” (565).
(3) A woman should have the right to be part of the divorce proceeding and the right to initiate them. A marriage is what you make of it. If all parties involved are not in agreement with its status, then either should be able to dissolve it. There is such a thing as piece of mind. If you do not have it, problems could arise. “If a husband take proceedings for a divorce, she is not …allowed to defend herself…She is not represented by attorney…she cannot divorce...and she cannot claim support” (565-566).
Caroline was responsible for the passage of the Divorce and Matrimonial Cause Act (1857) because of the injustice she received from her husband. Her letter became the focus of the public eye. She assisted in removing hurdles that stood in our path for women’s rights to equality.
Monday, June 29, 2009
“The Book of Household Management”
Isabella Beeton is the author of “The Book of Household Management”. This book’s sales came in second only to the Bible and were published after her death by her husband. Isabella was the mistress of her home and held the title “the commander of the army”. Considering her self an expert on the management of a home, Isabella wanted to help middleclass wives understand the necessary technique for success. She therefore wrote down instructions for each job. You have heard the saying “a way to a man’s heart is his stomach” well in Isabella’s case; she wanted to make sure the man came home for the food instead of elsewhere.
To me the instruction manual was no more than the idea of the self help books on the market, today. I am certain that Isabella would have received credit for her contributions. I will elaborate on three duties within her book.
(1) In any position, work or home, there must be someone in charge of the operation. I call my self the CEO and Isabella used the military position of “Commander of an Army”. I must be willing to be an example for others therefore earning respect through my work and reputation. At the end of the day, a leader has been established. “Her spirit will be seen through the whole establishment; and just in proportion as she performs her duties intelligently and thoroughly, so will domestics follow in her path” (574).
(2) As an employer, it is my obligation to be time conscience. I must be timely in all aspect of my job. Also, I should arrive at my job before my employees so I can evaluate the workload for that day, staffing, and any necessary adjustment needed to succeed. By establishing this routine, my employees will more than likely value the company time and know what is expected. It has been said “you lead by example”. “When a mistress is an early riser, it is almost certain that her house will be orderly and well-managed…On the contrary, if she remains in bed till a late hour, then the domestic will surely become sluggards” (574).
(3) There is a limit to the bond of friendship that can be form in an office environment. As the CEO, I must respect my coworkers and employees privacy. No information beyond work should be discussed in the office and if the lines are cross, that information must be kept between the individuals involved. When friendships are form within the workplace, make sure no special favor are required by both parties. “Friendships should not be hastily formed…to every new-comer….The friendship of such persons is without attachment and their love without affection or even preference” (574).
Isabella Beeton, a devoted home maker had no ideas towards fighting for women rights where as Caroline Norton wanted laws changed to benefit women. They were both part of the Victorian era in which social divisions for equality of women begun.
To me the instruction manual was no more than the idea of the self help books on the market, today. I am certain that Isabella would have received credit for her contributions. I will elaborate on three duties within her book.
(1) In any position, work or home, there must be someone in charge of the operation. I call my self the CEO and Isabella used the military position of “Commander of an Army”. I must be willing to be an example for others therefore earning respect through my work and reputation. At the end of the day, a leader has been established. “Her spirit will be seen through the whole establishment; and just in proportion as she performs her duties intelligently and thoroughly, so will domestics follow in her path” (574).
(2) As an employer, it is my obligation to be time conscience. I must be timely in all aspect of my job. Also, I should arrive at my job before my employees so I can evaluate the workload for that day, staffing, and any necessary adjustment needed to succeed. By establishing this routine, my employees will more than likely value the company time and know what is expected. It has been said “you lead by example”. “When a mistress is an early riser, it is almost certain that her house will be orderly and well-managed…On the contrary, if she remains in bed till a late hour, then the domestic will surely become sluggards” (574).
(3) There is a limit to the bond of friendship that can be form in an office environment. As the CEO, I must respect my coworkers and employees privacy. No information beyond work should be discussed in the office and if the lines are cross, that information must be kept between the individuals involved. When friendships are form within the workplace, make sure no special favor are required by both parties. “Friendships should not be hastily formed…to every new-comer….The friendship of such persons is without attachment and their love without affection or even preference” (574).
Isabella Beeton, a devoted home maker had no ideas towards fighting for women rights where as Caroline Norton wanted laws changed to benefit women. They were both part of the Victorian era in which social divisions for equality of women begun.
“Symphony in Yellow”
Oscar Wilde wrote this poem in 1889 as his symbol of interest in the Decadent and Aesthetic movement. It is presented to the world as a poem, but that was not his intention. It is instead a descriptive work that allows the reader to view a picture. Even the title has reference to an art collection by James Whistler with the color of yellow focusing on the Aesthetic era. Wilde was also fascinated with the contradictory artistic creeds of John Ruskin and Walter Pater. Ruskin believed “that all good art is moral art” while Pater fancies “the love of art for art’s sake”.
As I read this poem, a vision comes to mind. I am traveling in a small boat on the Thames River towards the last leg of my journey. My destination is the England coastline. “And at my feet the pale green Thames lies like a rod of rippled jade” (831).
When the boat maneuvers, a curve in the river, a view that one could only imagine, comes to my sight. There are rays of the color yellow all around me in the early morning light. The waterfront contains a bridge that is filled with traffic of individuals conducting business with the barge owners. They are selling hay. “An omnibus across the bridge crawls like a yellow butterfly, and there, passer-by shows a little restless midge. Big barges full of yellow hay are moored against the shadowy wharf, and like a yellow silken scarf, the thick fog hangs along the quay” (831).
I also notice a Temple surrounded by elms tree with their leaves color fading flying in the wind. “The yellow leaves begin to fade and flutter from the Temple elms” (831).
The beauty of my vision has made me appreciate that all things in life must be cherished and life is a blessing.
As I read this poem, a vision comes to mind. I am traveling in a small boat on the Thames River towards the last leg of my journey. My destination is the England coastline. “And at my feet the pale green Thames lies like a rod of rippled jade” (831).
When the boat maneuvers, a curve in the river, a view that one could only imagine, comes to my sight. There are rays of the color yellow all around me in the early morning light. The waterfront contains a bridge that is filled with traffic of individuals conducting business with the barge owners. They are selling hay. “An omnibus across the bridge crawls like a yellow butterfly, and there, passer-by shows a little restless midge. Big barges full of yellow hay are moored against the shadowy wharf, and like a yellow silken scarf, the thick fog hangs along the quay” (831).
I also notice a Temple surrounded by elms tree with their leaves color fading flying in the wind. “The yellow leaves begin to fade and flutter from the Temple elms” (831).
The beauty of my vision has made me appreciate that all things in life must be cherished and life is a blessing.
Letter to Emily Bronte` (The Horrors of Governessing)
Charlotte Bronte` wrote this letter to her sister in reference to her job as a governess. She endured inequality, inadequate paid, and rudely treatment. Charlotte was very unhappy with her position and felt the need to talk to someone.
In her letter, she tells about the beautiful countryside and the grounds surrounding her employers’ home, but never having time to explore them. “But, alack-a-day! There is such a thing as seeing all beautiful around you…
and not having a free moment or a free thought left to enjoy them in” (560). The children are with her constantly and are unmanageable. She can not chastise them for fear of losing employment. Their mother has no campaign plan to get familiar with Charlotte and strives to squeeze an enormous quantity of cheap labor from Charlotte. From her attitude, Charlotte knows she is not cared for. She has learned high society is not her kind of life. A private governess has no existence until work has to be done. “is not considered as a living and rational being except as connected with the wearisome duties she has to fulfil” (560). The father is amicable and does not issue any orders concerning the children.
Charlotte is socially separated from the world. She uses her letters as means of communication and combats from loneliness.
It would have been hard for me to continue in employ with someone that did not respect me. I know that a job is important to your livelihood, but in the case of Charlotte she was not allowed to do her job. She is the governess, but not allowed to discipline the children. Her job was more along the line of being the mistress maid. After being a servant during dinner parties, she also lost all interest in being a part of Society. The women role of hostess was of little importance. Her mistress lacks the knowledge or interest to succeed. This was the life of the middleclass working woman.
In her letter, she tells about the beautiful countryside and the grounds surrounding her employers’ home, but never having time to explore them. “But, alack-a-day! There is such a thing as seeing all beautiful around you…
and not having a free moment or a free thought left to enjoy them in” (560). The children are with her constantly and are unmanageable. She can not chastise them for fear of losing employment. Their mother has no campaign plan to get familiar with Charlotte and strives to squeeze an enormous quantity of cheap labor from Charlotte. From her attitude, Charlotte knows she is not cared for. She has learned high society is not her kind of life. A private governess has no existence until work has to be done. “is not considered as a living and rational being except as connected with the wearisome duties she has to fulfil” (560). The father is amicable and does not issue any orders concerning the children.
Charlotte is socially separated from the world. She uses her letters as means of communication and combats from loneliness.
It would have been hard for me to continue in employ with someone that did not respect me. I know that a job is important to your livelihood, but in the case of Charlotte she was not allowed to do her job. She is the governess, but not allowed to discipline the children. Her job was more along the line of being the mistress maid. After being a servant during dinner parties, she also lost all interest in being a part of Society. The women role of hostess was of little importance. Her mistress lacks the knowledge or interest to succeed. This was the life of the middleclass working woman.
“No Second Troy”
“No Second Troy” by William Butler Yeats is a romantic poem that relays the suffering he has endured from loving Maud Gonne all his life. The poem has abab ,cdcd, and efef rhyme patterns with decasyllabic line patterns.
Maud is a divorcee that has return to her father’s home. Upon seeing her again, Yeats love for her revives. He has made various advances with little results. Maud has begun to consume his every waking hour. “Why should I blame her that she filled my days with misery” (1118)? After the divorce, Maud became a headstrong Irish nationalist from nobility. “ That she would of late have taught to ignorant men most violent ways or hurled the streets upon the great” (1118). Yeats realizes that he has to show courage with no doubt of his love for her, but can he reveal this.
Maud’s beauty is such that he compares it to Helen of Troy and the destruction that was caused by it. “With beauty like a tightened bow, a kind that is not natural in an age like this…why, what could she have done, being what she is? Was there another Troy for her to burn” (118)? To me he appears to be afraid of her beauty. I feel this is due to him being concern of others interest towards her. Can he trust that she want leave him? Can he make her happy? There are a lot of unanswered questions that must be analyzed.
I feel Yeats exhibit a lack of faith in his abilities as a suitor and will never be able to keep the attention of Maud or any woman unless he gets rid of his doubts.
Maud is a divorcee that has return to her father’s home. Upon seeing her again, Yeats love for her revives. He has made various advances with little results. Maud has begun to consume his every waking hour. “Why should I blame her that she filled my days with misery” (1118)? After the divorce, Maud became a headstrong Irish nationalist from nobility. “ That she would of late have taught to ignorant men most violent ways or hurled the streets upon the great” (1118). Yeats realizes that he has to show courage with no doubt of his love for her, but can he reveal this.
Maud’s beauty is such that he compares it to Helen of Troy and the destruction that was caused by it. “With beauty like a tightened bow, a kind that is not natural in an age like this…why, what could she have done, being what she is? Was there another Troy for her to burn” (118)? To me he appears to be afraid of her beauty. I feel this is due to him being concern of others interest towards her. Can he trust that she want leave him? Can he make her happy? There are a lot of unanswered questions that must be analyzed.
I feel Yeats exhibit a lack of faith in his abilities as a suitor and will never be able to keep the attention of Maud or any woman unless he gets rid of his doubts.
“HAP”
Thomas Hardy composed this poem in 1866 at the age of 26. It was not published until1898. Poetry was his second career while being a novelist came first. He dedicated 30 years to each. He was a part of the Wessex community and an architect by trade restoring churches. His work was the discontinuities of the Victorian era into the Modern era. No two poems had the same structure of stanzas. Hap is a poem from his Wessex Poems.
The poem is written as an English sonnet. The fourteen lines are recorded in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme abab, cdcd, efef, and gg. The first 4 stanzas talks of god calling him, but doubt is drawn because he does not have the word god capitalized. “If but some vengeful god would call to me from up the sky” (1073). The individual doing the talking is not calling to offer support, but to add to his suffering. “and laugh:”Thou suffering thing, know that thy sorrow is my ecstasy, that thy love’s loss is my hate’s profiting” (1073). The poem continues with no understanding or concern for his suffering, but does imply they are enjoying his torment. “Half-eased in that a Powerfuller than I had willed and meted me the tears I shed” (1073).
Hardy is pessimism with no religious faith that has the belief that if there is a God, he does not concede man existence or profess any feelings toward him. If things are bad, they will get worse. This is based off past experiences.
Gerald Hopkins and Thomas Hardy were architects, poets, and novelists. Hopkins believed in God. His poetry was intense, while Hardy was simple and to the point. He used a standard structure for his poems and Hardy was unique.
After reading this poem by Hardy, it made me think that his lack of love from his parents created his doubt of the belief in God. He was taught all the subjects of life, but never that of love. In a family environment, parents must instill certain criteria to their children. They retain these criteria because it is constant and always present. One’s faith or belief in God is also a lesson; a lesson learned over time. There are times in ones life when problems take over our existence, but in time those problems decrease or evaporate completely. I wonder if he ever gave God a chance.
The poem is written as an English sonnet. The fourteen lines are recorded in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme abab, cdcd, efef, and gg. The first 4 stanzas talks of god calling him, but doubt is drawn because he does not have the word god capitalized. “If but some vengeful god would call to me from up the sky” (1073). The individual doing the talking is not calling to offer support, but to add to his suffering. “and laugh:”Thou suffering thing, know that thy sorrow is my ecstasy, that thy love’s loss is my hate’s profiting” (1073). The poem continues with no understanding or concern for his suffering, but does imply they are enjoying his torment. “Half-eased in that a Powerfuller than I had willed and meted me the tears I shed” (1073).
Hardy is pessimism with no religious faith that has the belief that if there is a God, he does not concede man existence or profess any feelings toward him. If things are bad, they will get worse. This is based off past experiences.
Gerald Hopkins and Thomas Hardy were architects, poets, and novelists. Hopkins believed in God. His poetry was intense, while Hardy was simple and to the point. He used a standard structure for his poems and Hardy was unique.
After reading this poem by Hardy, it made me think that his lack of love from his parents created his doubt of the belief in God. He was taught all the subjects of life, but never that of love. In a family environment, parents must instill certain criteria to their children. They retain these criteria because it is constant and always present. One’s faith or belief in God is also a lesson; a lesson learned over time. There are times in ones life when problems take over our existence, but in time those problems decrease or evaporate completely. I wonder if he ever gave God a chance.
Virginia Woolf’s Professions for Women (1942)
The writing style of Virginia Woolf deals with the concept of time, memory, and people’s inner consciousness. She saw that men were a dominant force who reins enslavement over women. In her essays, a little drama is involved to captivate the audience.
Professions for women essay tell the story of young girl starting a career in writing. She is thrilled of the possibilities of doing reviews of authors’ work and looks forward to the pay she will receive. Her excitement grows short when her constant companion, the phantom, arises. She calls her The Angel in the House. The phantom is all she is not and goes against all Virginia beliefs. “She was intensely sympathetic. She was immensely charming. She was utterly unselfish. She excelled in the difficult arts of family life. She sacrificed herself daily.—in short she was so constituted that she never had a mind or wish of her own, but preferred to sympathize always with the minds and wishes of others.” (e-text)
Virginia attempts to write her review of a novel by a man, but The Lady interrupts and torments her. The Lady is concern about the way Virginia perceives things. She wants her to remember her statue in this world. “My dear, you are a young woman. You are writing about a book that has been written by a man. Be sympathetic; be tender; flatter; deceive; use all the arts and wiles of our sex. Never let anybody guess that you have a mind of your own.” At this point, the phantom leans over Virginia’s shoulder to take possession of the pen.
There is a hush that comes over the room and Virginia looses all control. She has to make a stand for what is important to women survival. The survival of women to have the same equality as men. “I now record the one act for which I take some credit to myself…. I turned upon her and caught her by her throat. I did my best to kill her. My excuse, if I were to be had up in a court of law, would be that I acted in self-defense. Had I not killed her she would killed me. She would have plucked the heart out of my writing….She died hard.”
In my opinion, Woolf had made one step towards the future of womankind. Woolf continues her review knowing that she has rights as a woman and that no man should have control of these rights over her. Her freedom of speech would be seriously compromised, if she bases her reviews of what they wanted to here instead of what she read.
Woolf showed me that anything worth having you must fight for. The phantom had to die so that, we as a society of women could achieve the goal of equality.
Professions for women essay tell the story of young girl starting a career in writing. She is thrilled of the possibilities of doing reviews of authors’ work and looks forward to the pay she will receive. Her excitement grows short when her constant companion, the phantom, arises. She calls her The Angel in the House. The phantom is all she is not and goes against all Virginia beliefs. “She was intensely sympathetic. She was immensely charming. She was utterly unselfish. She excelled in the difficult arts of family life. She sacrificed herself daily.—in short she was so constituted that she never had a mind or wish of her own, but preferred to sympathize always with the minds and wishes of others.” (e-text)
Virginia attempts to write her review of a novel by a man, but The Lady interrupts and torments her. The Lady is concern about the way Virginia perceives things. She wants her to remember her statue in this world. “My dear, you are a young woman. You are writing about a book that has been written by a man. Be sympathetic; be tender; flatter; deceive; use all the arts and wiles of our sex. Never let anybody guess that you have a mind of your own.” At this point, the phantom leans over Virginia’s shoulder to take possession of the pen.
There is a hush that comes over the room and Virginia looses all control. She has to make a stand for what is important to women survival. The survival of women to have the same equality as men. “I now record the one act for which I take some credit to myself…. I turned upon her and caught her by her throat. I did my best to kill her. My excuse, if I were to be had up in a court of law, would be that I acted in self-defense. Had I not killed her she would killed me. She would have plucked the heart out of my writing….She died hard.”
In my opinion, Woolf had made one step towards the future of womankind. Woolf continues her review knowing that she has rights as a woman and that no man should have control of these rights over her. Her freedom of speech would be seriously compromised, if she bases her reviews of what they wanted to here instead of what she read.
Woolf showed me that anything worth having you must fight for. The phantom had to die so that, we as a society of women could achieve the goal of equality.
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