Power Discrepancy
Paula Shyba
During the Victorian period, a fraction of the women in the population were given the title “fallen women”. These were women who had “given in to seduction, living a life in sin” (Lee), and Jenny, the subject of Rossetti’s poem, can be characterized as one of these women. The speaker in the poem finds himself with Jenny, a beautiful prostitute, falling asleep on his lap, and contemplates both her beauty and her life’s circumstances. Throughout the poem, Jenny assumes a passive role, as her voice is never heard, and so the speaker is given the opportunity to make assumptions without Jenny’s retort. This discrepancy between the power of men and the submissive roles of women is a frequently occurring theme in Victorian literature and art, and appears as well in such poems as Browning’s “Porphyria’s Lover”.
Although the speaker never once physically exerts power onto Jenny, his position over her sleeping body and his freedom to analyze her state of affairs shows his dominance of the situation. He is clearly taken by her beauty, but her aesthetic exterior is as far as he cares to see into her. He supposes that her mind “reflects not any face nor sound in its sluggish pace” (Rossetti 167-8) and so does not respect her mind as much as her appearance. Assumptions about her character are made by him that, true or not, are unfair to make. Because Jenny is a prostitute, he assumes that she cares solely about money, when he doesn’t actually know much more than her name. In the fifth stanza, he acknowledges that society is the reason for many women’s descent into such a low status, and does feel pity for her dire situation. At the same time, however, he fails to take any blame on himself.
A clear parallel can be drawn between Rossetti’s poem and Browning’s “Porphyria’s Lover”, both of which signify the imbalance in relationships between men and women in Victorian society. In both poems, the men look over the women on their lap and decide for themselves what their lover deserves. As Porphyria’s lover assumes that taking her life was the right thing to do, the speaker in “Jenny” presumes that he knows exactly what it would be like to be in her shoes and what makes her content. In the two poems, the women come from completely opposite economic positions; Porphyria is an upper class woman, and Jenny, conversely, is a prostitute with low social status. However, despite the difference between the women’s societal standings, the poets place them in very similar situations. This illustrates that the poems are not commentaries on the Victorian period’s imbalanced capital situation, but poems that reveal the uneven levels of power and authority that men and women had.
There is no doubt that in “Jenny”, the speaker shows sentiment towards his “fallen woman”, and several of the lines could easily find a place in a love poem. When describing her “mouth quiet, eyelids almost blue as if some sky of dreams shone through” (175-6), it seems as though the speaker truly does love the woman resting on his knee. It is exposed in his thoughts, however, that he feel condescendingly towards her and condemns her for the life she leads. Rossetti was known for dating models during his career, so could it be supposed that he, like the speaker, appreciated aesthetic beauty more than a woman’s intellect? It is undeniable that in the poem “Jenny”, the typical ideal role of women in the Victorian era as passive and beautiful is depicted, pointing out that men governed the social world and held the majority of the power.
Works Cited
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. “Jenny.” Practa.com. 23 September 2006 http://www.shlensky.com/assigned_readings/D.G.Rossetti-Jenny.pdf
Lee, Elizabeth. “Fallen Women in Victorian Art.” Victorian Web.” 1997. Brown University. 24 September 2006
During the Victorian period, a fraction of the women in the population were given the title “fallen women”. These were women who had “given in to seduction, living a life in sin” (Lee), and Jenny, the subject of Rossetti’s poem, can be characterized as one of these women. The speaker in the poem finds himself with Jenny, a beautiful prostitute, falling asleep on his lap, and contemplates both her beauty and her life’s circumstances. Throughout the poem, Jenny assumes a passive role, as her voice is never heard, and so the speaker is given the opportunity to make assumptions without Jenny’s retort. This discrepancy between the power of men and the submissive roles of women is a frequently occurring theme in Victorian literature and art, and appears as well in such poems as Browning’s “Porphyria’s Lover”.
Although the speaker never once physically exerts power onto Jenny, his position over her sleeping body and his freedom to analyze her state of affairs shows his dominance of the situation. He is clearly taken by her beauty, but her aesthetic exterior is as far as he cares to see into her. He supposes that her mind “reflects not any face nor sound in its sluggish pace” (Rossetti 167-8) and so does not respect her mind as much as her appearance. Assumptions about her character are made by him that, true or not, are unfair to make. Because Jenny is a prostitute, he assumes that she cares solely about money, when he doesn’t actually know much more than her name. In the fifth stanza, he acknowledges that society is the reason for many women’s descent into such a low status, and does feel pity for her dire situation. At the same time, however, he fails to take any blame on himself.
A clear parallel can be drawn between Rossetti’s poem and Browning’s “Porphyria’s Lover”, both of which signify the imbalance in relationships between men and women in Victorian society. In both poems, the men look over the women on their lap and decide for themselves what their lover deserves. As Porphyria’s lover assumes that taking her life was the right thing to do, the speaker in “Jenny” presumes that he knows exactly what it would be like to be in her shoes and what makes her content. In the two poems, the women come from completely opposite economic positions; Porphyria is an upper class woman, and Jenny, conversely, is a prostitute with low social status. However, despite the difference between the women’s societal standings, the poets place them in very similar situations. This illustrates that the poems are not commentaries on the Victorian period’s imbalanced capital situation, but poems that reveal the uneven levels of power and authority that men and women had.
There is no doubt that in “Jenny”, the speaker shows sentiment towards his “fallen woman”, and several of the lines could easily find a place in a love poem. When describing her “mouth quiet, eyelids almost blue as if some sky of dreams shone through” (175-6), it seems as though the speaker truly does love the woman resting on his knee. It is exposed in his thoughts, however, that he feel condescendingly towards her and condemns her for the life she leads. Rossetti was known for dating models during his career, so could it be supposed that he, like the speaker, appreciated aesthetic beauty more than a woman’s intellect? It is undeniable that in the poem “Jenny”, the typical ideal role of women in the Victorian era as passive and beautiful is depicted, pointing out that men governed the social world and held the majority of the power.
Works Cited
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. “Jenny.” Practa.com. 23 September 2006 http://www.shlensky.com/assigned_readings/D.G.Rossetti-Jenny.pdf
Lee, Elizabeth. “Fallen Women in Victorian Art.” Victorian Web.” 1997. Brown University. 24 September 2006
posted by Paula at 11:21 PM
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