Understanding Jenny
I could not indent.......
Understanding Jenny
By Alissa Tarita
> If one comments on the social or cultural practices (habits, customs, traditions, privileges, hierarchies, ideologies, etc.) or constructed identity markers (gender, sexuality, race,ethnicity, class, etc.) presented and elaborated in “Jenny”, a poem written by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, they will consider the apparent social status of the poem’s mistress, Jenny herself. In an era of strict social and sexual rigidity, Jenny lives her life as a prostitute. Not only are social attitudes towards sexual occupations present in the poem, an obvious gender bias against woman is depicted within Rossetti’s piece. “Jenny” delves into the mind of the male narrator and provides his consciousness in regards to his role in the woman’s life and how he ultimately breaks the mold of stereotypical beliefs during the poet’s time.
>When D.G. Rossetti wrote “Jenny” in 1848 (Riede), the common assumption among Victorians was that women were prone to the devastating consequences of love. Adulterous practices, such as Jenny’s occupation, were looked down upon. Victorian’s were incredibly harsh when it came to women and sex. Prostitution was a social taboo, yet “80,000 prostitutes worked in central London in the last quarter of the 19th century” (Kim). “Jenny” is a unique look into the life of one of London’s mistresses. She is painted as a woman who hands “ ne'er in rings it had been dress'd, `Nor ever by a glove conceal'd…..neither do they spin.”. This quote indirectly states Jenny’s social status, suggesting that she will neither wear the gloves of higher classed women nor will she receive the respect from occupations such as spinning. Lastly, the depiction of Jenny’s livelihood, “Our learned London children know, Poor Jenny, all your mirth and woe; Have seen your lifted silken skirt/ Advertize dainties through the dirt;” exposes a belief that prostitution is nothing more than a “lifted skirt”. There is minor support for the woman in this poem, especially that of observing her situation; why had she resorted to prostitution in the first place? Instead of looking into these problems or highlighting their source, Jenny is left to be criticized by her client.
>This criticism is intriguing because not only does he point out her faults by saying, “Yet, Jenny, looking long at you, The woman almost fades from view,” he ironically finds her almost more captivating “Like a rose shut in a book” which is different from “pure women”. He even takes on feelings of sympathy asking, “Shall soul not somehow pay for soul?” yet stops and places his feelings of shame upon her saying, “And do not let me think of you, Lest shame of yours suffice for two.” It seems the he cannot make a moral decision on how he feels about Jenny. This possibly mirrors common attitudes of other Victorians during this time in regards to women and social status. It is apparent that although he uses her for his own entertainment, he shows a connection with the woman, “Well, of such thoughts so much I know: In my life, as in hers, they show.” The narrator finishes off the poem expressing his own desire to somehow better the fortune of Jenny, “By a far gleam which I may near, A dark path I can strive to clear” by which he ultimately shatters
his cliché of a male Victorian by wanting to help her in some way.
>Rossetti wrote “Jenny” during a time when sexual practices were very structured and often rigid. This poem illuminates not only the gender bias of woman during the Victorian era, but does an excellent job in identifying the male’s feelings towards the woman and her situation. The audience can now begin to understand the confusion of many Victorians in regards to sex, gender, and social class, and walk away from the poem with a new understanding of Victorian society.
Kim, Hae-In. “The Pre-Raphaelite Women destroyed by Love in all its Forms and Fates.” The Victorian Web. 19 Dec. 2004. n.p. 22 Sept. 2006
Riede, David H.. “Dante Gabriel Rossetti's "Jenny".” The Victorian Web. 12 May 2004. n.p. 22 Sept. 2006. <>
Understanding Jenny
By Alissa Tarita
> If one comments on the social or cultural practices (habits, customs, traditions, privileges, hierarchies, ideologies, etc.) or constructed identity markers (gender, sexuality, race,ethnicity, class, etc.) presented and elaborated in “Jenny”, a poem written by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, they will consider the apparent social status of the poem’s mistress, Jenny herself. In an era of strict social and sexual rigidity, Jenny lives her life as a prostitute. Not only are social attitudes towards sexual occupations present in the poem, an obvious gender bias against woman is depicted within Rossetti’s piece. “Jenny” delves into the mind of the male narrator and provides his consciousness in regards to his role in the woman’s life and how he ultimately breaks the mold of stereotypical beliefs during the poet’s time.
>When D.G. Rossetti wrote “Jenny” in 1848 (Riede), the common assumption among Victorians was that women were prone to the devastating consequences of love. Adulterous practices, such as Jenny’s occupation, were looked down upon. Victorian’s were incredibly harsh when it came to women and sex. Prostitution was a social taboo, yet “80,000 prostitutes worked in central London in the last quarter of the 19th century” (Kim). “Jenny” is a unique look into the life of one of London’s mistresses. She is painted as a woman who hands “ ne'er in rings it had been dress'd, `Nor ever by a glove conceal'd…..neither do they spin.”. This quote indirectly states Jenny’s social status, suggesting that she will neither wear the gloves of higher classed women nor will she receive the respect from occupations such as spinning. Lastly, the depiction of Jenny’s livelihood, “Our learned London children know, Poor Jenny, all your mirth and woe; Have seen your lifted silken skirt/ Advertize dainties through the dirt;” exposes a belief that prostitution is nothing more than a “lifted skirt”. There is minor support for the woman in this poem, especially that of observing her situation; why had she resorted to prostitution in the first place? Instead of looking into these problems or highlighting their source, Jenny is left to be criticized by her client.
>This criticism is intriguing because not only does he point out her faults by saying, “Yet, Jenny, looking long at you, The woman almost fades from view,” he ironically finds her almost more captivating “Like a rose shut in a book” which is different from “pure women”. He even takes on feelings of sympathy asking, “Shall soul not somehow pay for soul?” yet stops and places his feelings of shame upon her saying, “And do not let me think of you, Lest shame of yours suffice for two.” It seems the he cannot make a moral decision on how he feels about Jenny. This possibly mirrors common attitudes of other Victorians during this time in regards to women and social status. It is apparent that although he uses her for his own entertainment, he shows a connection with the woman, “Well, of such thoughts so much I know: In my life, as in hers, they show.” The narrator finishes off the poem expressing his own desire to somehow better the fortune of Jenny, “By a far gleam which I may near, A dark path I can strive to clear” by which he ultimately shatters
his cliché of a male Victorian by wanting to help her in some way.
>Rossetti wrote “Jenny” during a time when sexual practices were very structured and often rigid. This poem illuminates not only the gender bias of woman during the Victorian era, but does an excellent job in identifying the male’s feelings towards the woman and her situation. The audience can now begin to understand the confusion of many Victorians in regards to sex, gender, and social class, and walk away from the poem with a new understanding of Victorian society.
Kim, Hae-In. “The Pre-Raphaelite Women destroyed by Love in all its Forms and Fates.” The Victorian Web. 19 Dec. 2004. n.p. 22 Sept. 2006
Riede, David H.. “Dante Gabriel Rossetti's "Jenny".” The Victorian Web. 12 May 2004. n.p. 22 Sept. 2006. <>
posted by Anonymous at 12:10 AM
1 Comments:
Very strong idea development throughout the essay. I liked your idea of starting with an overview of the historical background and building towards more personalized views of Rossetti's message. There are certainly a number of queries that you raise and answer later on in the piece, creating suspense for any attentive reader. Strong integration and wise selection of quotations.
If I HAD to pick out something that needed to be improved, I would say a less busy introduction might help. It was quite difficult to really focus on a specific aspect of the poem, and -- while you succeeded at doing that within the essay as a whole -- I would remove the parentheses in the opening sentence and tighten up the thesis a bit. The only other thing I'm going to point out is that in the sentence "[i]f one comments...they," it should be he or she instead of they (sorry, I just have a tendency to pick at small grammatical errors...having said that, I'm sure there will be several blatent ones in this post).
Looking back on everything I've said, there does appear to be a substantial amount more criticism than praise, but I earnestly believe that it was very well written and that you brought up a number of insightful points. It will most definitely be interesting to hear the class discusssion with so many different views of this, but that will just have to wait until the morning.
Nice work!
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