A05 Rossetti vs Ibsen Flashcards
Nora confronts
every convention and male prejudice that cages her - Kate Millett, 1971
Ibsen and marriage
he revealed it to be far from a divine institution - August Strindberg, 1880s
Ibsen review
Social Demokraten, 1879, said that Torvald fails to understand Nora’s value as a human being
-1000s of such doll-like house
resistance
Simon Avery - Rossetti’s speakers demonstrate a resistance to social expectations, which define the acceptable roles of women
sin
Lynda Palazzo - Rossetti hints that male gender oppression is a sin
word choice
Simon Avery says that the word choice is often “austere”
angels
Victorian women were seen as passionless angels in the home but Karen Armstrong argues that GM defies this
Simone de Beauvoir
stated that women are “objects” in patriarchal society
fallen women
Richard Gill - Rossetti is “thoughtfully aware” of the plight of fallen women
attitude to fallen women
unlike her contemporaries, like William Acton who published a report called “Prostitution”, Rossetti does not dismiss ‘fallen women’ with hasty judgement
Winter: My Secret
Simon Avery - she manipulates power so she is in control
“no”
No Thank you, John - asserts a woman’s right to say “no”
voice
Simon Mold - Rossetti gives a vibrant voice to the female experience, despite Victorian women being denied social, economic and political freedom
Hattie Morahan, 2013
the play is just as “relatable” now
it is women’s
confinement in the domestic sphere that correlates with the subordination of women’s rights - L Code, 2000
address
the restrictions placed on women and pulls down the ideological boundaries of femininity - Lesa Scholl
women
are the creatures of the organised tyranny of men - Eleanor Marx, 1884
‘woman’s qu’
in an era where the status of women was increasingly debated - ‘the woman’s question’ - Rossetti presents a “dark assessment” in the woman’s lot - Richard Gill
feminist
Lisa Scholl - her writing seems to suggest and promote the belief that women are equal to men
however, Rossetti had said that she saw an “unalterable distinction” between men and women
emancipation
Robert Brustein
Ibsen was “completely indifferent to (female emancipation) except as a metaphor for individual freedom”
brotherhood
Alice Kirby sees the feminine world of GM as a response to her sibling’s exclusive ‘brotherhood’
rigid
Rossetti could be suggesting in GM that society is so rigid that only a domestic sisterhood could exist - not an artistic one - Alice Kirby
criticism of society
Laura described as a “restless brook” suggesting she is bored with the constraints of domestic life - Alice Kirby
fruit
Laura’s interest in the Goblin’s “fruit globes” has been seen by critics as an allegory for her exploring her sexuality
allegory of GM
poem can be read as an allegory for a woman trying to transcend the boundaries placed upon her by society - Alice Kirby
GM and MC
linked as their punishments are indicative of Victorian society’s attitude towards fallen women - Alice Kirby
Laura is “writhing as one possessed”
Rossetti’s women
challenge male authority, like MC and Sir Thomas
Rossetti lived an unconventional life within the confines of Victorian mores and her female characters act as a reflection of her experiences - Alice Kirby
Nora is purely a
source of “enjoyment and pleasure” for Torvald - Baser, 2013
interpretations of the tarantella
1) suggested that it expresses her sexual self
2) manifestation of her suicidal impulses
3) feminist critic, Toril Moi, has suggested that it displays the torment of her soul
Mary Wollstonecraft
18th-century revolutionary writer, argues in her essay ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women’ that women are taught “outward obedience” from infancy
Wollstonecraft argues
that men try to secure the good conduct of women by reducing them to a state of innocence and childhood, seen with Nora and Torvald
Ibsen has been seen as
“an apostle of the cause of women” - Louie Bennett
a vindication of the rights of women
Mary Wollstonecraft - strengthen the female mind by enlarging it and there will be an end to blind obedience
Nora seems to reflect this attitude at the end - “I must educate myself”
