Phase 2- Maiden No More Flashcards
…she had learnt that the serpent hisses where the sweet birds sing.
Garden of Eden imagery, biblical reference, transition of Tess
THEMES: Nature
…she sat now, like a puppet, replying to remarks in monosyllables…
contrasts her prior self, simile alludes to the fact that Alec has completely dominated her
THEMES: gender roles
Did it ever strike your mind that what every woman says some women may feel?
Important message of women being dismissed and blamed
I suppose I am a bad fellow, a damn bad fellow
Original sin, human condition
THY DAMNATION SLUMBERETH NOT
Beginning of Tess’s unfair condemnation by Christianity and Victorian Society
I was a child when I left this house…Why didn’t you warn me?
Shows irresponsibility of her parents, and transition of Tess ‘was’, highlights how rapidly she has lost her innocence.
…she could have hidden herself in a tomb….felt that she could come to church no more
Profound effect of the rape, sexual hypocrisy and judgement of society, misplaced condemnation of Tess isolates her from the comfort of Religion. She is truly alone.
…arms of mechanical reaper revolving slowly…(animals) retreated inwards…
reaping machine representative of violence/ industrialisation destroying nature
…child consigned to the nethermost corner of hell…double doom…arch-fiend tossing it with his three pronged fork
Unfair criticism of society and religious laws- Sorrow had inherited the sins of his mother, and the sins of his mother weren’t her own sins- hellish imagery reminiscent of Alec, showing how his actions constantly deprive her of her sense of fulfilment.
…she stood in her long white nightgown, a thick cable of twisted dark hair hanging…immaculate beauty…almost regal…a divine personage…the ecstasy of faith almost apotheosized her
Sorrow’s baptism- portrayal of Tess as a true child of nature, ethereal goddess of all natural laws- ‘pure woman faithfully represented’
