Theme of Women Flashcards
V “ a beauty ripe
“a beauty ripe as harvist!… a soft lip would tempt you to an eternity of kissing! And flesh that melteth in the touch of blood! Bright as your gold!”
stereotype and patriarchy
Mosca describes Celia in a way that appeals to Volpone.
“a wife, where danger
“a wife, where danger or dishonour lurks, safest seemliest by her husband’s side”
stereotype and patriarchy
Women viewed as weaker and vulnerable sex
“all her looks are as
“all her looks are as sweet as the first grapes or cherries”
stereotype and patriarchy
links to eve. prelapsarian image of women
“wanton
“wanton growth”
stereotype and patriarchy
Cristopher ricks anti-pun. suggests Eve’s more seductive and failing character. link to book 4 “wanton ringlets”
[celia at the window
[celia at the window throws down her handkerchief]
stereotype and patriarchy
the audience may criticise her flirtatious nature. but this moment does not match her character to follow. is she a believable character or just a tool to elevate the plot and Jonsons moral message? She falls due to this daring action (much like Eve who falls after wanting to be independent from Adam when working). Results of women being more independent as destructive?
P: “spies {eve} veiled
“spies [eve] veiled in a cloud of fragrance”
suggests promiscuous nature , or that she is vulnerable to the predator who “spies” her. She appeals to his senses without even knowing it or being aware of his presence. (link to celia)
C: “sir, kill me
“sir, kill me rather”
stereotype and patriarchy
She embodies virtue. Die to protect her honour. yet hyperbolic “kill me” suggests rash, passionate ignorance expected of women.
“our credelous
“our credulous mother”
stereotype and patriarchy
the narrative voice seems to blame Eve and criticise her for being gullible.
V: “he would have sold
“he would have sold his part of paradise”
stereotype and patriarchy
objectifies Celia
S: “empress of this
“empress of this fair world”
stereotype and patriarchy
eve falls due to her vanity? she knows she is not an empress but accepts the flattery without correcting Satan. link to book 4 when admiring reflection. Was Eve then predestined to fall? vanity being a fallen trait? “too easy entrance won” - we could exonerate Eve, but only by implicating God.
C: “i will not be taken
I will not be taken by these sensual baits
stereotype and patriarchy
unlike eve, she refuses to submit
“step fair virgin pass
“step fair virgin pass, what pleasing seemed”
stereotype and patriarchy
epic simile. suggests Eve’s innocence and Satan’s predatorily nature.
“sewers annoy
“sewers annoy the air”
echoes hell. suggests a morally corrupt world (foreshadowing fall). Eve is about to be corrupt by satan.
C: “punish that unhappy crime”
punish that unhappy crime of nature, which you miscall my beauty”
stereotype and patriarchy
blasphemy? Or like eve, is she a victim to predators due to her appearance without being able to help it?
E: “god hath said
“god hath said , ye shall not eat thereof, nor shall ye touch it, lest ye die”
stereotype and patriarchy
Eve does attempt to use her reason, but lacks the capacity to reach the right conclusion. this being her female nature, do we thus criticise god? Yet she was warned of a foe.
v: “your highest female
“your highest female grace is silence”
stereotype and patriarchy
this is also suggested in court scene. Lady would-be is mocked as the verbose woman for speaking.
E: “was i to never have
“was i to never have parted from thy side?”
stereotype and patriarchy
later contradicts herself with “why didst not thou the head command me absolutely not to go”
A: “thus it shall befall him who
thus it shall befall him who to worth in women over trusting lets her will rule”
however Rafael did warn adam not to overvalue Eve
E: “thee i have missed
“thee i have missed and thought it long, deprived thy presence, agony of love till now not felt”
womens use of language
Eve has not shown this, but appears to be flattering Adam before saying her crime
c: “before your honour”
Before your honour?
womens use of language
Celia attempts to sway Corvino with this rhetoric device by suggesting that he will become dishonourable.
For nothing lovelier can be found
“for nothing lovelier can be found in woman, than to study household good “
stereotype and patriarchy. women as the domestic sex
Eve: “different degree
Different degree disjoints us
womens use of language
Eve’s appealing alliteration is used to convincingly argue the faults of their different statuses. The narrator criticises by stating “distemper flushing glows “; the disease of her morality
p “distemper flushing
“distemper flushing glows” in Eve’s cheeks
She has been lying by saying her motives for eating the fruit was for Adam’s benefit. The disease of her morality
Celia: “and modesty an
“and modesty an exile made, for money?”
womens use of language
This rhetoric device seems to suggest the morally of the play. Jonson gives this line to Celia which elevates the language of women.
E: “one heart, one
“one heart, one soul….”one guilt, one crime”
womens use of language
through paralleling these two statements, Eve crafts a romantic hero of Adam. the use of the subordinate clause is a tool to reassure adam.
Calia: “if you have…any part that
“if you have… any part that yet sounds man”
womens use of language
Celia tries to persuade Volpone by threatening his masculinity.
Celia: “feed your wrath, sir
“feed your wrath, sir, rather than your lust - it is a vice, comes nearer manliness”
womens use of language
She is trying to convince Volpone through his masculinity
Eve: “new hopes, new joys
new hopes, new joys, taste so divine
clipped statement with coordinating conjunctions. She is tempting adam. like book 8 where she shoots “darts of desire” at adam. she uses suggestive, persuasive body language and words to tempt adam. the result is him being “overcome by female charm”
lady would-be: “i hope you ha’ not the malice
i hope you ha’ not the malice to remember a gentlewoman’s passion. If you stay in Venice here, please you to use me, sir.”
Uses her inferiority to excuse her actions (chain of being). Sexual implications.
CONTEXT: “the subordination of the wife to
“the subordination of the wife to the husband figures Christ’s rule over his Church, and the lawful sovereign rule over the state”
- Milton comparing the marriage contract to the political contract between king and people. Seventeen century theories on the relationship between husband and wife.
Milton on Divorce
wrote ‘The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce (1643) where he said failed marriages are not true and should be legally ended. This was condemned by parliment as a ‘wicked book’.
Milton viewed marriage as a companionship rather than about dominance and submission”
Venice
Venice was the centre for mercantile prosperity. the city also had a reputation for Machiavellian evil-doing. its exotic setting is appropriate and lends richness to this tale of deception, greed, lust and luxury.
CONTEXT Lady would-be clothing
Lady would-be style of dress and sexual freedom can be seen as an imitation and fascination of courtesans and transvestites in venice
CRITIC “the story that milton most notably tells
“the story that milton most notably tells to women is of course the story of women’s secondness, her otherness, and how that otherness leads inexorably to her demonic anger, her sin and her exclusion from that garden of the gods.”
- Sandra M Gilbert
CRITIC: “Celia is a strong-
Celia is a strong-minded character who plays not only a pivotal role in the plot but an important thematic one aswell
- Catherine Mars
CRITIC “he broke the stereotypical scapegoating
“he broke the stereotypical scapegoating (laying blame on one person) of Eve as essentially a temptress and uniquely gave her responsible motives for her independent movement on the morning of the fall”
- Diane K. McColly
CRITIC: “there appears in his books to be something like a Turkish
there appears in his books to be something like a Turkish contempt of females, as subordinate and inferior beings”
- Dr. Jonson 1779
