Sarah Deffenbaugh Channel Firing Essay

Sarah Deffenbaugh April 21, 2011 Dr. Foss Word Count: 759 Harlots and Voyeurs The poem “Jenny” by Dante Gabriel Rossetti reflects on the life of a destitute prostitute and the sorrowful life she leads in the Victorian Era. The speaker of the poem is a male who looks upon Jenny with pity and a hint of revulsion. This poem would be an asset to the Victorian Gentleman and Ladies portion of the syllabus because it depicts the shameful and hidden part of Victorian society, provides a voice and sympathy for the downcast, and demonstrates the patriarchal attitude held in Victorian society. Rossetti’s poem “Jenny” deals with scandalous subject matter for the time. According to police estimation there were about 8000 prostitute roaming the streets of London during this time, but they were very rarely discussed in polite society (1623). Rossetti tackles the subject by having his speaker come across a sleeping prostitute and reflecting on the life she has led and the ordeals she has endured. The speaker of the poem reflects on prostitution’s role in Victorian society while struggling with his own traitorous attraction towards her. He describes her life as one comprised of “heart-sickness and din” where the only solace she can find within her day is to garner some rest away from the crushing worries of her life. The speaker even seems to feel affection and perhaps even empathy towards the fallen subject of the poem. He even associates lilies, a flower commonly associated with the Virgin Mary, with Jenny throughout several places in the poem, such as, “the lilies sickened unto death” to show the true extent of her loss of innocence. However, while the speaker does realize Jenny is a shameful creature, he does not cast the blame upon her, but instead finds blame in the Victorian men and their immutable lust. For example, when the speaker is gazing down at Jenny and observing her thin cheeks and the beauty of the “pure wide curve from ear to chin” he asks “what has man done here?” and blames the condition of Jenny’s body and soul on “Man’s pitiless doom” which has condemned her to a life of hell. The speaker takes a radical leap from the proper Victorian attitude towards fallen women and instead accepts them as people caught in a helpless situation mainly caused by the very people who so openly scorn them. However, as heroic and novel the speaker may seem he is still a man, and also finds himself having impure and lustful thoughts towards sleeping Jenny confessing that he is “ashamed of my own shame.” Although the poem may seem to take a feminist stand towards prostitution, if read closer the poem conveys an extremely patriarchal attitude. For instance, in the poem the speaker is an educated Victorian male, who has a room “so full of books” and physically and mentally places himself above Jenny. The speaker comes across slumbering Jenny and physically holds her upon his lap, which puts her in the subordinate postion amd him in the dominating, while mentally judging and condemning her throughout the entire poem. Rossetti also connotes a patriarchal attitude by having his subject, Jenny, asleep and silent throughout the entirety of the poem. Jenny being asleep has no means to defend herself against the accusations and condemnations the speaker throws against her, and also has no way of allowing the reader to hear her story. The speaker essentially acts as a voyeur throughout the poem objectifying Jenny and watching her which allows him to control her in a sense. The fact that Jenny is so helpless and silent allows the speaker to be a domineering personality who has the power to dictate Jenny’s life and sins. The fact that the speaker empathizes with Jenny and her situation throughout the poem only to react at the end like a typical lustful male reinforces the idea that the this is a strongly patriarchal poem and has little if any feminist values. Although the poem does not promote feminism it does cast light upon the seedy side of Victorian society. This poem would be useful to future classes of British Victorian Literature because it provides a perspective of society that we have read very little about. Instead of dealing with the common woman’s struggle within society, it describes the hardships and burdens of the downtrodden and despised woman. The poem despite its’ patriarchal values and structure does take an empathetic approach to the untouchables of Victorian society and provides a fresh perspective on a taboo subject.