Victorian Women Writers Celebrity

Time 2021-06-04 18:17:23

Web Name: Victorian Women Writers Celebrity

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Power.Here we are now, at the end of our journey through the astute Ella Hepworth Dixon’s The Story of a Modern Woman. Engaging, witty, raw, and ever so powerful because it’s just powerful enough, Dixon gives readers a looking glass of their own, depicting the social tribulation and blossomings of a Victorian Modern Woman. In the tale she discovers the meaning of love and laughter, as any woman should, however, driving her conquest is a fuel which burns brighter than any other: power. Dixon s theme centers around three different types of power mastered by the Modern Woman, and I am obliged to elaborate. “Power, to put it plainly, was what the modern woman craved.”The first notable species of power in this tale is born from our animalistic nature. It is intrinsic, biological, primitive, and physical. It is arguable whether any human being is not aware of these kinds of urges, specifically sexual. During the Victorian Era, the man is easily seen as the dominant sex. He is stronger, he is smarter, and he is always in control. He marries so he can have a body to his own sexual disposal. Woman does her part, submitting to his will while always maintaining that perfect shine in her complexion and the kitchen. The modern woman, however, has caught on. She is able to recognize her own power within this system. In the book, Mary Erle recalls a time in her youth when she was first enlightened.“There is the desire of the young girl to coquet, to play with, to torture, when she first learns of the all-powerful influence which she possesses by the primitive fact of her sex…. She stands on her little pedestal and looks down on mankind with a somewhat condescending smile…. It is the woman’s first taste of power” (Dixon 64). Here Mary, undoubtedly along with any other female of society, acknowledges this innate superiority of her sex. Men need something from her and she is the only one who can give them such precious nectar. With this strength comes a high-risk-high-reward lifestyle. Man knows an unparalleled reward (sexual pleasure) is on the horizon when dealing with women, so he henceforth willing to risk almost anything for it. When a women becomes aware of this, she as been given a beautiful tool.Trendy pop group Maroon 5 has recently released a music video to their song Animals in which a man is overwhelmed by his animalistic desire and enters a raunchy daydream on the hunt for pleasure. At the first bloody glance, it may seem like the ‘typical’ relationship between male and female: predator and prey, but simply take note of how extreme our predator’s actions become. His mind is completely taken up with this woman, “ you’re still in my head, forever stuck,” making it difficult for him to function as an individual, “you’re like a drug that’s killing me,” also driving him to “smell your scent for miles” (free tip: Major histocompatibility complex), stand in the rain for hours, and even follow her into a club and face negative social scrutiny. Despite all of this hunting, the “prey” is always alert and aware. The woman in the video, like Mary, understands her role in the conquest. Ultimately, it is Mary’s decision that allows Vincent Hemming his wish for love, lust, and marriage. This is the Modern woman, in charge of her sexual prowess. Here lies power in a chic new outfit.Beauty.Closely related to this biological power is the power of beauty in a culture of judges. The pursuit of an attractive aesthetic has always been dubbed as vain and shallow among men and women alike, yet we are all inclined to strive for this outer beauty. Sex is power and physical attractiveness leads to sex, hence, beauty is power. The modern woman may also find power in this notion and use it to her advantage, much like Lady Jane in Dixon’s story. Lady Jane is described as “sixty-five and irresistible” (Dixon 70). Clearly a woman of social prominence, Jane knows what she wants and exactly how to get it. It is said she maintains enough physical appeal to please the prime minister, yet carries enough wit to suffice a guardsman. She has just enough understanding of the community’s social weavings to know how to untangle a path convenient for her.Lady Jane’s beauty is a ubiquitous entity throughout the novel. At one point, she simply comments on a conversation, receiving the dialogue mark: “said the pretty woman in a bored tone. She had had enough of what she called intellectual conversation” (Dixon91). The narrator implies she is nothing but a pretty woman incapable of achieving competency of any sort in an intellectual realm, however, our insight on her character tells us otherwise. Earlier, she made a dull proclamation on bathing “with the air of one who is accustomed to have her least brilliant observations received with attention” (Dixon 90), indicating to the reader she is perfectly aware of her dullness. Lady Jane makes the choice to use her beauty rather than her brains because she has recognized the rules of the game. The game and the rules have been unspoken rulers of society since the birth of its culture, and instead of fighting against them, she has chosen to master the craft.This idea is equally as prevalent among contemporary women. We all crave beauty in some way, and we know there are “those girls” who seem to be immune to fortune simply because they are stunning. Kendall Jenner is an appropriate figure of this idea. Jenner is young, beautiful, and born into a world of celebrity status. She recently posted a photo on Instagram that reads, “don’t cry over boys. do some squats and make them cry wishin they still had dat ass.” Recognized mostly for her beauty, Jenner is implementing it in an advantageous way. Boys will want her if she’s beautiful, and if boys want her, she has power. If girls envy her, she has power.What I find exceedingly interesting about this post are the responses. It often seems, particularly in this feminist manifesto cookin’ up a storm these days, that wishing for beauty is not something women should aim for. We’re perfect and beautiful the way we are, right? Yet more than 953k of Jenner’s 16 million followers have “liked” the post, implying some sort of agreement with it. If you scroll through the comments, you’ll find girls preachin’ bout dat ass, supporting this power/beauty movement. Beauty can be empowering if you use it the right way, strengthening the self rather than others. Here lies the modern woman in a new pair of Lulu Lemon leggings. “It is never too late, and she is never too tired when she comes back from a ball to light all the candles again in her bedroom and examine herself critically, anxiously, in the glass… someone – no matter who – has told her she looks charming” (Dixon 63).Intelligence.The third type of power I noticed residing within the text is probably most renown among our contemporaries. This is the strength of knowledge and intellect an “internal beauty” of sorts. I found this type most exemplified in the character of Alison Ives. Alison is a product of Lady Jane who values beauty, “Don’t imagine I’m going to give up the only old-fashioned quality we modern women have got – our vanity” (70), as well as the importance of knowledge and wisdom through experience. She has bridged the divide and knows power does not lie solely within fronts and appearances. Alison lives a fulfilling life that is regretfully cut short. Ultimately, this Modern Woman recognizes the utter importance of implementing female, as well as human, power in the right ways. This is attainable through betterment of the self with knowledge and skill.Many women in contemporary society have grasped this concept and run with it like the string of a kite on a perfectly breezy afternoon. Angelina Jolie, for instance, is a woman of grace and beauty, yet she has pursued an acting career, creating a net worth of $145 million, a fortune unthinkable to the modest Victorian woman trying to get into art school. Her celebrity influence is highly respected, not only because of her beauty and wealth, but also because of her personality. She is strong, well versed in culture, and has had her fair share of strife. Nowadays, we value this intellectual and social prowess much more in a woman, possibly because it has been so much harder to obtain for the sex. Once again, the product of high risk is high reward.Despite this apparent societal preference toward intellectual power, I would argue that all women are strong. The internal struggles and desire for power are not reserved for the female sex alone. These are human issues. On the brink of death, the noble Alison proclaims, “If we were only united we could lead the world” (164), and many would whole-heartedly attest to that. Here lies the Modern Woman perhaps in a cardigan or sweater whatever suits her fancy. Beautiful men and women being friends!!! ❤Works Cited:Dixon, Ella Hepworth. The Story of a Modern Woman.Canada: Broadview Literary Texts. 2004. Print.Images:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2774035/Kendall-Jenner-leads-pack-Sonia-Rykiel-Paris-strides-runway-daring-criss-cross-dress.htmlhttp://instagram.com/p/vWkGH9Do_Q/?modal=truehttp://izunia721.wrzuta.pl/obraz/0NBGg5pbHIr/emma_watson_daniel_radcliffe_rupert_grint In The Modern Woman, I found the juxtaposition between Mary Erle and Alison Ives very similar to the women in society today. While these characters are around the same age and social class, their views on their positions in society are very different and represent the changing view on the woman’s role then and today.From an early age, Mary was very obsessive over her appearance. Losing her mother at a young age, Mary was required to grow up quickly and put into many adult situations She was a very observant girl and mainly got her adventures through the books she read. When she went to school in Germany, she became very ill with typhoid fever, and was very near death. Once she finally got better, she had a new lease on life and wanted to experience all life had to offer. After she returned from Germany, Mary would use her beauty to command attention at social gatherings.“There is the desire of the young girl to coquet, to play with, to torture, when she first learns the all-powerful influence which she posses by the primitive fact of her sex. With all the arrogance which belongs to personal purity, she stands on her little pedestal and looks down on mankind with a somewhat condescending smile (64).  Her appearance gives her a self-confidence that no book ever could and feeds her vain desires. At one of these events, she meets a young man and falls in love with him, but after he moves to Australia and does not continue to write her, she becomes very cynical of love. Even more, when her father dies she has a hard time showing grief, because her emotions have become so hardened by the rejection of someone she truly cared about.Alison Ives, on the other hand, is very empathetic towards unfortunate women. She is a perfect “woman”, following all of society’s protocol but not bending for its cookie cutter image of what a woman should do. In order to help women improve their life situations, she bought a flat in the East End of London, and created a sort of women’s shelter out of it, where she taught them life skills so that they would not need to rely on a man for survival.“All the women are so incredibly dependent on other people. It’s absurd that we don’t know how to do anything useful. I shall keep my flat… It will be a little home for my East End girls, whom I intend to train…The only real slavery nowadays is the slavery of luxury. We are all getting so pampered that we can’t exist without it (71).Even though she comes from upper class, Alison is not snobby and finds the amountof importance placed on luxurious lifestyles ridiculous. Mary finds her viewpoints comical, because she is so engrossed in high society, she can’t imagine having to fend for herself. While Alison shares her passion with Mary, she does hide it from other high members of society in fear of ridicule.I think that these types of women are still extremely present in today’s society. Although women are able to have more successful careers, they continue to be objectified and put down in the career field not only by men, but by women as well. There are celebrity women such as Marilyn Monroe and Kim Kardashian that let themselves be ruled by the media and have their bodies objectified by the world – the Mary’s. They don’t provide women with a self-confident role model. Instead they show women that they can only get attention and respect from people through exposing their body and not by using their minds or talents. The same way that Mary leaves behind her love of reading to pursue a life in society manipulating men with her beauty, until she is rejected and is deeply hurt. Women today are very easy to follow the trends of society for fear of rejection and often don’t live out their true potential at the fear of being judged.There are also women in today’s culture that are more like Alison’s. Celebrities such as Lena Dunham and Beyoncé are working to empower women to love themselves and have successful careers doing what they love. Lena has openly made statements about appearances and accepting yourself as you are. I always feel that there are two choices for women. Either be totally confident about your non-size-zero body and say, I love what I look like and this is who I am, or be the person who is obsessed with diet and exercise and keeping toned (Marie Claire)' . Women’s bodies are constantly being discussed, and if a woman does not have the “typical” body type, they are not accepted as beautiful. Many celebrities are now embracing their imperfectly perfect bodies and encouraging non-famous women to do the same. Some women are also afraid to have successful careers because it will make them less attractive to men. Many women are comfortable having careers, as long as they don’t over power their partner.Beyonce has co-founded an organization, Chimes for Change, to help young women escape the trap of teenage pregnancy and helping women around the world educate themselves so that they can be self sufficient. Alison used her upper class power to help women who were uneducated and low income to gain skills so that they didn’t need a man’s help to have a successful career.I think it’s really important for women to be self-empowered and strive for the self-respect and achieve success without the help of a man. As a business major, I see how women still struggle to achieve equality in a workplace that is thought of as a “man’s job”. It doesn’t help when there are women out there making a mockery of the female body, which causes men and women to lose respect for the female gender.Images:http://galleryhip.com/marilyn-monroe-body-shape.htmlhttp://time.com/3580809/kim-kardashian-butt-paper-magazine/http://upennsocialbook.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/beyonce-salma-hayek-and-frida-giannini-chime-for-change/ Christina Rossetti expresses a woman’s longing for recognition and respect through the employment of nature in her poems. She describes women as “blossoms” – which grow and give valuable things to the world – but whose contributions are overlooked. She points to women as being valued for their beauty but not for their other contributions to society.In her poem, “Song (Oh Roses),” Rossetti points to how, in Victorian days, women were recognized and appreciated for their beauty in their youth. However, as they grew old and their youthful beauty faded away, they were no longer given much recognition by the rest of society.She begins her poem describing “the flush of youth” and a woman at her “perfect prime.” However, as the woman’s beauty is plucked from her like “ivy branches” through aging, the woman is tossed away as having lost significance. Her value is no longer recognized. Rossetti uses the phrase “Grown old before my time” to describe how a woman’s beauty grows old before her contributions to society do.Even after her physical beauty has faded, the woman’s lasting effects – through childbirth, motherhood, and care of the home – remain with society, and she continues to contribute to society through her hard work in the home. However, this fact is ignored by Victorians. In the next stanza of her poem, Rossetti uses the phrase “grave of youth,” again pointing to how a woman’s youthful beauty dies before the actual woman does.In her poem “The End,” Rossetti points to the lack of recognition given to women once they are not at their “perfect prime.” In Victorian times, women in general, but especially older women were accustomed to being overlooked. Because their worth was so often measured by their outer beauty, as they grew old they were attributed less worth and were left longing for recognition from the rest of society.Rossetti expresses this longing for recognition in her poem, describing recognition as love. “Love, strong as Death, is dead.” A woman’s hope for recognition passes, as she is lowered into her underappreciated role as housewife. With less to look forward to, a woman’s eyes are now “fixed on the grass,” and she is ignored by society as insignificant: “shadow-veiled as the years pass.” Once there is no more outer beauty to show, women are all the more “shadow-veiled.” They are left in the corners as though they do not matter.Rossetti furthers her point in her poem “Sweet Death.” She writes how women continue to give their contributions to society. The “shed their fresh leaves in showers.” Their contributions continue to effect what is considered the greater society: men and the workforce. “Their perfume rose up to the sky.” However, while the silenced woman continues to “nourish the rich earth” she is not recognized for her contributions, particularly her long-term contributions. When she dies, she is not remembered in the way that many men are. To society, her life “passeth by and is as though it had not been.” In other words, women are entirely taken for granted for their important contributions to society and they are quickly forgotten.The under-appreciation of women in Victorian society was made explicit by the many privileges denied them that were given to men. For example, women rarely inherited a man’s property. In England, when a woman’s husband died, his property and possessions were usually given to a male heir. Even if a woman did manage to make money outside the home, the money she made was considered her husband’s property. This money would also be placed in the hands of the husband’s heir while the women was left with nothing. Also take into consideration the fact that, in America, women were not given the right to vote until 1920.The two points I am trying to make above are first, that during the Victorian Era, women were primarily valued for their external beauty and second, that they were not recognized as valuable for the important contributions they made to society, especially through their roles as housewives.I see Rossetti’s writings as a call for women to be given more recognition and more respect for the importance of their roles in society. I question how far we have come since the Victorian Era in giving women recognition and respect.An article by an organization for women called Guiding Star notes: “True feminism works for the right to participate in the culture, in the home, in business, in politics, and any other sphere not on the pretense that we de-feminize ourselves and become like men, but that we can participate as women because our way of existing in the world is every bit as valuable and necessary as the way men exist.”Women have finally been let into the workforce. They have finally been given rights to their property and the right to vote. However, I see society still giving women their worth based on external appearance. I see society still viewing women as sexual objects. Consider Victoria’s Secret, for example. Women are not shown respect through Victoria’s Secret’s ads. Women are dehumanized and turned into pretty things to be admired for their physical beauty and to be tossed when they no longer live up to society’s ideal for their appearance.Watch the above clip 0:00 through 2:45Also, while women are often applauded for the contributions they give to society in the public workforce; they are still under-valued for the work they do in the house: raising children, doing household chores, etc. Even women who would rather embrace the role of housewife are discouraged from staying at home by society. This implies that the work done within the home is not worth as much as the work done outside of the home.   I question when women will be valued equally no matter their physical appearance, and I question when women who choose to stay at home as housewives and mothers will be given respect and encouragement equal to those given to who decide to leave home for the public workforce. Sheila StatzWorks CitedRossetti, Christina. Selected Poems. London: Penguin, 2008. Print. To Be a Woman. The Guiding Star Project. The Guiding Star Project, 21 Oct. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.Imageshttp://www.kingsgalleries.com/the-mirror/http://celtica-harmony.deviantart.com/art/Grave-of-My-Youth-363426156http://www.justjared.com/2008/11/26/miranda-kerr-covers-page-six-magazine/http://theperkkc.com/in-case-you-missed-last-thursdays-show-the-perk-discussed-women-in-the-workforce/http://abundant-solutions.biz/marketing-tips/capturing-leads-from-your-website/http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/being-a-stay-at-home-mom-in-pictures/ Christina Rossetti possesses an unconventional, knowing beauty.{Carlee Diedrich}Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) understood the appeal of lascivious pleasure. Sex evidently sold just as well during the Victorian era as it does today. That’s not surprising. Sexual desire is inherent in humans; it has always been there and will always be there. However contentious or potentially harmful, sex is deeply ingrained in our nature and must be dealt with as an inevitable, natural part of the human experience. After all, our species must be perpetuated. Because Rossetti understood this incontrovertible notion, she was able to use sex appeal as a vehicle for imparting Christian morality and wisdom.Many of Rossetti’s poems contain titillating imagery and provocative word choice. Often, it’s not overt or crude. It’s just enough to pop a pleasing picture into the reader’s mind or call out that consciously repressed desire. Examples of such sexual tones are found in “A Triad,” “In an Artist’s Studio,” “An Apple-Gathering,” and the wildly popular “Goblin Market.” Rossetti’s suggestive language seems to oppose the ideal of the dignified, prissy and ever-chaste Victorian woman. Yet, Rossetti’s poems, especially “Goblin Market,” sold remarkably well. Thus, we have a contradiction on our hands.The real kicker is Rossetti was a devout Christian. Dinah Roe, a lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire and a Rossetti scholar, asserts, “Rossetti’s primary relationship outside of her family was with God” (Introduction, xxvi). Rossetti, who never married and preferred solitude (rather reminiscent of a nun’s lifestyle), became a fervent Anglo-Catholic early on alongside her mother and sister, despite her father’s and brothers’ declared agnosticism. Presumably, Rossetti held a very strict moral code that correlated closely with her Christian beliefs. Consequently, there are some glaring inconsistencies between Rossetti’s assumed moral values and the content of many of her poems. Therein lies Rossetti’s genius.Rossetti, like many an influential poet before her, wrote heavily layered poems. They contain many distinct levels and can be read through multiple lenses. A unique meaning is gleaned with each read-through, depending on the perceiver’s lens and current mindset.D G is using sex to grab your attention. Hopefully, you ll buy their clothes, which he isn t wearing. Hmmm…this Burger King burger was cooked to perfection! Aren t you getting that from her scantily clad body?When the superficial, sexual epidermis is scraped away, each poem becomes a Christian commentary, replete with a relevant circumstance and poignant moral. Why the need for the sexual innuendos and suggestive imagery? Well, being a citizen of twenty-first century America, I witness daily that sex sells. Pick up a magazine, turn on the television, scroll through Facebook. You’ll see how our culture is simply saturated with sex and ideas and products to feed our sexual appetites. Regardless of your specifics (assuming you’re a human), sex grabs your attention and doesn’t easily dissipate. It does so precisely because it’s largely forbidden and comes bearing a searing brand of shame. Yet, it’s natural, ubiquitous, inescapable. Rossetti effectually uses sex as a façade to lure readers, to make them look and press on. Hopefully, if astute, they’ll discern the much deeper and more salient message within.Though “Goblin Market” is a classic example of Rossetti’s sexual façade technique, some of her lesser-known poems employ the same device. Particularly, “A Triad” is an interesting piece with a sexual coating and a timeless Christian message. It starts by describing three distinctively radiant young women:                                                 …one with lipsCrimson, with cheeks and bosom in a glow,Flushed to the yellow hair and finger tips… (1-3)This description is ringing with carnal lust but in a sort of understated, naive manner. Emphasis is put on the woman’s red lips—red denoting desire and lips closely tied to sensuality. Next, the cheeks and bosom are highlighted. Both are conventionally feminine body parts and usually associated with womanly beauty and maturity. Such a description could even be perceived by desiring males as signifying sexual availability or invitation. Lastly, the description floats to her blond hair—luscious hair being deeply associated with feminine elegance and worth—and fingertips. Fingertips are largely significant because they’re the instruments of touch, of physical feeling. Sexual satisfaction is really derived from physical contact. Precisely, many seek that skin-on-skin feeling, which causes great pleasure. A trembling, delicate fingertip running down the cheek often initiates such carnal adventures. Perhaps this woman desires a sizzling affair, or so she thinks.The following description displays a different kind of beauty:And one there sang who soft and smooth as snowBloomed like a tinted hyacinth at a show (4-5)This description is not quite so erotic; yet, the sex is still present in “soft and smooth as snow.” This alliterative simile evokes youthful feminism and intimates physical contact. Picture a hand sliding down a stunningly white leg or caressing a fine neck. Undoubtedly, the adjectives soft and smooth turned over in your mind? Then, Rossetti likens this woman to a hyacinth, a rather fragile but fragrant and welcoming flower.Pink and exceedingly feminine, this hyacinth is the picture of youthful yearning.This description feels a bit cooler than the last, chilly rather than humid and dewy. If the previous woman wanted an affair, this one will settle for a humble marriage and some plump babies.The third woman is said to be “blue with famine after love” (6). She is frigid (blue) and desperate. She –“like a harpstring snapped rang harsh and low” (7)—is an icy, strained glass tapped too hard against a table’s edge. She broke because she yearned too intensely in the wrong direction. All three did. They craved a satisfying love and fulfilling support, but they sought instant gratification in fallible human males, who only bandaged an ever-bleeding gash. Ultimately, all these women break because they have misplaced their burgeoning devotion and need for love: One shamed herself in love; one temperatelyGrew gross in soulless love, a sluggish wife;One famished died for love. (9-11)The crimson-lipped blonde’s affair didn’t pan out the way she had hoped. The snow queen’s lackluster marriage didn’t satiate her emotional appetite, and the glass gal’s desperation shattered her. They all died disgracefully or lived pitifully because they gave their entireties to impermanent, earthly beings.Rossetti ends the poem beautifully: “All on the threshold, yet all short of life” (14). Being “on the threshold” suggests the women were on the precipice of getting what/where they desired. Naturally, they were eager to love and be loved in return, to give and receive passion. But Rossetti knew such could only be obtained by entering into a diligent, lasting relationship with God. These women were “short of life” because they misallocated their affections. They looked not to God but to some mortal source. Yes, it’s expected and not inherently wrong to look for solace in other humans, but Rossetti would argue God should always be on top of the priority pedestal. Unlike earthlings, heThis piece, La Belle Dame sans Merci, was painted by Pre-Raphaelite John William Waterhouse. It depicts a woman ensnaring a knight with her hair. Women have a habit of looking to men for love and emotional satisfaction.is infinite and infallible. Unfortunately, it looks as though Rossetti set these three up to suffer severely for making a common, human mistake. This implies she wanted her poem’s Christian sentiment to deeply impact the readers and induce them to seek God before worldly materials and comforts.So there you are: some erogenous descriptions with a good ol’ God-fearing moral. Rossetti is the master of this sort of dichotomy, and the Victorians couldn’t get enough of it. So we’ve got a case of Rossetti getting the readers through the door with a teasing sexual surface and sending them out with invaluable, prudent advice on how to derive lasting pleasure from the human experience. Dante AlighieriThis piece was created by Gustave Dore. Like Rossetti, Dante uses fanciful yet erotic imagery to give his Christian message maximum impact.used a similar technique in Inferno. He drew the crowds with a terrifying, fantastical and weirdly erotic narrative only to rock them with some advantageous Christian wisdom at the end. This scheme is masterful, though somewhat deceptive. Still, marvel at how this poetess was able to use her celebrity and influence to send fundamental, relatable and critical messages to the Victorian public. She didn’t shy away from sex. Rather, she embraced it as an unavoidable part of being human and used it to empower others to rise above the smut and obtain spiritual fulfillment, not merely bodily satisfaction.Works Cited Christina Rossetti. Poetry Foundation. Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute, n.d. Web. 13  Nov. 2014.Rossetti, Christina. Selected Poems. New York: Penguin Classics, 2008. Print.Image Linkshttp://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/christina-rossettihttp://www.fashionadexplorer.com/l-d%2526g c-ad-campaign s-2007sshttp://lol8.blogspot.com/2009/07/where-got-blow-your-mind-away_12.htmlhttp://www.wholeblossoms.com/hyacinth/pink-hyacinth-flower.htmlhttp://www.pagepulp.com/886/keats-waterhouse-and-la-belle-dame-sans-merci/http://www.templarinfernobookreview.com/dan_brown_inferno_book_review.htm [Ashley Scotting]Mary Elizabeth Braddon fueled her celebrity by writing a novel overflowing with notorious themes that applied to her very own life. Her notoriety and scandal made her novel, Lady Audley’s Secret, even more of a sensation to the Victorian audience. She used scandal throughout her novel to bring to light concepts that were personal to her, but the Victorian public wished to sweep under the rug. By creating a female villain in her novel, M.E. Braddon did a justice to women by humanizing them, bringing secrets kept behind closed doors into the open, equalizing men and women. Themes of bigamy, femme fatale, and mental illness are littered throughout Lady Audley’s Secret, which reveal M.E. Braddon’s personal perceptions on the Victorian “marriage market” as well as the marginalization of women within the era. By using scandal to fuel her fame, she then used her fame to further her personal agenda, which is common of female celebrities in our own time period.M.E. Braddon’s notoriety begins at the young age of seventeen, when she first began to pursue her career as an actress. In Victorian London, being an actress was considered equal to being a prostitute since they were the only two occupations of self-sufficient women in the public sphere. With the beginning of her writing career and the relationship with John Maxwell to begin shortly after, it is easy to speculate and assume the themes written about in Lady Audley’s Secret come from what M.E. Braddon has personally experienced.“I tell you that you are mad! If you please to say that Helen Talboys is not dead, and that I am Helen Talboys, you may do so. If you choose to go wandering about in the places in which I have lived, and to the places in which this Mrs. Talboys has lived, you must follow the bent of your own inclination, but I would warn you that such fancies have sometimes conducted people, as apparently sane as yourself, to the life-long imprisonment of a private lunatic-asylum.” (P.289)Here we see Lucy Audley, speculated to be Helen Talboys, a married woman, alluding to a bigamous relationship. Just as Maxwell’s relationship with M.E. Braddon edged on bigamy for the thirteen years they lived together while his wife remained in an insane asylum, not being married until after his death. M.E. Braddon’s threat of getting Robert Audley, who appears to the reader as sane, placed in an insane asylum may have led the leaders of the Victorian era to speculate as to whether or not Maxwell’s wife was truly insane or not. M.E. Braddon satisfies the natural human occurrence of thirst for gossip by so closely weaving themes of her personal life into her novel.The character of Lucy Audley, though apparently villainous, shows M.E. Braddon’s personal view that a woman is more than just a pretty face. Lucy Audley uses her beauty to win her way in a world ruled by men. Although men are seemingly in a position of power, Lady Audley manipulates Sir Michael Audley to protect her secret and keep her shiny new life. We can also see M.E. Braddon’s thoughts on women and power in the narratives of Robert Audley.“To call them the weaker sex is to utter a hideous mockery. They are the stronger sex, the noisier, the more persevering, the most self-assertive sex.” (P.229)Just as M.E. Braddon uses her scandal to gain celebrity, and her character Lady Audley uses her beauty to attain wealth in her marriage to Sir Michael Audley, Kim Kardashian, a wildly popular celebrity today, continuously uses scandal and her physical appearance to get ahead. While Kim Kardashian never had to worry about supporting herself as M.E. Braddon or Lady Audley did, she knows how to foster popularity from her reputation. In Early 2007, a sex tape of Kardashian was released, which is rumored she may or may not have actually released it herself. Despite the speculations, Kardashian went from a young and wealthy socialite to a household name, becoming the most “Googled” celebrity in 2008.While Kardashian’s intentions may have merely been for fame and fortune, and M.E. Braddon used her fame to attain sway in what is acceptable in Victorian culture and to speak her mind, both celebrities knew how to manipulate their way to the top. M.E. Braddon continued writing for publications in serializations, knowing it suited her well. She continued to include themes of importance to the feminine movement, such as marriage and separate spheres, knowing her fame gave her social influence.In an interview with Tyra Banks after the release of her sex tape, Kardashian stated that “your reputation is all that you have, and if people prejudge you over something that you did, it kind of sticks with you a long time.” Knowing this, and looking at Kim’s history in the years to come after the release of her tape and her rising fame, it is easy to see that her actions since have all been strategically plotted, with her now being married to Kanye West, one of the best selling artists of all time.Works Cited:Braddon, Mary Elizabeth. Lady Audley’s Secret. Leipzig: Tauchnitz, 1862. Print.Allingham, Phillip. Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915), the Queen of Sensation — Life and Works. Www.victorianweb.org. 25 May 2007. Web. 05 Nov. 2014. Kim Noel Kardashian. Bio. A E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.Media:Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRGBB20jg2c Elena GarciaMary Elizabeth Braddon’s novel of sensation, Lady Audley’s Secret, drove readers in the Victorian period to explore clues dropped by the innovative writer in an attempt to figure out the blurred and mysterious crimes within the story of its characters.Through thoughtful and particular word choice, M.E. Braddon hints at the true nature of her characters under the façade of who she paints them to be.  Most specifically, Braddon incessantly comments on the appearances of the female characters—Lady Audley, Alicia Audley, and Phoebe Marks.Like most novels involving many characters, authors generally provide a description of each in vivid detail to create a clear and distinguishable portrait in the mind of the reader.  What is unlike many novels however, but true to Lady Audley’s Secret, is how Braddon continues to reiterate the appearance, body language, and subtleties of its main female characters.  As evidence from Braddon’s writing, it seems evident that one element of the domestic, sensational novel is this reiteration so as to lead readers to begin making connections and forming conclusions.  That is, demanding that the reader focus on certain outer characteristics forces readers to take note of recurring themes or qualities of a character. In turn, as readers we may begin discovering the secrets behind each character before Bradden explicitly reveals them to us.  Using the popular 2011 movie Bridesmaids as a model for relating this Victorian murder mystery to a modern-day comedy, I will begin to bring this 19th century novel into the 21st century.Let’s explore the descriptions that saddle up to each character, shall we?While of course we’re all dying to get to our leading lady, Lucy Audley, we will save her for last!We’ll begin our examination with the youngest member of the Audley clan, Alicia Audley.  To me, she seems like the dark horse of this pack of strong women.  Kristen Wiig’s character, Annie Walker is also the underdog of the plot that unfolds in Bridesmaids.  Like Alicia, Annie is trying to get aspects of her life to fall into place.  Try as she might, her entire journey is marked with turmoil.  Trying to be the best maid of honor she can be to new bride, Lillian, she must also endure the awfulness that is Helen—one of the bridesmaids who came into the picture last-minute (much like Lady Audley herself…more on this later!).  This sounds much like Alicia’s struggle to be a faithful and loving daughter to her father, while also enduring the creepiness that comes in the form of her father’s new wife, Lucy Audley.“The black curls (nothing like Lady Audley s feathery ringlets, but heavy clustering locks, that clung about your slender brown throat), the red and pouting lips, the nose inclined to be retrousse, the dark complexion, with its bright crimson flush, always ready to glance up like a signal light in a dusky sky,” (Braddon 98) is one such description of Alicia.Right away, it is to be noted that Alicia is set in direct contrast to Lady Audley, much like Annie is set against Helen .  Alicia doesn’t have the soft, golden ringlets of Lucy but rather thick, heavy, black curls that graze her imperfect brown throat.  Just like Alicia, Annie is a normal looking girl, nothing particularly spectacular nor displeasing about her appearance.  Helen on the other hand seems to be of a different world—goregeous, thin, with beautiful locks of perfectly groomed hair.As we move through this comparison, we will next observe Phoebe Marks in comparison to Maya Rudolph’s character, Lillian.  Phoebe seems to take on an intermediary type of role within the Audley household.  She seems to be playing both sides of the field at times.  By this, I mean she seems like a faithful lady’s maid to Lady Audley, but is also seen engaging in mischievous behavior, particularly when she breaks into Lady Audley’s closet with Luke when Lucy is out-of-town.I see this relating to Lillian’s character in that, like Phoebe, Lillian is forever attempting to mediate the troubled relationship between her best friend, Annie, and her new friend, Helen.  In Phoebe’s case, she is a type of intermediary between my Lady, whom she has known for many years—before entering the Audley family—and this new female personality, Alicia.The most intriguing character, for whom the novel has been named, Lady Audley can be thought of in the context of Bridesmaids as Helen, Lillian’s new friend.  Lady Audley enters the scene as Alicia’s new stepmother.  She seems to have swooped in and stepped on Alicia’s toes.  Prior to her arrival, Alicia was the female lead of the household and things unfolded and were carried out in a manner of her choosing.“Miss Alicia had reigned supreme in her father s house since her earliest childhood, and had carried the keys, and jingled them in the pockets of her silk aprons, and lost them in the shrubbery, and dropped them into the pond, and given all manner of trouble about them from the hour in which she entered her teens, and had, on that account, deluded herself into the sincere belief, that for the whole of that period, she had been keeping the house.But Miss Alicia s day was over; and now, when she asked anything of the housekeeper, the housekeeper would tell her that she would speak to my lady, or she would consult my lady, and if my lady pleased it should be done” (Braddon 46).Once Lady Audley marries Alicia’s father however, tables turn and immediately Alicia loses all power and authority to Lady Audley.  This corresponds to the dynamics between Annie and Helen as Helen swoops in on Annie and Lillian’s strong friendship and begins to take over all of the wedding plans, which were originally Annie’s responsibility as Lillian’s maid of honor.Not only does Helen become first in Lillian’s eyes, but she does so in such as way as to make one think she’s up to something.  Though she speaks in a tone of innocence, always seemingly unaware of when she’s offending anyone, ultimately she knows exactly what she’s doing.  There are hints throughout the movie that she is not naive to how her presence is making Annie feel and seems to continually cash in on that to further disassociate Annie from Lillian.  This sounds much like Lady’s Audley’s assumed innocence with a sort of dark undertone that accompanies everything she does.In the coming pages, it will be interesting to see the dynamics between the three women shift and whether old alliances will break and new ones will form.Works CitedBraddon, Mary Elizabeth. Lady Audley s Secret. Leipzig: Tauchnitz, 1862. Print.Images I m So Freakin Excited Reaction GIFs. Reaction GIFs. Web. 5 Nov. 2014. http://www.reactiongifs.com/freakin-excited/ gt;. Lady Audley s Secret Readalong: Post the First. Book Addicted Blonde. Blogspot, 1 May 2014. Web. 5 Nov. 2014. .[Revised]According to Elizabeth Gaskell, the Brontë family was one of quiet and reserved nature. They were intelligent people and all brought up learning to love literature. Charlotte, especially, was very interested in politics and took a liking to reading and writing. Gaskell portrays the Brontë’s as a plain family, not concerned with the opinions of the public. It can be shown that although Brontë did not choose to publicly display the activities of her life, she did speak of them by incorporating them into her characters and novels. In doing so, however, I’m sure she was not expecting Gaskell to then publicize her secrets.Charlotte Brontë generally kept to herself. She did not appear to enjoy being in the spotlight, which explains why she chose to publish her first novels under the name of Currer Bell. While Charlotte did not want to be revealed, it is not to say she was not fond of incorporating her own life experiences into her novels. Gaskell brings mention to a few passages in Jane Eyre that can be easily related to a time in Brontë’s life. For instance, Gaskell refers to a time in Charlotte’s life that seems to resemble a scene involving St. John, “At one of their houses, I suspect, she met with the person to whom the following letter refers, some one having a slight resemblance to the character of ‘St. John’ in the last volume of ‘Jane Eyre,’ and, like him, in holy orders” (Gaskell, 126).When the reader continues on, it is apparent that this passage she is speaking of is the scene in Jane Eyre when St. John insists Jane marry him. Gaskell incorporates a letter written by Brontë that makes apparent the scene in Jane Eyre is similar to a time when Brontë turned down a marriage proposal. Gaskell writes the following regarding Brontë, “So that-her first proposal of marriage-was quietly declined and put on one side” (Gaskell, 127). It is interesting to discuss whether or not Gaskell intended on exploiting Charlotte’s personal experiences. In my reading of “The Life of Charlotte Brontë,” I got the impression that Gaskell was trying to make herself more popular by letting the world in on Brontë’s personal life. The proposal that Brontë declined was most likely not something she had wished to be shared. Gaskell, on the other hand, felt that it was worth mentioning. It is clear to me that Gaskell did not in any way attempt to maintain Brontë’s secrecy; in fact, it appears she intended to expose her secrets.To prove this fact, I will draw attention to the part when Gaskell discusses a time when she and Brontë are conversing. She claims Ms. Brontë based Lowood in Jane Eyre off of her own school, Cowan’s Bridge (Gaskell, 51). However, when the two were discussing the matter, Gaskell reports: “I now come to a part of my subject which I find great difficulty in treating, because the evidence relating to it on each side is so conflicting that is seems almost impossible to arrive at the truth. Miss Brontë more than once said to me, that she should not have written what she did of Lowood in ‘Jane Eyre,’ if she had thought the place would have been so immediately identified with Cowan’s Bride […]” (Brontë, 51.) Gaskell’s reason for confusion could be the fact that Brontë did not want even a close friend of hers to know the real truth behind whether or not Lowood was representative of Cowan’s Bridge. Based on the fact that Charlotte strongly felt the need to keep her life private, even admitting this to a friend could have been something she was unwilling to do. However, this did not stop Gaskell from making assumptions of her own.Brontë sisters, painted by Patrick Branwell BrontëThere are many parallels that can be drawn between Charlotte Brontë’s own life and that of her characters in Jane Eyre. Gaskell brings attention to the character of Helen Burns. Assuming that Gaskell knew Brontë well, one can comply with her statement that Maria Brontë was in fact the inspiration to the character of Helen Burns. The descriptions of the Brontë family given in The Life of Charlotte Brontë coincide with the persona of Helen Burns. In addition, there are arguments to be made in favor of the idea that Jane Eyre is in fact modeled after Charlotte herself.While the idea of celebrity can be applied to Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, it is not so much a theme of Brontë herself. It can be said that instead of being and “insider” and having the desire to be well known, Charlotte Brontë chose to remain unnoticed. However, she chose to incorporate certain aspects of her life into her novels and her writing. It is apparent that at this time, the fame of leading such a public life was not something Charlotte Brontë cared to do. While she did incorporate her life into her novels, Gaskell chose to blatantly expose this to her readers. There is a fine line to draw between making comparisons to Brontë’s real life and the events in her novels to Gaskell completely ignoring Brontë’s wish for privacy. In some aspects, I would argue that Gaskell took her biography of Brontë one step too far, and if Brontë were alive to read it, she would not be very fond of it.Cowan Bridge School, LancashireImageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowan_Bridge_School#mediaviewer/File:Cottages,_Cowan_Bridge_(geograph_2120226).jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branwell_BrontëWorks CitedBrontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 1997. Print.Lowes, Melissa. “Charlotte Brontë: A Modern Woman.” Charlotte Brontë: A Modern   Woman. Victorian Web, 15 Feb. 2008. Web. 20 Sept. 2014. [Morgan Alexander Revised]In the first volume of Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret we are introduced to the beautiful, childish, and delicate Lucy Audley, formerly Graham. The speaker provides clear evidence that Lady Audley’s beauty captivates everyone she encounters, and in doing so creates a celebrity like persona for Lucy. This can be seen in a description of her on page 47 where Braddon writes, “Miss Lucy Graham was blessed with that magic power of fascination by which a woman can charm with a word or intoxicate with a smile. Every one loved, admired, and praised her.”Lady Audley’s reputation gives her status as a celebrity as it precedes her when Robert Audley makes a point of wanting to acquaint himself with his uncle’s beautiful wife. He has already drawn to her her after hearing she is beautiful. Her “celebrity” status is validated in her interaction with Robert Audley when returning to Audley Court: “my lady was so terribly fatigued that she could only smile sweetly, and hold out a tiny gloved hand to her nephew by marriage…She had been the chief attraction of the race-course, and was wearied out by the exertion of fascinating half the county” (93). The exaggeration of Lady Audley’s exhaustion is ironic and leaves one feeling like Lady Audley enjoys her form of celebrity.Lady Audley is placed on a pedestal because of her beauty and demeanor, much like many modern-day celebrities. The reader is constantly reminded by the narrator that this level of beauty is unattainable for any mere mortal, and this is especially clear in the description of her hair. The narrator notes that she had, “the most wonderful curls in the world – soft and feathery, always floating away from her face, and making a pale halo round her head when the sunlight shone through them” (49). This admiration for her angelic and ethereal beauty separates Lady Audley from all the other female characters in the novel, placing her on a pedestal. This can be seen when the speaker compares other female characters to Lady Audley in terms of beauty.The character of Phoebe takes on a modern-day “celebrity look-alike” role. We love to fantasize about which beautiful celebrity we look the most like, however we will never be able to reach their status. For example, it is said of Phoebe that “she might have been pretty, I think, but for the one fault in her small oval face. This fault was an absence of colour” (64). It is this lack of color that she is not an exact match in likeness to Lady Audley. It is later stated that, “the likeness to which the lady’s-maid bore to Lucy Audley was, perhaps, a point of sympathy between the two women. It was not to be called a striking likeness” (138). This passage makes a clear distinction between the two women; one is not to believe they are of equal beauty because Lucy is superior.Modern-day celebrities are constantly criticized, and sometimes rightly so. Sir Michael Audley’s daughter, Alicia, acts as our critic. She is described as pretty, but still can’t quite match up to Lady Audley. This is evident when she is vying for the attention of Robert Audley, who pays no mind to her and only seems to have eyes for Lady Audley. Though everyone seems to be quite taken with Lady Audley it is clear from the beginning that Alicia is not. Alicia refers to Lady Audley as “a vain, frivolous, heartless little coquette” (136). One could interpret her disapproval of Lucy as simply stemming from jealousy, however she sees the power Lucy holds over her father as well as Robert. Alicia’s ill opinion of Lady Audley is not unwarranted as it was clearly an advantageous and opportune marriage for Lucy who, presumably, started off as a governess.The reader is allowed to see through Lady Audley’s false celebrity persona just as Alicia can see her manipulative nature. Alicia’s objections to Lucy are validated as she is clearly frivolous and shallow, which is evident when the narrator states, “all her amusements were childish. She hated reading, or study of any kind, and loved society” (90). The passage goes on to describe her sitting in her chambers surrounded by the many presents Sir Michael had bought her. Lady Audley uses her beauty to manipulate the men around her. It is because of her that George and Robert are prevented from visiting Audley Court at their first attempts, even though Sir Michael wants to welcome them. The hold she has over Sir Michael is obvious in the following passage:Now, so complete was the dominion which Lady Audley had, in her own childish, unthinking way, obtained over her devoted husband, that it was very rarely that the baronet’s eyes were long removed from his wife’s pretty face. When Robert, therefore, was about to re-enter the inn, it needed but the faintest elevation of Lucy’s eyebrows, with a charming expression of weariness and terror, to make her husband aware that she did not want to be bored by an introduction to Mr. George Talboys. (93)This passage, combined with other acts that show the two sides of Lady Audley. Current celebrities manipulate the masses by their actions and looks as well. Miley Cyrus is an example of a current celebrity who uses her body to draw attention to herself. Much like Miley, Lady Audley uses her charm and beauty to get what she wants. Another instance of this is when she plants the idea in her husband’s head that it is unbecoming to have Robert around her when they are close in age. He has Robert leave at once, and later she tries to blame it on her “silly husband” to Robert saying it was he who somehow got that crazy idea in his head when she is the one who planted it.The character of Lucy could be compared to the modern day character of Regina George in the movie Mean Girls. Regina uses her beauty and high school “celebrity” to manipulate everyone around her. In the specific scene below, Regina tells Cady Heron she is going to put a good word in for her with Aaron Samuels and immediately turns around and does the opposite, much like Lady Audley. This specific scene relates directly to the scene where Lady Audley manipulates her husband into making Robert Audley leave because it is potentially “inappropriate” for him to be with her so often. After planting this idea in Sir Michael’s head he asks Robert to leave. When Robert confronts Lucy about this she insists that it was her husband’s crazy idea. Just like Regina George, Lady Audley will spin anything in her favor in order to manipulate the people around her.Both Regina and Lucy are extremely aware of the power their beauty and popularity gives them. They are in constant control of the people around them and every move is carefully calculated. This is similar to current celebrities who are aware that their fame is a result of a persona or their beauty. Not all celebrities are power hungry manipulators, but to a certain extent they all only let the public see a very controlled image of themselves. The link between beauty and celebrity is fascinating when looking at the character of Lady Audley. The connection between the two, as well as how she uses her beauty to manipulate others, can be seen by comparing her to current female celebrities and characters.The link between beauty and celebrity is fascinating when looking at the character of Lady Audley. The connection between the two, as well as how she uses her beauty to manipulate others, can be seen by comparing her to current female characters.Works Cited: Braddon, Mary Elizabeth. Lady Audley’s Secret. Toronto: Broadview Literary Texts, 2003. Print. Media: Image: http://www.sparkles-and-crumbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/meredith-1.jpg Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1gRiHS4601 [Shannon Kelly]We’ve now made it through Volume 1 of Lady Audley’s Secret, a Victorian sensation novel written by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. The novel focuses on the marriage between the widowed baronet, Sir Michael Audley, and his young, charming wife, Lucy Audley, née Graham. Although Lucy is an orphan and a mere instructress at a neighbor’s home, her indefatigable allure and beauty draw the attention of all the men in the county, particularly Sir Michael, who marries her and spoils her with attention and an abundance of pretty dresses and jewels. However, Braddon subtly points out to readers that Lucy is not all glitter and sunshine; to the astute eye, something dark lurks behind her rosy cheeks and upturned mouth.This idea of façade, of an inner and outer life, is not foreign to our class discussion on celebrity. The expectation of females to be pretty, happy, and simple often overwhelms any true feelings or personality traits, forcing them beneath the skin, behind the eyes. In a world that expects beauty, there is no room for tears. Such is the plight of Lucy Audley.Braddon depicts Lucy as the pinnacle of childish beauty and glee. Braddon writes of Lucy that “wherever she went she seemed to take sunshine and gladness with her” (90). Although the descriptions of Lucy excessively emphasize her attractiveness, they are tinged with the idea that Lucy is hiding something. On page 90, Braddon writes that Lucy looked like “a child tricked out for a masquerade.” She wears a black ribbon around her neck, adorned with a mysterious trinket that she always keeps “hidden under her dress” (50). Thus, Braddon surrounds Lucy in an aura of mystery. Yet the people in Lucy’s life do not want to see what lies behind the façade. Lucy is expected to always remain the silly pretty girl they encounter superficially. Example of Pre-Raphaelite Painting- Lady of Shalott by John William WaterhouseLucy is expected to be at all times complacently happy and joyous. To deviate from this infuriates those around her and makes her less desirable to them. Initially, when Lucy is informed of Sir Michael’s interest in her, she reacts with peculiar vehemence, asking to be left alone. The lady of the house in which she works responds in surprise, saying “‘I think you’re the last person who ought to talk like that- you, such a bright, happy creature’” (50). Later in the book, during a strong thunderstorm, Lucy becomes terrified, huddling in her bed in fear. Her husband notes the following morning that when he saw her “poor white face, and the purple rims around [her] eyes” he didn’t recognize her (112). He concludes, “‘I hope to Heaven, Lucy, I shall never again see you look as you did last night” (112). Those around Lucy are only appreciative of her when she is happy, bright, and lovely. They don’t want to see what lies beneath.Braddon makes a point that close attention to detail allows a person to see behind the façade; however, what one sees behind the mask can be disturbing. It is easier to accept the bright bubbly appearance of Lucy than to consider that she may be multi-layered or complicated. An example of this occurs in chapter VIII. Alicia Audley, Sir Michael’s daughter, is showing her cousin Robert and his friend George a portrait of Lucy. In the portrait, there is “a lurid lightness to the blonde complexion, and a strange sinister light to the deep blue eyes. No one but a pre-Raphaelite could have given to that pretty pouting mouth the hard and almost wicked look it had in the portrait” (107). Robert and George do not care for the portrait, and declare that it does not quite look like Lucy. Alicia says “‘I think that sometimes a painter is in a manner inspired, and is able to see through the normal expression of the face, another expression that is equally a part of it, though not to be perceived by common eyes’” (108). The pre-Raphaelite artist closely observes subtle nuances of the face, seeing behind the façade. To Robert and George, this is unsettling.George Looking at the Portrait of Lucy AudleyThis expectation to hide peculiarities, pains, imperfections, or deep emotions is still enforced, particularly in the case of female celebrities. Consider Britney Spears, who in 2007 shaved her head and became the butt of social media’s criticism. Spears became famous in 1999, at the age of 18, for her pop album …Baby One More Time. On the album cover, she is depicted in a skirt, smiling up toward the camera, youthful, pretty, and playful. Through this first portion of her career, she was frequently dressed in pink, her blonde hair sometimes in pigtails or braids, always smiling. When her marriage took a turn and she shaved her head, the façade dropped, and people weren’t pleased. Some sources claimed that she shaved so that her hair couldn’t be used for DNA in drug tests (Weisman). Other sources alleged that she was erratic, overdosing on amphetamine pills and that her shaving was a sign of her mental health issues (Soltis). Most people dismissed her as crazy. Britney Spears in 1999Britney Spears with Shaved Head in 2007The fact is, nobody wanted a “crazy” Britney. People flocked to the blonde, smiling teen-pop idol with bared midriff and catchy songs. But the minute she let her guard down and displayed vulnerability, the cameras flashed and the gossip flew. Lucy, like Britney is admired for her youthful, girlish charm. I contend that Lucy, in her own way, is a celebrity of her day; she is a frequent topic of conversation in her community, often by people who have never met her. Her rags to riches rise adds a fairytale dimension to her character, further making her the talk of the town. Unlike Britney, however, Lucy has maintained her façade thus far in the book. Lucy is careful to always appear fresh, jubilant, simple. Because of this, she has remained well-liked.Braddon wrote Lady Audley’s Secret over 150 years ago, but her message remains relevant. Too often, the media and the masses flock to untarnished stars, stars who like a “wax doll” show no sadness, pain, suffering, or turmoil. However, audiences need to keep in mind that stars are humans too, flawed and feeling, valuable for their talents, but fallible.Works Cited Braddon, Mary Elizabeth. Lady Audley’s Secret. Toronto: Broadview Literary Texts, 2003. Print. Soltis, Andy. “Britney Spears shaved her hair off in 2007 to cover up drug use: ex aide.” New York Post. 20 Oct. 2012. Web. 1 Nov. 2014. Weisman, Aly. “Britney Spears’ Former Manager Reveals Why She Shaved Her Head-Here’s Today’s Buzz.” Business Insider. 24 Oct. 2012. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.Images:https://www.ualberta.ca/~dmiall/MakingReaders/Braddon.htmhttps://dissertationsensation.wordpress.com/type/image/http://www.britney.com/us/supersize/112038http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/living-on-a-diet-of-red-bulls-and-adderall-britneys-ex-tells-all/story-fn907478-1226812589464 [Olivia Larson]George Eliot’s first ever work, Scenes of a Clerical Life, comprises of three short stories following the lives of clergyman in the late 18th to early 19th century. The first, The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton focuses on Reverend Amos Barton and his wife Milly. They struggle to raise their six children on Mr. Barton’s meager paycheck as town pastor while enduring the spotlight of much of the town gossip. The idea of public reputation and personal identity is significant because both main characters handle this attention differently. Mr. Barton is seemingly clueless, while Milly works to maintain a positive public perception.Scenes of a Clerical Life quite differs from others we have read throughout the semester. Compared to other works of fiction like Jane Eyre and Aurora Leigh, the female protagonist is already married with a large family. Although all pieces are written by female authors, Scenes of a Clerical comes across much harsher in tone and theme, hiding that the author is actually a woman. Descriptive physical appearance plays a key role in identifying Mr. Barton as a very plain and thick character. Eliot writes, “A narrow face of no particular complexion… with features of no particular shape, and an eye of no particular expression, is surmounted by a slope of baldness gently rising from brow to crown” (18). Society looks down on him simply because of his bland appearance and struggle with public speaking. Mr. Barton is just as absent in his appearance as he is in his marriage. He rarely notices Milly’s presence, let alone all the things she does for him and the children. Milly’s appearance is a stark contrast with that of her husband’s: “A large, fair, gentle Madonna, with thick, chose chestnut curls beside her well-rounded cheeks, and with large, tender, short-sighted eyes… Soothing, unspeakable charm of gentle womanhood” (19)! The differences in their appearances are shown through repetition of phrase “gentle.” Milly is a gentle Madonna, Italian for “my lady” and also referencing the Virgin Mary. Opposite is Mr. Barton, as the word gentle is used more sarcastically to describe the round baldness of his head. Both spouses are judged by society for their appearances, therefore, their looks are the biggest insight we have to their characters. Milly is concerned with her public reputation, while her husband is fairly blind to it. (He thinks his ill-fitting tight pants look good.) The image below of Fergus and Elinor from Disney’s Brave encapsulates how one can see Mr. and Mrs. Barton in a comical modern cartoon form.Fergus and ElinorMilly tries to present herself to the public in a positive way, even though she has little money to do so. She is concerned with her reputation, and tries to hold herself in the most positive personal identity that she can. Eliot describes her admiration for clothes: “It was a very pretty woman’s weakness- she was fond of dress; and often when she was making up her own economical millinery, she had romantic visions of how nice it would be to put on really handsome stylish things” (33). Milly does her best to make her clothes look nice, but her desire to make an impression on the public eye is a “weakness”. Is this because it is wrong to try and impress people in society, or is it wrong because she has no money to do so? Her husband, however, has a suffering wardrobe. “Maize is a colour that decidedly did not suit his complexion, and it is one that soon soils; why, then, did Mr. Barton select it for domestic wear? Perhaps because he has a knack of hitting on the wrong thing in garb as well as in his grammar” (20). Mr. Barton is really somewhat a buffoon in his physical appearance, dress, and preaching ability, as highly noticed by the town. He is fairly ignorant, but does his ignorance actually benefit his peace of mind? The following video, particularly the beginning, exemplifies the differences in public reputation and personal identity.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqhZpxeVVzQThe Barton’s reputation takes an even bigger hit when Countess Caroline Czerlaski comes to live with them. Her fake and “nut-cracker” like appearance is just one of her many negatively describes attributes. She is extremely shallow, experiencing a “sufficiently happy matrimony” to her ex-husband when she was able to travel the world and meet other famous and esteemed people. She is arrogant and phony to Milly and cares little when Milly’s silk dress is soiled: “The Countess felt inwardly thankful that her own delicate silk had escaped, but threw out lavish interjections of distress and indignation” (35). Her reaction and choice of the words “threw out” shows how heartless and selfish Caroline truly is. She is only concerned with her own reputation through physical appearance. Caroline’s presence in the home causes much talk in the town. People wonder why this woman is living with an already money-stretched and over-crowded family household. Milly takes this criticism harshly, and falls ill due to the overwhelming duties she does for the family and lack of an understanding husband. Milly’s husband is once again blind to the increase in attention, but accepts the people’s help when they offer to care for his children after Milly’s death.Eliot condemns gossip when she negatively writes of the town Clerical Meeting. The most popular subject of discussion is the Bartons, of course. As they dine on “ill-flavoured gavies and the cheapest Marsala” (53), their own physical appearances are described disdainfully like “negligently-tied cravat” and “sallow and puffy face” (55). These negative depictions show how crude the clergymen really are. So while the public is condemned for gossiping about people, characters are also looked down upon for trying to ignore the public opinion like Mr. Barton, and also for trying to impress them the best they can like Mrs. Barton. A moral of Eliot’s piece is that one cannot really win, as people will judge each other for trying to build up his/her public reputation, or lacking the vigor to do so. It is best to just be happiest with one’s own personal identity, as the “sallow” faces of judgment are always nigh.Works CitedEliot, George. Scenes of a Clerical Life. London: Blackwood s Edinburgh Magazine, 1857. N. Rpt. in New York: Penguin, 1998. Print.Miller, Rebecca. Drinks with Hogan | Identity vs Reputation. YouTube. 06 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. Privacy Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

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