Sorry for the late post!
What did you find the most compelling/revealing about Nightingale's complaint in Cassandra? How much of what she has to say about women's lives did you find in the other novels we have read--or the poem?
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The most compelling point Nightengale made in "Cassandra" was that "widowhood, ill-health, or want of bread" (33) were the only three excuses for a woman to have any kind of occupation outside of the house. Women, and their intellect, were suppressed in the Victorian era. Passion, enjoyment, and fullfilment (along with necessity if one is in need of money) should have been the reasons the reasons that demanded a woman take up employment in a field that would better herself and her community.
ReplyDeleteExamples of points that Nightengale makes found in the literature that we have read could be both Jemima and Charlotte, in "Ruth" and "Pride and "Prejudice" respectively, who marry to escape their parents homes which is one of the reasons women marry according to the author. Also an example of the Victorian woman that NIghtengale does not approve of would be Mrs. Bennet, also from "Pride and Prejudice," who epiomizes Victorian domesticity. She is complacent, perfectly happy to sit at home and plot her daughter's marriages, walk around grounds, visit neighbors, gossip, and take to her bedchamber with a nervous illness whenever her life goes the tiniest bit astray. She speaks of nothing substancial and has no real passion or purpose. She is the antithesis of Nightengale's ideal woman.
Nightingale’s Cassandra revealed the world in which women lived with a compelling light that shined on the social restraints and limitations that women were confined to by society. The other novels we have read this semester seemed to meddle in the woman’s social roles, however, Cassandra boldly protests against the woman’s idleness and lack of purposeful lives. She cries out for women to want more in life and not be confined by marriage and society. Nightingale resents the powerless women and calls for action. She disguises the waste of woman’s intellect, energy, and talents. Women should be able to take up an occupation in spite of such situations as widowhood, poverty, and illness.
ReplyDeleteThe most compelling argument in Cassandra was the argument for solitude and independence. Nightingale refuted marriage and proposed women to stay single in order to have/ keep their freedom. In her idea, marriage restricted women, confided them to their husband desires and wishes, and allowed no further gain for women. She wanted women to have the same freedom as men, and in marriage that freedom is restricted to social and domestic duties. Nightingale despises this notion and calls women to make something of their lives, take up their studies and make work, allow their mind to escape day-dreaming and live a life with living.
I felt that the most compelling argument was Nightingale's call for women to stay single and unmarried so that they will not be dominated by their husbands. Women lost all sense of individuality and became just an extension of their husband, being called Mrs. So and So rather than being called by their own name. We discussed that in class I believe. I found it especially interesting because Victorian women sought after marriage for financial stability and social status. Many women would have been considered silly and irrational if they refused to marry because they would basically be throwing away any chance to live a happy life (in the minds of others during this era). I find Nightingale very bold and blunt and I like that she asks women to look for more in life besides socializing and doing mindless tasks, but there was very little that women were able or willing to do to open up more possibilities for themselves.
ReplyDeleteIn "Ruth" we see a woman who has to work to survive, so this contrasts with Nightingale's argument. Ruth doesn't work to get away from mindless distractions; she has no choice. Ruth probably would have relished in idleness and therefore a break in her routine of unforgiving and unappreciative work. In "Pride and Prejudice" women get married for the reasons mentioned before. They don't seem to be bothered by domestic chores and idleness. Nightingale fights against this, but one must remember that Nightingale isn't the only woman doing something productive with her time. She merely presents her beliefs without all the subtlety like that of Jane Austen
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post. I also found it quite pathetic that women worked only when it came down to those three reasons. I like how you provide alternatives reasons that should have compelled women to look outside of the domestic sphere. Your analysis of Mrs. Bennett as the perfect example of the kind of woman Nightingale argued against was all true. I hadn't really looked into Mrs. Bennet's character that far so I think you brought up a very good example.
Claudia,
ReplyDeleteI loved what you had to say! Your perception brought a new light upon the matter that Nightingale so bluntly stated. Women were in the shadow of men, they were to be merely their husband's "helpmate" whose energies went to their aid and domestic duties.
You are 100% correct. Jane Austen's and Elizabeth Gaskell's complaints about woman's social roles were underplayed and hidden by the plot and characters. However, Nightingale did not even attempt to hid her agenda and outrage. She brought light to the issue and called for immediate action and change. She no longer wanted women to be puppets of men; they had a mind, intelligence, and an earnest aptitude and she hoped they would soon take the courage and use them.
Sorry I know it is late!
ReplyDeleteWhat I found most compelling about Nightingale's complaint in "Cassandra" is how she exposed Victorian women as being invisible and "contingent beings who must fit their lives to the needs of others" (12). Based on this statement if we look back at Ruth we can see she was exactly the type of woman that Nightingale described. Ruth lost her self whe she had to fit her life into what Mr. Billingham wanted her to be at that time and into what her son needed her to be. Another example is found in the novel Pride and Prejudice where Elizabeth and Jane had to adhere to the need of their mother who wanted them to marry wealthy men.
The most compelling thing to me about Nightingale's arguement was the way she bashed marriage, by way of bashing women. She said something along the lines of it's no wonder women are so taken with men and solely focused upon them..since they're more interesting since they're "allowed" to pusue their passions and what interests them. She seems to be bitching about how flat and one dimensional women are.Her arguements are true to a great degree in P&P but not so much in Ruth
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