Fallen women, and specifically prostitutes, were commonly associated with suicide by drowning. Weighed down (figuratively, if not literally) by shame and despair, but unable to escape her situation, the prostitute throws herself into the water in a last act of desperation and escape. Thus, the River Thames, which runs through London (a hotbed of prostitution), was often portrayed as a place where prostitutes went to die.
Here are some popular nineteenth-century paintings related to this figure:
Augustus Egg's "Despair," which depicts a prostitute's loneliness and her association with the river
Illustration from Dickens's novel David Copperfield, which portrays the fallen woman Martha about to attempt suicide by drowning. She is saved by the two men you see behind her.
Illustration of Hood's "The Bridge of Sighs," showing sympathetic men pulling the drowned woman from the water.
Now that you have this background, take a look at Hood's actual poem.
1) What is the tone of the poem? Is the speaker angry, sympathetic, mournful?
2) The speaker spends a great deal of time describing the dead woman's physical presence. Here are some representative lines:
Look at her garments/ Clinging like cerements (look up word);/ Whilst the wave constantly/ Drips from her clothing (9-12)
Wipe those poor lips of hers/ Oozing so clammily./ Loop up her tresses/ Escaped from the comb,/ Her fair auburn tresses (29-33)
Why provide such detail? Would such descriptions be shocking, and if so, why?
3) Consider the following stanza, lines 21-26:
Make no deep scrutiny
Into her mutiny
Rash and undutiful;
Past all dishonor,
Death has left her
Only the beautiful
These lines indicate a certain degree of forgiveness, and the woman is supposedly left with "only the beautiful." My question is whether or not the woman has to die to become cleansed. Would a reformed prostitute, one who doesn't kill herself, be as easily forgiven or deemed beautiful?
4) The nineteenth century saw increasing movements to help reform prostitutes who had few opportunities in life and who may have come from decent homes but got sucked into the underbelly of London life. How does the speaker humanize this dead woman? Even further, who is the intended listener? What sex? To help answer this question, look to lines 89-92. How is this listener to blame?
1. I feel like the author creates a sympathetic tone throughout the poem. Through lines 13-17, "Take her up instantly, Loving, not loathing.Touch her not scornfully; Think of her mournfully, Gently and humanly", the author reveals this sympathetic attitude towards the woman.
ReplyDelete3. I feel like although the woman does not have to die to become cleansed, it would still be very difficult for a reformed prostitute to be easily forgiven. Possibly the author realized this, and the poem is showing the harsh reality that this prostitute has been basically forced to kill herself so that she may be forgiven in such a judgemental society.
4. The speaker humanizes this woman by portray her as a human being with human qualities, not as a prostitute. The intended listeners would be the men, showing that they are to blame for using these women and condemning them.
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ReplyDelete1. I feel the tone of this poem is mournful and sympathetic. The speaker talks to others to think kindly of the women and to only look towards the good of the women. Lines 21 through 26 tells others to not look on the bad of the women because her death has left her only with her beauty.
ReplyDelete2. The speaker spends alot of time describing her physical appearance and beauty, but I find it is more in the sense of "cleaning her up." He spends time describing her oozing lips, and wants them to be wiped up. Lines 31 through 33 describe her hair and how it should be put back into her comb. Undone hair was associated with sexual deviance and therefore by pulling her hair back into its proper place, the speaker is fixing her image, and changing her back into a respected women.
3. I disagree with Everett and feel that in this type of society that these fallen women cannot rise past their ruined status, and will forever be shamed by their choice (even though many were forced into this type of lifestyle). I feel like these women were only seen as forgiven when they were dead because the people could only recognize the tragedy after the fact. They could not recognize the fact that for many of these women(while they were alive), prostitution was the only way to survive; they could only recognize the tragedy of a dead women, but felt that is was because of her choice. I do not think that a prostitute who reformed would be forgiven because society deemed that it was her "choice" to become one, so she should receive the consequences with that choice which is the shame and never being considered beautiful thereafter.
1. The tone of the poem seems to be one of sympathy and curiosity. The speaker questions her family and where she came from starting at line 36, then feels pity on her starting at line 43.
ReplyDelete2. I also feel like the speaker took the time to describe her appearance and the "taking care" of her for reasons that included such sexual deviance, and also out of simple respect for the dead. It seems that the speaker wants us to notice the sexual connotation while remaining respectful. I think that the cleaning up of her is also associated with the idea that maybe by committing suicide, she has been cleansed of her sins, so she no longer has to look the part of someone distressed.
3. When I thought about her killing herself to be forgiven for her prostitution, I thought back to a lot of the Chinese warriors, who, if they were to lose in war, it was more dutiful to kill yourself than to come back as a failure. So in this instance, it made me believe that people very much had this idea that it was more of an honor to die for your sins than to live knowing that you have failed as a human.
4. The speaker definitely gives her the personality of a beautiful woman that may have slipped up, but from reading lines 89-92, the speaker wants to blame man for this disturbing act. He blames them for making her feel guilty and for giving into what society wants and deems necessary.
1. I agree with everyone who is saying that the tone is one of sympathy.
ReplyDelete2. I think that the speaker uses so much detail in describing the physical presence of the dead woman to show the seriousness of the suicides of these women. Such descriptions would most likely be shocking to most readers in this time period because of how realistic they are. They make them woman seem beautiful (or “clean them up” just like Ella and Tricia said) and not make them sound just like dead corpses of prostitutes (which sounds horrible).
To me this ties into the forgiveness we see in lines 21-26, the woman seems beautiful as she is pulled from the water. The world “tresses” is used for her hair which means long locks which could be sexual and beautiful.
3. I agree with Tricia as far as the forgiveness that seems to come in lines 21-26, I definitely see it as only coming once the woman has died. It says, “Past all dishonor, death has left on her only the beautiful.” I see this as saying that death is the reason that she has been cleansed of the dishonor that came from being a fallen woman. From this stanza I would say that a reformed prostitute would not be as easily forgiven and deemed beautiful if she were still alive.
Would they refer to her hair as “fair auburn tresses” if she were alive or would her hair be too sexual and inappropriate for “ladies” of the time period?
4. In line 90, the speaker refers to a man as, “dissolute man.” A dissolute man is a man who lacks restraint and can be used in a sexual and degrading way. This makes me think that the speaker is talking to the men who were in the prostitute’s life saying that they too were part of the crime and are the reason that she plunged into the water. It takes two to make a woman “fallen,” a man must want her services or else that way of life wouldn’t be an option. The man gets no punishment for being with the prostitute, but the girl feels as if the only way she can free herself and be forgiven is by killing herself and I think the author is trying to show that maybe that is not fair.
1. The tone can first be inferred through the title, "The Bridge of Sighs." What sort of emotion does a "sigh" usually represent? Disappointment? Pity? Sadness? Sympathy? These emotions are further carried out in the use of "tenderly" when speaking of the way in which one should handle her body. The tone seems to change though, as if the author were conflicted. He talked of her as a fair maiden, yes. But he also uses words like "oozes" and "clammy" to describe her corpse. He also makes references to her body parts in the use of "limbs" - which is vague and still not entirely sexual. He talks of her hair coming unloosened, which is definitely not something a 'lady' would allow to happen. It's almost as if, since she is dead, he is now better able to see past the veil of "woman." In this instance, that veil protected her from judgement. It seems toward the end that he is almost disgusted. Specifically in the last stanza when he says "evil behavior" and paints the picture of her praying, emphasizing that she needs to be forgiven, meaning- she did something wrong in the first place. Over all, I think his tone can be summed up in "what a shame." I like that he asks the reader (specifically around line 90 in our reading) to picture it. "Picture it-think of it, dissolute man! Lave in it, drink of it. Then, if you can!" Obviously, Hood cares, he isn't apathetic. He is just conflicted in thinking that she is wrong for committing suicide (and maybe for her actions prior, illusions to be being homeless, usually a sign of a non-lady like woman) but that she was a helpless, fair woman who thought death was her only choice.
ReplyDelete3. I think that the idea of a fallen woman being redeemed in ways other than suicide is one of those "theory vs. practice" things. I'm sure people said that it was plausible, but in reality, no one would ever find a "used to be prostitute" to be a lady. Reputation was everything then (even more so than now) and not very many women could come back from that. Not many men would want to marry a reformed prostitute, and marriage was usually the only option for women then.
1 and 2. The tone of the poem is sympathetic.The speaker describes the dead woman's physical presence in such detail because showing somewhat of respect for her. Also it shows how serious suicide is to women who prostitute.
ReplyDelete3. I feel that women do not need to die to become cleansed but, I do feel they have to die to become cleansed in society. A prostitute does not need to die to feel cleansed in the eyes of God but needs to die to be cleansed to the people of the Victorian Era. A reformed prostitute would not be as easily forgiven. I feel once a women is "ruined," she can never be forgiven.
This poem about a fallen woman's death is written from a man's point of view. This allows the reader to see how men viewed fallen women from these times. I understood lines 15-20 to mean that a fallen woman can only be reconciled when she is dead. Also the way she is described in death makes her beautiful. Alive she was wild and evil in the eyes of the poet, but now after death her sins are only between her and God and invisible to the man who can now see her beauty. I find the speaker's tone to be sympathetic towards the deceased woman, but not towards her actions while she was alive.
ReplyDeleteI think that the tone of the poem is sympathetic, and I feel that lines 15-20 really show this:
ReplyDelete"Touch her not scornfully;
Think of her mournfully,
Gently and humanly:
Not of the stains of her,
All that remains of her
Now is pure womanly"
To me, the speaker was telling the audience, essentially not to judge the prostitute for the mistakes that she made in her past life. It also says to me that the speaker is saying that it's not right to ridicule the dead, regardless of their life on earth maybe because he felt it was disrespectful to do so.
To answer prompt three, I would say that it's pretty circumstancial whether or not a prostitute would have to die to be completely cleansed. I feel that a prostitute could perhaps "die" in a figurative sense meaning that she could die within the community(ies) in which she whored herself out in and possibly start anew elsewhere, but that may not be enough because of the toll that is taken on a woman from being so casual with so many men. I mean, that just seems like something that would do some damage on a woman's psychological well- being. So, in conclusion, I would say that death may not seem like the best answer, but for many of these 19th-century prostitutes who were ridiculed for being sandalous it may have seemed to then as the only answer.
I liked the rhythm that accompanied this poem. I found it to be very sing-song-y, dispite the fact that it was about a prostitute who had just committed suicide. It made me wonder if the poet was maybe trying to lighten the mood of such a sad event?
1. The author’s tone in this poem is mournful and sympathetic. The author is very mournful even though this woman was a prostitute in the 1800s. He says “Touch her not scornfully; Think of her mournfully” (lines 15-16). The author is sympathetic for her situation.
ReplyDelete2. The author goes on to say describe this woman in such dramatic ways to describe her death, whether it be an actual suicide or a figurative. The description goes on to describe her appearance, like another death woman “All that remains of her, now is pure womanly.” But in the lines 31-35 he is directly talking about this woman’s hair how some parts of her hair “had escaped from the comb.” Her hair is used as symbol of being beautiful and sexual.
3. I think in the time period that it is more easily to think of a prostitute of being cleansed only after death. If a woman was to reform herself, I think she would still be thought of as a fallen woman.
4. I’m not sure if this poem actually has a targeted audience, but it blames men for women who have fallen into this lifestyle. The author goes on to say that this woman has no home here, and in that time period a woman could only hold a few jobs. This woman needed to survive and this is the profession she fell in.
1. The tone of the poem is sad and sympathetic.
ReplyDelete2. I think the author describe the woman in such a sense to further create imagery for the reader, and also to give a deeper look into the sexual connotations that can be associated with her appearance.
3. I definitely feel that in order to be forgiven and deemed as beautiful one must die. Just because some one changes does not mean the past is forgotten by others, therefore I don't see it as being possible for this reformed woman to be as easily forgiven. In my opinion she will always be looked upon as uncleaned.
1. I agree with the sympathy tone.
ReplyDelete2. The intense descriptions are more of a way to make a "bad girl" appear to be a "good girl". Or coming off as respectful even. The speaker uses harsh words like drips and oozing, not something you would associate with a beautiful lady.
1. I thought that the tone seemed sympathetic of the "Fallen Women" because of how the speaker talked in a gentle sense to take care of the women. For instance, "Take her tenderly Lift her with care".
ReplyDelete2. I thought that the author provided such detail because perhaps he/she wanted us to empathize for the "fallen women" since that way of death was a particular act that was frowned upon and judged for. I also thought that maybe such detail was to enquire that these women are just as sinful as man and should receive more respect out of their deaths, which is maybe why the speaker described "Still, for all slips of hers, One of Eve's family"
3. I thought that it definitely wouldn't be as easy to forgive and be deemed beautiful if the prostitutes didn't die, because to die is to give, literally and figuratively, all you've got. Sins and all.
1 & 2. I agree that the tone of the poem is sympathetic. As the author states in lines 15-20, he wants her to be thought of as a pure, respectful woman and not what she did for her work. The author describes her physical appearance in great detail which also symbolizes that he respects her.
ReplyDelete3. In my opinion, I do not believe one has to die to become cleansed. I believe that a reformed prostitute should be looked at as cleansed but I can see where her past will always haunt her future lifestyle.
1 & 2) The poem was mournful; the women were beautiful and the author didn't believe it was their time. At the time the poem was written, women looked the most beautiful when they were death-like. He was showing how beautiful the women were while describing the macabre scene of finding one of these fallen women in the river.
ReplyDelete3)I believe that though its nice to believe that a reformed prostitute would be thought of as clean and deemed beautiful, it's not likely. The women will always have her past follow her no matter what she does. The only way to completely escape that kind of past is death
1. I think that the poem was written very sympathetically throughout. The stanza " Take her up tenderly, lift her with care, fashion'd so slenderly, young, and so fair" which was repeated, is a prime example of the tone the author portrays in many lines of the poem.
ReplyDelete2. From my perspective, I think the author provided these details to draw attention to the "fallen women" connotation that is shown in many of the poems we have read. I don't find these descriptions shocking because we have seen these types of things in previous poems read.
3. Yes, I do believe a prostitute who reforms herself in another way rather than death can still be shown forgiveness. Actually, I think that one who takes another route rather than death should be given more honor for not stopping to a level taking their own life.
4. The women is humanized by putting the man in her position. The author says " Lave in it, drink it, then, if you can!" speaking to a man, possibly the buyer. I think the author is trying to humanize the women by telling the man that he should try and live in her shoes one day, or to not speak down upon the women at all.
) The poem is sympathetic, almost forgiving and mournful, then strong and a bit angry around line 90.
ReplyDelete2) I think he provides detail to give the reader a clear view of what he wants us to see, and because the speaker probably doesn't know the woman so he can't speak of her personality.
3) I think she would have to die to be beautiful in the eyes of her peers. Prostitution was a serious social "crime" so I can't imagine she would've been treated kindly during her lifetime.
4)The speaker humanizes her in line 77 where he says she shivers and trembles.Clearly, she can't actaully do that. The intended audience is men. Men are blamed for contributing to her lifestyle and keeping her "in the oldest profession"