Much like Morris's "The Defense of Guenevere," the dramatic monologue "Jenny" has a distinct narrator, a John who is in the company of his sleeping mistress. Here are some factors to consider when dealing with this poem.
1) How does the speaker characterize Jenny? Also, what do such characterizations actually tell us about the speaker? What sort of man is he?
2) What do we learn about Jenny's past? How does the knowledge of this past impact our impression of the woman? Take a look around line 240 for help.
3) The speaker gives us hints as to how Jenny is treated in society. What do we learn?
4) Several of the other poems have dealt with the issue of whether or not fallen women and virtuous women are somehow connected, and "Jenny" participates in this trend. Take a look again at lines 96-282 (technically on the same page). What does the speaker specifically fear? What "makes a goblin of the sun"?
5) In a similar vein, lines 313-24 deal with how other women view or interact with such fallen women. Why or why not should a lady come into contact with them?
6) Ultimately, what is the speaker's tone when talking to Jenny? At certain points he seems to deeply and sympathetically question Jenny's complex position in society, and at other times he seems less than thoughtful. For instance, after really struggling with how Jenny is treated by the rest of society, the speaker states in 166-7: "Come, come, what use in thoughts like this?/ Poor little Jenny, good to kiss." What does such a statement show?
1. In this poem, the speaker is watching Jenny as she is resting, and he begins the poem by portraying her beauty. Throughout the poem, the speaker seems to be favorable to Jenny, noticing that she is not looked at kindly in society's eyes.
ReplyDelete2. we learn that she was a prostitute? I'm guessing in lines 257-258 "Have seen your lifted silken skirt , Advertize dainties through the dirt" is a reference to prostitution
5. The poem suggests that ladies should not interact with fallen women. These chaste women are described as "a rose shut in a book", possibly indicating that once this book is open (prostitution), the rose is gone and decays, possibly representing that you only lose your virginity once, and how you should get married before doing so.
1. The speaker characterizes Jenny as "lazy, laughing, languid" which seems different for a woman of the Victorian period. He then says that she is "fond of a kiss and fond of a guinea" which reveals to us that she is a prostitute. He then starts to talk about her in a way that shows sympathy for her and he even says that she is a "fresh flower" and doesn't seem to be a woman ruined by many men.
ReplyDelete2. We learn that Jenny used to live in the country and she would wonder about the city. We learn that she was told stories of the city and that it was “broil and bate” so she was told it was negative—a noisy disturbance and a great evil. She either didn’t believe it was so evil or she was just so unhappy in her life that she didn’t care, she just needed to get out to explore what else what out there.
3. In lines 42-50 we learn that other women make fun of Jenny and look down upon her but the speaker makes us believe that these women are just jealous of the nice things that Jenny has. In line 50 it says the women are “pointing you out, what thing you are,” the fact that he calls her a “thing” is very humiliating because she too is a person but it seems that the society they live in no longer consider her a real person but they now consider her just a “thing.” Another thing we see is that the speaker recognizes the way that men treat Jenny when he says that she needs rest most from the “hatefulness of man.” This shows a lot of sympathy from the speaker because he is a man yet he talks about how the men will not end what they began and he makes us recognize how the men’s acts are ill and that they use her at their will and then just throw her away. This seems to upset the speaker which makes me think that maybe it is more than just sympathy he has for Jenny…maybe he actually has some feeling for her.
6. When the speaker states “Come, come what use in thought like this?/Poor little Jenny, good to kiss.” This statement really brings out my thoughts from before about him having more than just sympathy for her. It seems as if he thinks about her as more than just a prostitute and feels a connection to her but then snaps back into “real life” and realized that as part of the Victorian society this is unacceptable and that Jenny is not worthy of his love or anything more than just a kiss because she is a “fallen” woman.
1. The speaker characterizes Jenny mostly by her looks because, as a prostitute, her looks are the only thing that matters to him. The speaker also seems to be a higher class than her, and although throughout the poem he sympathizes with how society treats Jenny, he also treats her only as a prostitute by the multiple references to her being good to kiss. It almost seems as if he wishes he could change her situation, but then is scared to because of the reaction from society.
ReplyDelete3. The speaker hints that society treats Jenny very harshly. Lines 40 to 50 shows how society in general treats Jenny, with pointing, mocking, and insults, and lines 54 to 59 shows how specifically men treat her. The line "Who spares not to end what he began," insinuates that the reason prostitution is around is because men having the need for it, and because they keep coming, Jenny cannot be free. These men also use Jenny and use harsh language and acts towards her.
1. The speaker speaks of Jenny in the only way a man can about a prostitute. He's obviously enamored (not that rare of an occurrence), but only by her body. He never gives us any information that would distinguish her from anyone else. She is nice and sweet, but not in the way that nineteenth century women were meant to be (I found it funny that some of the things he said about her would be compliments in todays world). He still uses words such as "shameful" and uses the image of a "naked stem with thorns" which shows that he does not approve of her occupation, nor does society.
ReplyDelete6. His view kind of goes along the lines of "tis a tragedy, but it isn't mine." He feels bad for her, that's easy to see. But he also views it as a lost cause. He can't do anything to change it. More importantly, she can't do anything to change it. It is the way it is.
2. I think that we learn that Jenny perhaps grew up with a very innocent childhood, as the speaker states in lines 242-246. Then the next stanza tells us how she she got wrapped up in city life, and this innocence was lost.
ReplyDelete4. This could be way way off, but I kind of took "It makes a goblin of the sun" to mean the "sun" as in society, kind of referring to the statement "hasn't seen the sun" or not going out in public. It could also be that, right before this statement, we read about Nell, the cousin, and maybe the sun could refer to light, and the comparison between the two girls could be the goblin, and the sun/light drawing attention to this matter.
1. The speaker characterizes Jenny by her appearance because prostitutes are generally characterized by their looks rather than personality. Also the audience gets sense of emotion from the speaker,sympathy for Jenny, because she lives in a society where she is viewed as an unacceptable woman. Although the speaker, who lives in the same society, should view her as a fallen/ruined woman.
ReplyDelete2. The audience learn that Jenny is from the country, "lie in field." Also Jenny was curious about the city, but she was told it was "broil and bale" to make the city seem bad. I think Jenny wanted to explore the ity to see for herself what it was really like. Now Jenny turned out to be a prostitute in the city.
2. I think that the speaker ran into Jenny one night dancing and fell in love at first sight, but was not able to pursue anything because of her class. I feel like Jenny is now a prostitute.
ReplyDelete3. I feel like the treatment of Jenny is summed up in lines 53-58 where it states, “Whose acts are ill and his speech ill/ Who, having used you at his will/ Thrusts you aside.”
4. I found that the issues with fallen women and their association with their counterparts is discussed in lines 316-325. It suggests that society tries to keep these two groups of women as segregated as possible as evidenced by “Like a rose shut in a book/ In which pure women may not look” The poem says that the book’s pages claim control. I find this fact very interesting. This seems to allude to the image of Eve again. Eve was not exactly a pure women and she longed for control also. The same stanza also reads that the control will crush the soil, which I think can also be brought back to the Garden of Eden again.
1. Jenny is characterized by her looks simply because that is the easiest way to describe a prostitute during this time period. But the speaker seems to have a soft spot for Jenny as he describes how she is viewed in society.
ReplyDelete2. Jenny grew up in the country but was drawn by curiosity to the city life. Despite the stories she felt the need to explore this city lifestyle herself and as an result lost her innocence.
1. The speaker thinks Jenny is very attractive and that's about all he pays attention to. He seems to have feelings for her and maybe upset that she is a prostitute. He doesn't really make her out to be a hoe or anything. He is more positive.
ReplyDelete3. Jenny is not treated properly but her label is the explanation for that. The speaker acts as if Jenny is teased a lot, maybe more then most.
5. A lady should not speak to a fallen woman because just the thought of it could associate a lady to a fallen woman. Ladies are more fragile like and can easily be broken and a fallen woman just increases the intensity of "going to the dark side".
1.“Lazy Laughing languid jenny, fond of a kiss” The author goes on to describe Jenny as “A poor flower left torn since yesterday until to-morrow leave you bare;” she is a prostitute. The narrator is the man she spent the night with. He is a decent man, he is kind to her “perhaps you’re merely glad that I’m not drunk or ruffiantly and let you rest upon my knee.”
ReplyDelete2. Jenny’s past is innocence and simple, she lay in the grass and wondered where the city was. Once she grew up and lived in the London, where there was a lot prostitution going on, she lost that simple innocence she had as a child by becoming a prostitute.
3. From lines 40-52, we can see how society treats this fallen woman. They mock her, proclaim their strength to keep her weak and the daily jeer and jar. She is exposed every day for being a prostitute.
5. Women are to notice jenny as being fallen women. Although it’s a sad situation for them to watch, they are not supposed to associate themselves, the “proper women”, with a fallen woman. “But that can never be”
2. I thought that we learned that in Jenny's past she once lived as an innocent curious girl about the life of women in the city or of the men and now as experienced the life in the city hands on.
ReplyDelete6. I thought that the speaker was speaking in a tone of "i told you so" because of the way he addressed her with several questions and also he seems to rub her misery in compared to her other life.
5. I thought that the other women shouldn't come in contact with the fallen women because they were taught to suppose to be "pure" and if they associated themselves with those women and their image alone, than that would even be frowned upon and possibly assumed that they too are "fallen women" and "sinful".
2. I interpreted it that Jenny was a poor girl, or maybe a "country girl" who dreamed of making a life for herself in the city.
ReplyDelete3. Jenny is frowned upon in society because people know that she is a mistress to this man, and the poem suggests that she is made fun of and tormented for what she has done. Lines 381-384 stuck out to me because it was the speaker saying that although he may like Jenny and her benefits, he too feels the need to make fun of her for her immorality.
5. The poem says to me that all women will judge one another, especially if a women is sleeping around with a married man. She should probably try to avoid this heartache and stay away from women in society who will only ridicule her.
2.Jenny did not have a traumatic childhood. On the contrary she had a nice, easy, and innocent childhood. "Haply at times a passing thought, Of the old days.." This suggest that she becomes happy when she thinks of her past. "When she would lie in fields and look Along the ground through the blown grass.." This indicates how simple her past lifestyle was. However, she always wondered where the city was, and once being in London she allowed the fad of prostitution to influence her. Thus, she lost her innocence.
ReplyDelete3. We learn that Jenny is ostracized by other women in society. They purposely point her out, mock her, and break her down. Jenny is treated anything but kindly by the women in society.
6. For most of the poem the speaker is sympathetic and kind in his words describing her. But ultimately, he doesn't really care about her. Ultimately, he is just a man who sees her as a prostitute, who sees her for her body, who sees her for sex appeal and not as a lady.
3)We learn that Jenny is often spoken ill of because of the way she dresses and how she acts and that it crushes her soul. He also mean that people that don't even know her judge her.
ReplyDelete6)The narrator has a soft spot for Jenny, though he is reprehensive of what she is known for he knows that she has had it rough and that she deserves a moment of peace. He shows affection for her but at the same time withholds
1. The speaker is one of Jenny's customers and describes her beauty, but he does so in a way that seem like he pities her. He wonders about her future as well which shows he does care for her, but only sees her fallen. He asks why are her "lilies dead." He must be an upper class man because he is educated.
ReplyDelete2. She was a farm girl. I think she was seduced by the city life and prostitution was her only way to make money.
3. "It makes a goblin of the sun." Line 125 could mean that she cannot go out during the daytime now. Everyone would see her and mock her.
1. The narrator describes jenny as a fair women, possibly meaning she is beautiful. He mainly speaks about her beauty and not much else. This leads me to believe he is only a man worried about beauty and no other aspect of the women.
ReplyDelete2. Her childhood is described as laying in a field wondering about where the city may be. This leaves me with the impression that Jenny was always one who was curious about what life could be like outside of her own world, possibly leading to her prostitution.
3. Jenny is not treated as a lady should be in society. Many other women ridiculed her because they knew of her profession as a prostitute and of her night spent with this john.
1) The speaker is one of Jenny's customers, but he seems different because he talks about Jenny gently and describes her as very beautiful, but not only in a physical way.
ReplyDelete2) Around line 240, the speaker talks about Jenny laying in a field being curious about what's outside of her immediate surroundings. Like Garrett said, maybe her curiousity is what lead her to prostitution (whether directly or indirectly)
5) The speaker says Jenny is "Like a rose shut in a book/ In which pure women may not look" (316-317) So other women aren't supposed to interact with her because maybe they aren't supposed to be aware of a femenine freedom.
6) Overall, I think the speaker actually cares for Jenny. Why would he dote and speak so extensively about her if he did not? I also believe he tries to remind himself that she is only a prostitute, and tries to talk himself out of caring for her, even though he clearly does as show in lines 7, 22, and the last line. He repeatedly calls her "his" and "my dear."
Would it make any difference to your interpretation to know that Rossetti was having an affair with the wife of William Morris, poet, translator and socialist. Rossetti painted her over and over again (beautiful paintings) during their friendship (his own wife dying of a drug overdose). She was known as Janey Morris, however given the fact that her daughter Jane was called Jenny it was probably logical that he used this.
ReplyDeleteSandra