Class Themes: Humanities 303

For our blog, Natalie and I wanted to provide more background on the themes of the course and to delve a little deeper into these themes. The big themes that really stuck out were ruin, natural beauty, gender, and lust. For each of these themes, you will see that it is tied to several of the readings performed throughout the semester up to now. Each theme is provided with a detailed background and an overview of the main idea of that theme. We also tried to make sure that each theme had a picture to go along with it and that it truly represented how the themes in the course have been presented to us. Ruin has been depicted as something gloomy that has happened among the women of the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Tying this into the readings and the many activities of the course, this has truly been the main theme of the course. Natural beauty was a phenomenal concept in this course, and has provided us a new way and light upon which to observe art and the beauty around us. Gender is another prominent theme throughout the course. We have often times discussed the differences in the treatment of the men and women throughout the Victorian era; so we thought it pertinent to include it among the themes that we have been learning about. Finally, we have lust. Something that is strongly sought about by men and women; this theme has been found in nearly all of our readings for this course. Lust; either depicted among the “scandalous” parts of the readings or the more common interactions of the characters in our readings, it is a theme throughout. While there are smaller themes found throughout the course, we decided on lust, gender, natural beauty, and ruin to be amongst the highest and most sought after for this course.

Course Themes:

• Gender
• Lust
• Ruined Women
• Natural Beauty

Gender:

Within the course, Humanities 303, many topics are explored when debriefing the cultural context of the Victorian Era. A large proportion of the readings depict the transformation of ruin within eighteenth- and nineteenth-century arts and humanities. Gender is one that has played a significant role. Women within the Victorian era were often expected as being sweet and innocent, while pertaining to their duties in the household. While men on the other hand, were allowed to work and were encouraged to create sexual advancements. For instance, when reading Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Vivi is expected to pertain to her womanly duties by her mother. Consequently, Vivi finds herself resembling a masculine personality due to her youth. While growing up, much of Vivi’s childhood required independence with a lack of family structure. As a result, Vivi is at a loss within society. Vivi’s loss of self identity, mirrors many of women’s struggles within this time period. Gender identity frequently appears within this course in order to depict the swift change in society.

 

Lust:

Lust is a relevant theme that appears occasionally within the course reading. The Victorian era, known for controlling impulsivity, encouraged people to act privately and properly. Consequently, the readings pertaining to this time period encouraged mischief. Not to mention, many of the images provided within the course reading insinuate pre-marital sex. For example, the images Before and After demonstrate acts of adultery. Within the image, the fallen apples insinuate references towards the story of Adam and Eve. Their ruffled apparel also suggests that they were doing more than talking. Lust during the Victorian era was frowned upon, yet practiced daily.

 

                                     

 

 

Ruined Women:

Ruined women is a major theme throughout this course. The reading, “The Ruined Maid” in particular, displays a fine example of how a woman’s virginity determines her wealth. Throughout the text, O’melia, the main character explains to her friend the benefits of being ruined. Yet, once her friend enlightens her of her envy, O’melia is quick to state, “my dear—a raw country girl, such as you be, cannot quite expect that. You ain’t ruined”(Hardy). The connotation of being a prostitute may in fact seem glamorous and lavish; the aftermath is much worse. A ruined woman within the Victorian time period was extremely rebellious and scandalous. Although it served as a means to obtain money, it was truly an undesirable profession.

 

Natural Beauty:

Within reading, “ On the Picturesque” and “Sublime”, beauty is representational of the natural state in which the object has originated. Both picturesque and sublime go hand in hand in order to create beauty. Ones imperfections and flaws in the end make life itself remarkable and beautiful. Many of the readings display women in their natural and given state. Within society, this very fact may be considered ugly and unforgiving; however, this ugly truth and honesty does in fact show beauty. The image Found Drowned, greatly resembles the idea of natural beauty. The woman displayed in the image appears to have committed suicide, yet she appears beautiful by how graceful and serine she is presented. The ugly truth that lies within this image makes her stunning.