Author: hum303

What would you do if you wanted to move up in society, make money, and improve your status? Most likely, you would get an education, a job that you are qualified for through that education, and your status in society would naturally improve after that.  However, what if you lived in a time when as a woman, one of your only options to make money was to go into prostitution? Throughout history and across cultures, prostitution has existed and been an understood part of society. In different places, and at different times, prostitution has been regarded with varying levels of respect. For example, between the Victorian era in Great Britain and contemporary society in America, prostitution has come to mean (and been portrayed) very differently.

In 1902, Thomas Hardy published a poem entitled “The Ruined Maid”. It depicts the interaction between a farm girl-turned-prostitute named Melia, and a girl she used to know when they were both maids.  The prostitute has gone from rags to riches, as told by each stanza.  It is easiest to understand when breaking it down bit by bit. The first stanza reads,

“O ‘MELIA, my dear, this does everything crown!

Who could have supposed I should meet you in Town?

And whence such fair garments, such prosperity?”-

“O didn’t you know I’d been ruined?” said she.

 

The first three lines in the stanza are the maid speaking to Melia, and she clearly takes note of Melia’s new attire, which is rather fancy. When one initially begins to read the poem, it is not entirely clear that she is a prostitute, in fact, based on most of society’s preconceived notion of what a prostitute should look like. When someone pictures a prostitute, they do not think of fancy dresses and appearing to be wealthy. When Melia responds to the maid, her tone seems condescending, as if she is not ashamed of the fact that she is “ruined”, but rather, she is somewhat proud about her new-found status. 

The next staza reads,

“You left us in tatters, without shoes or socks,

Tired of digging potatoes, and spudding up docks;

And now you’ve gay bracelets and bright feathers three”-

“Yes: that’s how we dress when we’re ruined,” said she.

 

When the maid says that when she last saw Melia, Melia barely had clothes, you catch on to the fact that she was at a low point financially in her life. Therefore, she must have resorted to prostitution as a means of escaping her meager lifestyle.  When Melia responds by saying, “that’s how we dress when we’re ruined”, it is hard to detect her tone.  However, it seems as though she is talking down to the maid once again, so as to convey the idea that she just ‘wouldn’t be able to understand’ from the outside looking in on her situation. You don’t know if you should feel sorry for Melia, as the way she gained her material lifestyle was by giving up her purity, in a sense. 

            The maid continues on,

-“At home in the barton you said ‘thee’ and ‘thou,’

And ‘think oon’, and ‘theas oon,’ and ‘t’other’; but now

Your talking quite fits ‘ee for high company!”-

“Some polish is gained with one’s ruin,” said she.

The way one communicates says a lot about his or her status or personality, so it is not surprising that her speech and mannerisms have changed since her switch in professions.  When the maid says she is fit for high company, it may be perceived as a compliment, but for the reader, knowing that the reasons for her advancement in society is due to prostitution, it can also be somewhat of a hypocritical statement. Melia responds to all this by saying “some polish is gained with one’s ruin”. By this, she means that you become a more refined woman by choosing this life, which is defined by selling yourself- another hyperbole in the whole idea of prostitution as a “respectable” path.

-“Your hands were like paws then, your face blue and bleak

But now I’m bewitched by your delicate cheek,

And your little gloves fit as on any lady”-

“We never do work when we’re ruined,” said she.

This stanza continues to create the sense of disconnect between what the lifestyle appears to be, and what it truly is.  Melia speaks with what can be interpreted as a condescending tone again, and says that she never has to work as a ruined woman- making the lifestyle sound like one of pure leisure and luxury.

In the next stanza, the maid comments that Melia used to complain of their lowly lifestyle, and that she seemed terribly unhappy with their circumstances. She continues on to say that Melia seems too happy to even know what it would be to feel sad or melancholy. To this, Melia says it is true- “One’s pretty lively when ruined,” she said. 

The final stanza reveals Melia for who she truly is. The maid expresses to Melia that she wishes she had “a delicate face, and could strut about town”, to which Melia replies, scathingly, “My dear- a raw country girl, such as you be, cannot quite expect that.  You ain’t ruined.”  The entire poem, Melia maintains a sense of pride in what she does, and remains disconnectd from the maid in that they now represent two very different worlds.  However, her very last sentence holds the key to her true beginnings- she uses the word “ain’t”! This in itself juxtaposes what she tells the maid just before. Melia tells the girl she couldn’t possibly understand this lifestyle, and that there is no way she ever could- despite the fact that Melia herself came from the same roots as the maid.

What is important to take away from this poem, in spite of everything that Melia says in opposition, is that prostitution was a resort for her to get out of a meager lifestyle of manual labor. For this reason, she is proud of where she is, as opposed to when she worked alongside the other maid. This idea somewhat fits with what we picture when we think of a “contemporary” prostitute, mostly because of the media. One particular example is a movie called Pretty Woman.

Pretty Woman (1990), was directed by Gary Marshall, and starred a young Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.  The story is about a businessman, Edward, who works in a legal but morally bankrupt job, and happens to meet Vivienne (Julia Roberts) on Hollywood Boulevard. He hires her as an escort to accompany him to work events while he is in Los Angeles for business. Eventually they fall in love, and have a “happily ever after” ending. What is most intriguing, however, is the way Vivienne is depicted, and the way she operates in her lifestyle.

In the beginning of the movie, Vivienne and her friend( who is also a prostitute) Kitt are standing in their usual spot, when another prostitute encroaches on their space. The prostitute, Rachel, says something about Vivenne “being new”, which right off the bat gives the viewer the sense that Vivienne is not yet a hardened long-time professional.  Also, when Vivienne discovers that Kitt has used their rent money to buy drugs, Vivienne is furious- this shows that not only does she seem to have a sense of priorities; but that she is somewhat responsible despite her chosen trade.

After Vivienne and Edward meet, and she comes back to his hotel room with him, he asks her to stay the whole night. She agrees, and they sit, talk, and get to know each other a bit.  The following scene is the one that best emphasizes the line between innocence and corruption on which Vivienne treads. She lies on her stomach, eating snacks, watching an “I Love Lucy” rerun, laughing unabashedly in almost a child-like way. However, as soon as Edward turns his attention on her, she mutes the television and she proceeds to perform fellatio on him. Even as she unzips his pants, however, she turns to the television, giggling at the scene unfolding. This made her appear as a ‘real’ person, in a way one would never expect of a prostitute.

Edward asks her the next day to stay for the week, to which she agrees, as long as he pays her $3000.  As part of their agreement, he buys her many new outfits that are befitting of a lady, as opposed to a prostitute.  By the end of the film (and of their week together), she appears entirely different. Her hair is blown-out, her makeup is classy, and every outfit she wears is flattering and high-end.  She even has begun to walk in a different way, and speaks with an air of sophistication.

At the end of the movie, when she leaves the hotel, she is saying goodbye to the manger, with whom she had become quite friendly. In a moment that reminded me very much of Melia from “The Ruined Maid”, rather than saying something expected like “It’s been a pleasure” or “It was nice meeting you”, she simply says, “Stay cool”, in a way that once again reminds the viewer of someone much more innocent and even childish than she would be expected to be, based on her profession. In a sense, Vivienne’s “Stay Cool” is quite reminiscent of Melia’s “aint”.

These two depictions of prostitutes in different times and places are in some ways quite similar, and very different in others. Melia, the ruined maid, was from a lowly background,  doing farm work and having barely any clothes (and the ones she had were not by any means nice). Similarly, Vivienne was from a small town in Georgia, where she only made it through the 11^th grade in high school, and worked  on cars with the boys.  In both stories, the women resort to prostitution as  means of getting by. However, it is unclear how long it took Melia to rise to the level of society she is in when her and the other maid reunite. Vivienne, on the other hand, had not been a prostitute long, and based on her attire and living quarters, was not doing as well as Melia was for her time. It wasn’t until Edward came into the picture that Vivienne experienced social climbing as a prostitute.  In the scene when Vivienne privately celebrates the fact that she will be paid $3000, one can see a similar trade (perhaps greed) in her, which no doubt fueled Melia’s social climb as well.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the women, however, is the fact that Melia has apparently become her profession, whereas Vivienne is not defined by how she makes her living. Throughout the film, Vivienne has little quirks, like enjoying I Love Lucy, or flossing her teeth, that make it clear that she still has a side of her that has not been infested by her profession. Melia, on the otherhand, speaks, acts, and looks the part of the “ruined” woman, rather than separating her personality from her trade. The fact that in the movie Pretty Woman, the prostitute was pictured as having a conscience, and being lovable for her personality, gives the opposite feeling that “The Ruined Maid” does- The Ruined maid serves as a warning against prostitution, in the sense that it has completely changed Melia and has demolished her personality outside of what she does. Pretty Woman makes the prostitute endearing and likable, which makes it seem much less of a problem that she has chosen to be a prostitute. 

 

-Rachel Olshausen

Victorian and Modern Times Aren’t so Different

In the play, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, the mother and daughter relationship resembles closely to a story today that is popular with women. The story of Grey’s Anatomy; another tragic mother and daughter relationship that deal with gender and sexuality issues, much like Mrs. Warren and her daughter Vivie Warren. There are many similarities between these two relationships, but also some difference that contend with time and age.

Mrs. Warren and Vivie Warren did not have any contact when Vivie was younger; she wasn’t sure who was her father, or what exactly her mother was doing while she was away. This has made Vivie a very independent woman who did not want to have romance, even though she had a few suitors after her. Vivie is a smart educated woman who wanted to make good money. Mrs. Warren wanted Vivie to have a romance and settle down. Vivie finds out that her mother ran a brothel throughout Europe and realized that’s why her mother wasn’t around until after she graduated college with a degree in Mathematics.

In the television series Grey’s Anatomy, Ellis and Meredith Grey are also mother and daughter and have an estranged relationship. Ellis is a high profile doctor who was also busy working all the time. Meredith followed in her mother’s footsteps and went to college and medical school to also become a doctor. She wanted to make her mother proud. Ellis did not want Meredith to get tied up in romance; she wanted her to focus on her career of being a surgeon. Meredith does want a committed relationship and eventually finds one, but her mother does not approve before she dies from Altzimers.

Mrs. Warren and Ellis Grey are a lot alike because they are highly respected in their own professions and looked at as powerful women from their peers. Although Mrs. Warren’s profession may be frowned upon by the general population, in the brothel industry she was highly looked upon. They had scandalous relationships before their daughters were old enough to realize what was going on. Vivie finds out that her out of wedlock father is the father of the man, Frank who she is involved with so they do not move their relationship forward. Meredith finds out that her mother, who was married to Meredith’s father, had an affair with a fellow doctor and which eventually ruins her marriage.

Both Mrs. Warren and Ellis Grey claim that they worked hard as women in a man’s world to give their daughters what they want as they grew up, even though they hardly spent any time with their daughters. Mrs. Warren and Ellis, liked to remind Vivie and Meredith that they did work hard just for them and almost expect a lot of gratitude from them.

Mrs. Warren ran a brothel and Vivie comes to find out that her mother still does run a brothel and decides to disown her. Sexuality to Vivie was not a big thing in her life; gender was. She wanted to be a respected woman and not have to rely on a man to give her the finer things in life. Mrs. Warren would call on suitors for Vivie anyways, she did not think that Vivie could take care of herself like she claims; her education wouldn’t get her very far in life.

Ellis Grey was just the opposite. She wanted Meredith to go to medical school and become a doctor, make a lot of money, and become a respected woman surgeon. Meredith showed most of the same goals for herself as her mother did, but she wanted to fill the void of having a broken family, of having a committed relationship. Ellis was furious when she found out that Meredith was involved with another doctor. She wanted Meredith to have a career first and then a family.

It is almost like Mrs. Warren and Ellis Grey had a bad childhood and young adult life and wanted to relive their lives through their daughters. Vivie and Meredith are different people than their mothers. They are very independent women and are exploring their sexuality in different ways. Vivie tries to be romantically involved with someone who turns out to be sort of related to her because her mom messed up. It made her sexuality disappear. She could not trust anyone in the romantic sense. Meredith is romantically involved with a fellow doctor and it has it’s rocky times because of her insecurities from her mother. She uses sex to not think about her broken family. Sex is a mini vacation for her brain.

The roles of gender and sexuality have been reversed between the two mother and daughter relationships. Back in the Victorian era, sexuality was a part of life and Mrs. Warren wanted it to be a part of Vivie’s life so that she could be taken care of. Now in contemporary times, Dr. Ellis Grey does not want sexuality to be a apart of Meredith’s life. She wants her daughter to concentrate on her gender role in her work place and make a career first over everthing.

In conclusion, Mrs. Warren and Ellis Grey defined their sexuality with their womanizing ways. They used what they had to get what they want in life. They claim that everything they did was for their daughters, but it is hard to say what the exact reason or reasons were. Vivie Warren and Meredith Grey learned how not to be from their mothers. They became their own woman in their own ways. Their mothers influenced them on how not to be.

 By

Kathleen Hupp

When I first read over Gertrude Stein I found it almost impossible to interpret. Then after we discussed the importance of sound in class, I read it out loud a couple of times to see if I could find any meaning behind the poem. The sound of the word sweet didn’t truly stand out until hearing it pronounced so urgently as it was suggested in the poem’s reading. Yet I was still struggling to understand the deeper meaning of the poem. There was one word that stood out to me, incubus, for this reason I went in search of its meaning. An incubus is an imaginary demon or evil spirit that would descend upon sleeping women to have sexual intercourse with them, they can also be simply considered a nightmare. After discovering this I was wondering what the mention of an incubus was in relation to the rest of the poem. I struggled to find research into what the deeper meaning of Stein’s piece was, although there were a few suggestions that she intended to shed light on feminist theories during a time when women’s rights were stifled by the power of men. There were also claims that by the use of words such as “tea” and “old vats” she was referencing old traditions and understandings of the roles of women. Through all of my research my final understanding of Stein’s poem is that she was fighting for the rights of women, including the rights of women sexually who may be forced by society or men to follow a particular standard. Such standard may simply mean providing sexually for a man, or where the intelligence of women is restricted along with their ability to work in an all male workforce. Although my interpretation of Susie Asado may be farther off then what she intended, that is the best part of poetry is that meaning is always up for interpretation and can provide meaning for a reader that they can then apply to their life. 

Picasso was known for co-creating the art of cubism in the 20th century. Cubism influenced many artist during this time period. The art of cubism is when an artist cuts and pastes different images in order to create a new one. Whenever Picasso did portraits of people he would draw a side profile and a front face profile and then merge the two together to create a new face. This allowed the viewer to see the same person or object but from different angles.

Our group decided to tear apart the painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. We each drew (to the best of our abilities) a person and then at the end we merged them all together to recreate the painting. Our drawing is very abstract and demonstrates Picasso’s idea of cutting and pasting.

Homework: Define a specific word in a text.

I chose morbid from the poem Moulin Rouge by Arthur Symons. The dictionary states morbid as:

• Of, relating to, or characteristic of disease
• Affected with or induced by disease
• Productive of disease

 

With a homework assignment like this (inspired by a previous assignment) one can really see how a work can have more than one meaning. When reading a text one does not often think about the other definitions of the words, but rather the one that is used most often. When I looked up this word I was shocked. I realized that I have been thinking and using this word wrong. I thought of morbid as something bad, which is along the lines of the real definition but still is not correct.

The text uses the word morbid in the following paragraph:

Alone, apart, one dancer watches

Her mirrored, morbid grace;

Before the mirror, face to face,

Alone she watches

Her morbid, vague, ambiguous grace.

As we have learned in class prostitution is something that was frowned upon during the 19^th century but was done anyway. Prostitution obviously has sexual risk involved as sexual transmitted diseases are transmitted that way. The chances that men used condoms are slim to none. Symons first discusses the women as beautiful dancers. He talks about them performing a waltz of roses. Red roses are known for their elegance, beauty, and ability to seduce people. Symons also describes them as red blossoming roses. However, the dancers have a dark side and it is seen when one of the dancers looks into the mirror and recognizes it. Knowing the definition of morbid, I relate it to that she either realizes that prostitution is a disease or that she has a sexual transmitted disease. Either way she recognizes that her elegance is tainted.

 -Yuri Can

Hybrid homework: For this homework assignment I wanted to look at the pop culture interpretation of “Moulin Rouge” to Arthur Symons’ version. The Baz Luhrman film interpretation showed the Moulin Rouge as a spontaneous, fun, carefree atmosphere that was touted as societally valued. Nicole Kidman’s character, Satine, is the envy of all of Europe. She is courted by Duke’s and has control over her own sexuality. The London Nights version, however, portrays the Moulin Rouge as a place of broken dreams and mirrored images of the ghosts within these women. He calls the women “morbid, vague” which I found to be an interesting juxtaposition. Satine is intelligent, has dreams, an vision outside of the Moulin Rouge. Symons makes these women sound like empty vessels, ready to be savaged by the visitors of the Moulin Rouge. The Luhrman version is morbid, Satine dies at the end and the women are shown as playtoys, slaves to the Moulin Rouge. But the overall tone of the piece isn’t dark. It’s fun. It shows the revolutions that sexuality has gone through and the openness women have to express their sexuality. I think the short term learning goals of this is to see the realism in Symons’ piece and the sensationalism in the modern film version. The long term value is second guessing Hollywood productions. People are so inclined to believe what they are shown. I think that this is an example to look deeper, which is a message I will carry with me.

-Alexis Burt

In Auguste Rodin’s sculpture we are presented with the kiss shared between Paolo and Francesca two forbidden lovers condemned to hell. The presentation of their naked bodies presents and intimate and pure moment shared between the couple, and the sensual love they share. Their embrace is not one of scandal as the story explains it to be but rather of passionate and charming one. Through craft Rodin is able to express the story of Paolo and Francesca in an entirely different way. Though when presented the story of their indiscretion we are enlightened to the true story of their relationship shattering the romantic moment displayed by Rodin. 

Homework: Look over the first lines of the Goblin Market assignment and draw what comes to your mind. After you finish, read the next section I chose and continue to draw what comes to your mind. Finally continue to read the final section that I chose and draw once again.

Since I already know what the poem is about it would be very bias for me to draw my own assignment. My roommate was willing to donate her time and do some extra homework (I had to bribe her with chocolate).  I read to her the beginning of the poem until the part where it says “all ripe together in summer weather”. Since all she heard was the fruit being mentioned she drew tree full of fruit. She also remembered it being the summer time therefore there was a sun in the corner and the grass was really green (figure 1).

Secondly, I read to her the section that starts out “But sweet-tooth Laura spoke in haste… as she turned home alone.” For this picture she drew a lady who was blond and had curly hair thinking of fruit and particularly an apple (figure 2).

Finally, I ended the assignment by reading to her the section, “One may lead the horse to water… some vanished in the distance.” For this picture, she drew ghosts that seem to be attacking the blonde girl and even made her bleed. The girl seems to be crying (figure 3).

After this experiment I just conducted I realized that she did not once draw anything sexual. I read to her some of the most sexual parts of this story but she did not seem to catch on to them. I can see now how this poem was written for younger kids. I’m sure that if she read the whole poem she would catch on to how dirty the poem actually is but when I read to her bits and pieces she just assumed the poem was actually about fruit.

 

-Yuri Can

Hybrid Homework: Instead of going to class Friday, I took inspiration from Oscar Wilde’s “The Harlot House”. I went to the MASC and one the selected laid out exhibits was Wilde’s handwritten copy of “Vera”. Seeing this really made a deep impact on my connection with Wilde. Instead of being type on a computer screen, he became an artist to me, an individual hand with unique handwriting. I loved seeing the shorthand. I didn’t realize plays were written in that way as a draft. It made the whole art seem less pretentious to me. It also made Wilde seem like more of an author and less of a piece of classic literature. Seeing the editing process on paper added artistry to the work. Reading classic authors like Wilde, I had this idea they just spit out pieces of work. I didn’t imagine all the work put into the pieces that they produce. I think that short-term value of this is a deeper appreciation of this specific author. I feel more connected to the works that he produces now. The long-term value is seeing the artistic process and seeing myself in that position. I had thought about writing, not even professionally but just as a piece of who I am. I had always felt like writing was something successful or art-driven people did. Reading Wilde made me feel like he was just another person on the other side. I can see myself putting myself on the side of the creative process which is empowering for me. Seeing his work written like that makes me want to write.

-Alexis Burt

 

“The Ruined Maid” is a poem written in 1866, by Thomas Hardy. The poem depicts a conversation between a prostitute and a maid she used to work with in the fields. She makes it clear that she believes she is in a much better place now that she is a prostitute- she is proud of her position in society. After all, she dresses nicer, has a haughty air about her, and can afford luxury items like jewelry. The ruined maid’s former coworker points out all of these things, and in response, the ruined maid says either, “yes; that’s how we dress when we’re ruined”, or “some polish is gained with one’s ruin”, or “one’s pretty lively when ruined”. All of these things denote her condescending tone she carries, and the fact that she is proud of herself. However, at the end of the poem, the ruined maid says something that breaks down the entire illusion.

In the last stanza, the maid’s previous coworker says, “I wish I had feathers, a fine sweeping gown, and a delicate face, and could strut about Town!” To this, the ruined maid replies, “My dear—a raw country girl, such as you be, cannot quite expect that. You ain’t ruined.” The irony of this statement is astounding. The fact that she goes through so much to look and act the part of a ruined woman high up in society, yet slips up and says something so classless like “ain’t” is very ironic. That one word redefines her entire attitude, as it transforms her from a high-society woman to a pathetic person trying to be more than they were initially, doing anything in their powers to do so. By having the ruined maid say “ain’t”, Hardy defined ruin once again as something undesirable, rather than the grand status that the ruined maid tries to convince her old acquaintance (and the reader) it in fact was.

by: Rachel Olshausen