Author: ytcan

Prostitution is a career that many women would not choose to pursue nowadays. However, in the 19^th century there were not many careers to choose from, and pursuing prostitution was considered a step forward towards women’s rights. The fact that women today can choose to pursue any career is in fact due to revolution started by women in the 19^th century.  

Many of the paintings that we have studied in class portray how women felt so ashamed of their mistake, and how they were considered fallen. However in the painting Found by Dante Gabriel Rossetti I think that the young woman is not ashamed of being a prostitute. The way her lips are puckered and how she is looking the other way, gives me the impression that she is trying to free herself. I get the feeling that she does not want to be the ideal women but instead wants to be an independent woman. This idea of being an independent woman was very scandalous. As prostitution started to become more popular, women started to become independent and no longer needed to rely on a man.

Édouard Manet is another artist whom believes that prostitution was becoming a fad. In his painting Olympia, he portrays a demimondaine. The look in her eyes, the jewelry she wears, and the fact that she has a slave definitely supports the idea of women becoming independent.  

As men were not needed as much they began to feel threatened. A new act was passed in the United Kingdom called the Contagious Diseases Acts which would allow policeman to arrest any women who appeared to be a prostitute, and were required to be checked for sexual transmitted diseases. This of course oppressed woman once again.

As women continued to get oppressed they fought to get the act repealed. This act brought feminist together and together they fought for what they believed was right. The act was later repealed in 1886. Prostitution is often frowned upon; however due to it, women are now independent.  

 

Lipton, Eunice. Alias Olympia: A Woman’s Search for Manet’s Notorious Model & Her Own Desire. New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1992. Print.

McHugh, Paul. Prostitution and Victorian Social Reform. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1980.

Scandal is something that intrigues everyone. Whether it is because it is a rare occurrence or because we just enjoying hearing about other peoples’ lives, scandal piques nearly everyone’s’ interest. Usually the people that are involved in scandals are those in society who are role-models for others. A good scandal usually involves two people; as the saying goes, “it takes two to tango”. The artist William Hogarth seemed to enjoy portraying scandal, and Before and After are perfect examples of that theme.

 

In Before, it can be seen that the gentleman is trying to seduce the young lady. This image might not be considered scandalous. At first glance it just seems that the gentleman is being flirtatious. After further examination of the painting, I noticed the placement of his leg. The leg was placed between her legs and she is blushing. Her hand gestures make it seem like she is saying no, but she is not really trying to stop him. It is clear that what will happen next is something of a scandalous nature.

 

If the painting After could speak, it would scream “scandal”. Everything about this painting makes spectators want to turn away. For one, the man’s pants are not even pulled up all the way and the woman’s dress is not covering much. Second, their faces are flushed. It is obvious that they just had sexual intercourse. Her gestures have completely changed. Initially, she seemed hesitant to his advances, but her body language in After shows her wanting him to stay with her, in a somewhat clingy gesture.

Hogarth’s enjoyment of scandal can be seen through many other paintings as well. Many of Hogarth’s scandalous paintings were produced around the same time that the trial of Catherine Cadiére was occurring. Catherine was involved in a sex scandal that got the attention of many people. Catherine accused Jesuit Jean-Baptiste Girard of sexually abusing her, as well as using witchcraft. The accusations eventually led to a trial, which warped from sexual scandal into a persecution against all Jesuits. The people who supported Catherine believed that the Jesuits corrupted people and that her testimony was evidence to support their theory. Catherine eventually won the case and the people were happy.

We can relate Catherine’s case to Hogarth’s A Harlot’s Progress. In A Harlot’s Progress, a woman has just moved to London and eventually becomes a prostitute which eventually leads to her death. There are 6 paintings that tell the story but it is in the third painting that we can see the closest relation. There is a witch’s broom and hat hung on the prostitute’s wall.

It is obvious that Hogarth was very interested in scandals. He was also very interested in women as they are the main focus in most of his paintings. It cannot be proven that he was inspired by Catherine Cadiére sex scandal, but since Catherine’s case was the biggest thing around at the time, I believe there could be a connection.

Bibliography

“Carnal Quietism”: Embodying Anti-Jesuit Polemics in the Catherine Cadiere Affair, 1731. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. Internet resource.

Stephens, Frederick George. Catalouge of Political and Personal Satires, Volume III, part I. London: British Museum Publications, Ltd., 1978

In the poem Ode to Beauty Mary Darby Robinson describes her life in a rather depressing way. She starts by discussing her first child birth. At first I thought her to be describing a person when she mentioned “azure eyes” and “golden hair.” Then she later uses words such as Ill-natured and jealousy to lead the reader to believe she is talking about the father. During the later stanzas she discusses how she came to fame and found a new husband through this fame. Towards the end of the poem she seems to have been left by this man and creates a morose outlook on love.

This poem became popular in the romantic era because that era was full of strong emotion, imagination, and freedom. The Victorian era was very different however. The Victorian era muffled emotion and feeling. A poem like this may have been seen as a scandal and would be squashed by society.

The two eras may have their differences but that doesn’t change the story being told or the impact it has made. Mary Robinson was a hopeless romantic who couldn’t find love in the right places. It seems every man she had been with left her and broke her heart at some point. She never was on the other end in this poem about her romantic life. She writes as if it is woe is me and ironically in the poem it was her actions that put her in the situations she was in. For example after she became famous she got caught up in her fame and rushed into a relationship. In the end we should perhaps feel sorry for Mary but be aware of her actions and consequences. 

The Victorian era is known for many changes that transformed the way of living in a positive manner. However, there were also some aspects that were considered negative. 

Our group decided to focus on the scandals that happened during the Victorian era, whether it be found in politics, society or both. We will focus mostly on the darker side of the Victorian era.