The Feminine Predicament
Exploring the Unique Vitality of Rossetti’s Poetry Vis-à-Vis Mill’s Approach to Feminism
Abstract
This study re-examines the Victorian Feminine Predicament by formulating a comparison – placing parallelly and contrasting two key texts, namely, Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” and John Stuart Mill’s Subjection of Women. Both works are spiritual adjuncts in terms of their focus and intention: speaking for women, for women's equality, and for establishing women as not merely the equivalents of men but, in some respects, even superior. We explore the very different avenues the authors choose to tread on as we uncover pivotal themes of salvation, spiritual redemption, unabashed ‘same-sex’ erotic desire, the ‘prostitute’ and the promiscuous, insanity, domesticity, and ‘slavery’ disguised as marriage. The tricky roadmap for Rossetti, dotted with milestones inscribed with an unyielding dedication to the ‘fallen’ of the species, races through radically sharp turns and twists often lightly veiled under the pellucid charade of children’s literature, with a rebellious pace. Mill, on the other hand, would not take risks beyond calculated ones. If a colossal open-air bonfire of female sexuality is Rossetti’s challenge, radical ideas garbed in ‘decorous’ and philosophical language are all that Mill offers.
Presentato: 06 Aprile 2024 | Accettato: 17 Novembre 2024 | Pubblicato 07 Marzo 2025 | Lingua: en
Keywords Gender relations • Desire • Female literacy • Christina Rossetti • Christianity • John Stuart Mill • Abstinence • Liberalism • Commodity culture • “Goblin Market”
Copyright © 2024 Atrija Ghosh. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/EL/2420-823X/2024/11/008