Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Violence and Beauty
As I read Swift's poems I was struck by the violent diction of his work, which correlates to the seemingly inhumane beauty ideals of his time that confined women to rib-breaking corsets and removed their self-sufficiency. At first I thought that only men used violent means to control women, but when I read Montagu's poem, I saw the duality of the violence. While the men violently control women, the women also use beauty to control and dominate the men. Montagu argues that through the beautification process "a new life shot sparkling from [Flavia's] eyes!" (12). Flavia revels in her beauty and the "presents," "lovers," "dresses," "empire," and "spirit" that it brings. Of particular interest to me is the allegory between women/romance and men/kingship. Men become kings through might and war, which implies that women also use violent means to gain hold over men and rise above other women. Montagu implies that beauty levels the playing field between men and women, "monarchs and beauties rule with equal sway" (85). Neither holds more power, but I think the kicker is that both hold power over "men" who "mock the idol of their former vow" (88). Does Montagu think that women in power disregard the sexism of their times and allow their sisters to be subjugated? Is she trying to expose the superficiality of Women and their selfish quest for power? What does the last stanza regarding nature imply about beauty ideals--is it unnatural for women to manipulate their beauty or is it embedded in their nature? And as one of the few female poets of her time, how does Montagu fit into the puzzle?
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I too find the last stanza of Montagu's poem very interesting. Flavia bids "adieu" to society and instead prefers a "deserted place" away from the city. I believe that this plays into Montagu's satire: she too is criticizing the society that makes women into mere objects that exist simply to satisfy the male gaze and, thus, comments on the wretchedness of London society as well. The "operas" and such constructions force the woman to place her appearance above all else, and Montagu--as a woman, intellectual and poet--cannot accept this. I believe she advocates a rejection of this type of society through her comments about returning to a "deserted" or more "natural" state.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree with your many of your points, I have to disagree about the violence that women supposedly use towards men. According to feminist theory, even the fact that these women try to control men with beauty implies that themselves are still under the control of men in general, or the paternalistic society.
ReplyDeleteFirst, both of these poems are told from a male perspective. In the third poem, by Montagu, that which ruins the girl's life is not the small pox, but her own image in the mirror. The mirror, that which controls how a woman perceives herself, is really the thing that tells her how the rest of the world, or the part of the world that matters, men, will perceive her and thus accept/reject her.
So I don't think these women were trying to control men as much as they were trying to find a place to fit in with their society: for the rich woman, it was to be beautiful. This would ensure financial stability and, at least from an outsider's perspective, happiness. For a poor woman, the artificiality of dress and makeup was not intended to promote beauty as much as sexuality, which would help her become a better prostitute and thus ensure a livelihood.
In any case, both women were restricted by appearance, and thus forced into their materialism and artificiality.