Content Category
Literary Criticism
Abstract/Description
Due to events such as the Civil War, Interregnum, Restoration, and the rise of the bourgeois, England’s national identity was subject to change during the eighteenth century. Along with this large-scale change came a questioning of the meaning of gender and gender roles. Because of the relatively new forms of written media, like newspapers and journals, both men and women of various social standings could engage in a literary discussion about such questions. This essay focuses on two poets in particular: Alexander Pope and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Pope’s Rape of the Lock and Montagu’s “Saturday. Small-Pox. Flavia.” hyperbolize society’s view of women in order to reveal the flaws of the stereotype. For instance, both Belinda and Flavia consider beauty to be the most powerful and admirable female trait, so when they lose their beauty, they are both devastated. Both poems suggest causes and solutions for the situation of women at the time that are related but significantly different from one another. “Saturday. Small-Pox. Flavia.” suggests that women only obsess over beauty because it is the only thing that society admires in women. Consequently, it is society, not the individual woman, that must change in order to create a forgiving environment. However, Rape of the Lock claims that women have the power to change society’s view by adopting “good sense” and thus gaining admiration through actions rather than appearance.
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Origin of Submission
as part of a class
Faculty Involvement
Billy Hall
Challenging a Stereotype: Female Nature in Rape of the Lock and “Saturday. Small-Pox. Flavia.”
Due to events such as the Civil War, Interregnum, Restoration, and the rise of the bourgeois, England’s national identity was subject to change during the eighteenth century. Along with this large-scale change came a questioning of the meaning of gender and gender roles. Because of the relatively new forms of written media, like newspapers and journals, both men and women of various social standings could engage in a literary discussion about such questions. This essay focuses on two poets in particular: Alexander Pope and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Pope’s Rape of the Lock and Montagu’s “Saturday. Small-Pox. Flavia.” hyperbolize society’s view of women in order to reveal the flaws of the stereotype. For instance, both Belinda and Flavia consider beauty to be the most powerful and admirable female trait, so when they lose their beauty, they are both devastated. Both poems suggest causes and solutions for the situation of women at the time that are related but significantly different from one another. “Saturday. Small-Pox. Flavia.” suggests that women only obsess over beauty because it is the only thing that society admires in women. Consequently, it is society, not the individual woman, that must change in order to create a forgiving environment. However, Rape of the Lock claims that women have the power to change society’s view by adopting “good sense” and thus gaining admiration through actions rather than appearance.