Valente examines the perspective of the lower socioeconomic spectrum through the story of “gutter worm”, Jane Sallow. Through Jane’s verbiage, visage, and actions Valente introduces the reader to her defiant nature, quite contrary to the women of her time. Jane serves as orator of the people. She tells the story of oppression faced by the lower class of Manchester England, specifically women through a brazen, blunt, voice which thoroughly encapsulates the injustices faced by her and her peers. Jane’s initial arrest reveals the qualities that make her such a controversial figure contrary to the ideological culture surrounding her, and points to the moral deficiencies that exist within her society. Upon arresting Jane, the Constable notices
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She likens men to robots damned to operating within a realm of “masculine tyranny” where their actions oppress women and lowly members of Manchester’s social stratum. During her soliloquy her captors take no notice of the wisdom she possesses only comparing her action to that of a wild animal. Despite engaging in acts of prostitution Jane sees her soul and morals beyond the grip of the man stripping her down and arresting her. “I have been a whore before now and will be again, but my cunt is all you can have of me, never my soul, nor the souls of my brothers and sisters in servitude” (160). This quote serves as further evidence to the injustices faced by the women of Jane’s time, and ironically the very moment the Constable lifts her skirt to perform lewd acts, is when the Jane’s concealed pamphlets fall. The ink from the pamphlets stain her skin despite falling to the ground. With this fact the author transfers the issues found within the pamphlet to the body of Jane both literally and figuratively in an effort to show just how deep they existed within her society. Jane also notes that the technological advances evident during her time serve virtually only man and do little to ease the burdens faced by the fairer sex. “Yet still the Working of a house occupies all her Hours, till she is no more than a Husk, a ghost, an Angel in the House for True… How fine are all those Scopes and Graphs- how well they free Men from labor!”. With this she showcases the constraints women find themselves operating in, and the irony that within an era laden with advancements in technology, women find themselves buried in domestic
She likens men to robots damned to operating within a realm of “masculine tyranny” where their actions oppress women and lowly members of Manchester’s social stratum. During her soliloquy her captors take no notice of the wisdom she possesses only comparing her action to that of a wild animal. Despite engaging in acts of prostitution Jane sees her soul and morals beyond the grip of the man stripping her down and arresting her. “I have been a whore before now and will be again, but my cunt is all you can have of me, never my soul, nor the souls of my brothers and sisters in servitude” (160). This quote serves as further evidence to the injustices faced by the women of Jane’s time, and ironically the very moment the Constable lifts her skirt to perform lewd acts, is when the Jane’s concealed pamphlets fall. The ink from the pamphlets stain her skin despite falling to the ground. With this fact the author transfers the issues found within the pamphlet to the body of Jane both literally and figuratively in an effort to show just how deep they existed within her society. Jane also notes that the technological advances evident during her time serve virtually only man and do little to ease the burdens faced by the fairer sex. “Yet still the Working of a house occupies all her Hours, till she is no more than a Husk, a ghost, an Angel in the House for True… How fine are all those Scopes and Graphs- how well they free Men from labor!”. With this she showcases the constraints women find themselves operating in, and the irony that within an era laden with advancements in technology, women find themselves buried in domestic