The Dilemmas Of Women During The Romantic Era

Gender equality has always been a dilemma, women, especially during the Romantic Era, were not seen as intellectual and did not have the same rights as men. Women were looked upon, criticized, and labeled as “Bluestockings” if they were to be involved in something that was not related to contributing to their households (Greenblatt 9). In the works, We are Seven by William Wordsworth, The Thorn by Wordsworth, and The Poor Singing Dame by Mary Robinson, we are able to see how women were treated and thought about. Even though I’m not surprised that women were not seen as being intellectual and instead were criticized and looked upon, it’s heartbreaking that they were treated in such way.
As previously mentioned, Women were just expected to contribute …show more content…
It was almost as if they could not do things that would bring them joy and happiness. Another factor that also plays into this idea were the “two nations- the classes of capital and labor, the rich and the poor (Greenblatt 7). During this time period, the division between both “worlds” was very clear. The poor were not believed to be able to achieve certain things. The rivalry concept between the wealthy v. the poor is seen in one of Robinson’s works. In The Poor Singing Dame, the Lord of the castle would see how the old dame, Mary, “liv’d in the little hut cheerly”, when “she would dance on the threshold,” and hear her merrily singing (Robinson 81-82). The Lord could not believe that someone from a lower class and basically had no one could be so happy. The old lady did not need money and a big luxurious castle, she was happy with her little hut. The Lord’s jealousy of the old lady’s happiness fed his desire of getting rid of her. After her death, the speaker mentions even though she was buried “beneath the cold ground” she was beautifully grieved; “long grass were still growing” and “bright dews of twilight bespangled her grave (Robinson 82). Later on, the Lord who also passed away was buried in a “tomb of rich marble” yet there was no sadness nor tears shed for his death. Mary, a poor old dame was more grieved for than the rich Lord who had no one grieve over him. Previously mentioned, during the Romantic Era the was a clear division between the poor and the wealthy. Wealthy people tend to dislike when someone impecunious, especially a woman, appears to be happier. We see this theme play out in The Poor Singing Dame; the Lord got jealous of the old lady’s happiness and took matters into his own hands and made her