The Nature Of Independence In The Purple Jar By Maria Edgeworth

During the period that Maria Edgeworth wrote her short stories including the “The Purple Jar,” there was a lot of violence and political unrest in Ireland. Ireland had just lived through an uprising and were forced to live under the rule of the British Parliament, through the Act of the Union. One of the themes that are presented in “The Purple Jar” is the nature of growing up. The narrator highlights the importance between a mother and daughter relationship, as the daughter is growing up to be a mature young adult. Moreover, in Eavan Boland’s “The Pomegranate,” the narrator also presents a mother and daughter relationship again focusing on the theme of growing up, but instead alluding to a Greek myth. The short story and the poem highlight the importance of a mother figure while growing up. Although “The Purple Jar” and the “The Pomegranate” describe the nature of parents and their children, they are both actually about independence. Furthermore, Maria Edgeworth uses the historical context of the Act of the Union to carry out the theme of independence and Eavan …show more content…
In “The Purple Jar,” Rosamund, a young girl living in London, represents Ireland during a time of political unrest, and her mother represents England, during the Act of the Union in 1801. Throughout the short story, the reader can see her struggle as she walks the streets of London with her mother and viewed a variety of objects, which she perceived as “beautiful” in her eyes. There is a debate on whether she should purchase the shoes or the vase that blew her away the minute she placed her eyes on it. From the beginning of the story we can see that her mother represents England. As they enter the chemist shop, and Rosamund falls in love with the vase, her mother does not have a positive outlook on Rosamund getting this flower vase; she says “perhaps if you were to see it nearer, if you were to examine it, you might be disappointed.” (10) This denotes