Initial Responses Development of ideas and interpretations
(red)
Meaning / Ideas / Themes constructed and explored Meaning / Ideas / Themes constructed and
by the poet explored by the poet
- jealousy, love, female roles in society and - engages in a discourse on hegemonic
expectations of them, male expectations and definitions of Vicotrian femininity
patriarchal authority
- gendered ideals in their reflections on the
- ideas surrounding marriage in Victorian England and position of women
how society punishes women who don’t conform
- duality of Victorian morality
- feminist poem??- not giving Thomas a
- themes of secrecy in the ambiguities throughout the direct voice, the presentation of two
poem (internal battles, secrets and concerns) strong assertive women
- marriage in the Victorian era- sex outside of - Christian values? → seems to be a lack of
marriage only negatively affects women, whilst men love in marriage despite Nell’s
are merely fulfilling their desires determination to love Thomas- value is
placed on virginity and purity not on love
- ‘Maude Clare’- named after a fallen woman→ the
narrative focuses on her, breaks convention
- Who is the reader supposed to identify with→ the - elevates the Victorian love triangle into a
woman of the title and the beginning or the woman tragic tale of sexism and misogyny
with the last word?
- By depicting the spurned Maude Clsre
with sympathy, the poem reveals the
misogynistic double standards at the heart
- ballad form, narrative poem= story of Nell and of Victorian society
Thomas (newly-weds)- accosted by Maude Clare as
they leave the church→ who had a relationship w - poem presents Maude Clare as a kind of
Thomas femme fatale- so beautiful and alluring
that Thomas cannot look away from her
- Thomas choosing to marry Nell, although still in love
w MC- as Nell is a virgin- the importance of fulfilling - bold, assertive and angry- subverts
societal conventions Victorian expectations of femininity- pure,
gentle and demure
- ‘Your father thirty years ago/ Had just your tale to
tell’- behaviour of men spreads across generations-
patriarchy continues, also hints that the mother
knows more about the relationship between MC and
Thomas (theme of secrecy)
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