The Ideal woman?

Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin



Women are humans that have been misread for centuries. A woman has always been looked down upon because she does not have the physical strength that a man does. In the Victorian ages men were pushed towards the outside world while women were pulled inwards to the house. To an outsider this would seem like a complying balance. However because men were the moneymakers, women had no choice but to comply with their orders. Even though Ruskin forwards a more feminist view of women through his use of queen and lighthouse metaphors, he still has a very restricted view of power’s of women.

John Ruskin

By using the metaphor of lighthouse in the sentence “Shade as of the rock in a weary land, and light of the Pharos in the stormy sea” (Sesame and Lilies, pg 295), Ruskin portrays the wife as the beacon for the man. The metaphor also shows that the wife guides the man through thick and thin. Also provides shade and protection whenever needed. And thus ‘fulfills the praise, of home’(Sesame and Lilies, pg 295). Through providing a definition of home the author connects with the reader and explains the reason behind the metaphor. The author also believed that whenever a “true wife” came by “the stars only maybe over her head; the glowworm in the night cold grass may be the only fire at her foot”(Sesame and Lilies, pg 295). Through this imagery of the “stars” and the “glowworm”, the metaphor used the woman is again portrayed as someone with great wisdom. This again helps amplify the portrayal of the wisdom and power the woman has. Jon Ruskin expands the definition to “for a noble woman it stretches far round her, better than ceiled with cedar…for those who else were homeless"(Sesame and Lilies, pg 295). The phrase ‘ceiled with cedar’ and “or painted with vermilion’ are metaphors for the fact that the woman is much more pure. This emphasizes the difference between a ‘woman’ and a ‘noble woman’.

The metaphor of the lighthouse helps explain the qualities that Ruskin believes a woman has that the society ignores.The first quality of the woman according to Jon Ruskin is ‘Praise’, someone who ‘infallibly judges the crown of the contest’(Sesame and Lilies, pg 295). ‘Protected from all the danger and temptation’(Sesame and Lilies, pg 295), a woman according to Jon Ruskin is someone who is completely clean from the corruption of the world. And a man ‘in his rough work in open world, must encounter all peril and trial… and always hardened’(Sesame and Lilies, pg 295), the fact that ‘always’ in italics shows that for the man has no choice but to face the toxicants of the outside world. ‘Within his house; ruled by her’(Sesame and Lilies, pg 295), even though on paper the man owns the house, the woman still makes the decisions for the house. The metaphor of the woman being the queen to her king shows the power that a woman has. Throughout history many queens have been decision makers and the king being the one to execute that decision. The author then explains the true nature of ‘the home’, which is ‘The shelter, not only from all the injury, but all terror, doubt, and division’(Sesame and Lilies, pg 295). The author also explains through a simile that home is also ‘a sacred place, a vestal temple, a temple of the hearth watched over the Household Gods’. The repetition of simile ‘the temple’ shows the sacredness of home. The author strongly felt that the house is a place of ‘pure’ thoughts. These ‘pure’ thoughts are because the woman is someone of ‘infallible’ of nature. By stating  ‘and wherever a true wife comes, this home is always round her’ the author shows that ‘The Praise’ and ‘The Peace’ is connected. The woman is the praise and the peace to the man, without her there is no home.

Thus these views convey Jon Ruskin’s view on Women and their place in society: ‘We are foolish, without excuse foolish’(Sesame and Lilies, pg 294). The ambiguity in the phrase would make the reader be engrossed in the point the writer is trying to make. Also shows some frustration from the author for the ignorance of the reader .Ruskin continues, ‘In speaking of “superiority” of one sex over the other, as if they could be compared to in similar things’(Sesame and Lilies, pg 294), here he explains that both men and women complete each other. The fact that one sex thinks higher of the other is ‘foolish’ because men and women cannot be compared because both are completely different and thus complete each other. The author then goes on to explain the roles of the woman and the man. He believed that the man’s power and intellect is towards invention and war(Sesame and Lilies, pg 295). On the other hand the woman’s power and intellect is towards ‘sweet ordering, arrangement, decision’. In the Victorian ages that would have been the right description, however, this is still a very stereotypical thought of the roles of the woman and man.

Even though the author does have a more feminist view of women, due to the time period he still had a very restricted view of a woman’s power. In the contemporary world women not only build your home but also work. Most women stay as unbiased as possible even if they are exposed to the corrupt world. However, even for that time period Jon Ruskin has a very idealistic view of the home and the woman. An ideal woman is someone who keeps the home as equitable as possible however, human nature may say different. Women are not supposed to this perfect because humans are not. Women like men, should be allowed to make mistakes and be pardoned for the mistakes that can be pardoned. If they are corrupt then the society has to be able to cope with the fact that a woman can also be corrupt.

Therefore, the poem for the Victorian Age did have  a bold view compared to other men. He seemed to have scratched the surface however, still needed a deeper and better understanding of the freedom that women lacked. Women were always supposed to be idealistic and not scandalous as society would judge them. And their work was only limited to household work but women wanted and still want more freedom. However, the essay is still helpful as it takes a man courage to admit the fact that women also matter.

Citations:  

1.Ruskin, Jon, "Sesame and Lilies". In The Secret Agent. Toronto, Ontario: Broadview Press,2009.