The Lady Of Shalott By Alfred Lord Tennyson Essays Examples

During the Victorian era, there were assumptions that were made with regard to women in society. Some of the attributes that were associated with women included purity, cleanness and principally disassociated from sexual connotations. They were only expected to perform domestic duties within their households. In a poem written by Alfred Lord Tennyson in 1842, The Lady of Shalott, it is clear that there is a major separation of gender roles between men and women and they each had a personal space just meant for them.
A good example is when in the poem talks of the lady’s interior and exterior surroundings. There is the exterior world of Camelot and happenings there and also the four walls around her in her home. The woman in this era is said to be very passive about their position and job of just weaving, “She weaves by night and day/a magic web with colors gay”. (II.45). the poet uses the interior and exterior worlds to show societal boundaries that characterized the inequalities that existed in the Victorian society.
There is the use of fairy tales motif for example when the poet talks of a maiden trapped in a tower. This maiden has to learn to live that way and accept her situation. Freedom only comes by way of death. This is a clear picture of what the Victorian woman was undergoing and that there was no way out and had to accept her predicaments without question. Men in this case were free spirits who owned the space outside of the home. It was assumed that b being kept locked up in their small spaces; a woman could be prevented from engaging in sexual activities whereas the man was allowed to roam the world and do as they pleased.