A FEMINIST ANALYSIS: MALE GAZE AND SILENCING TOWARDS SYBIL VANE IN WILDE’S THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

To every people who love themselves more than anything.

MALE GAZE AND SILENCING TOWARDS SYBIL VANE CHARACTER IN OSCAR WILDE’S THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY NOVEL:

A FEMINIST ANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION

            When people talk about woman, there will be lots of perspectives, meanings, even judgments towards her. A woman is essentially inborn with her speciality, included her body, sex, gender, behaviour and attitude. For hundred maybe thousand years, women are oppressed by rules and conventional system which people called it a gender construction. Women themselves do not know about the advantages and disadvantages in obeying those gender rules which people make, or they could have been zipped by a patriarchal society that silence and them to do whatever men want.

            The word feminist itself is based on a word named “female” or “feminine” which shows both its sex and gender towards woman. All in this world are always have binary opposition, however, according to feminist theorists that binary opposition itself basically from the men’s point of view. Like the word strong/weak, sun/moon, man/woman, male/female, masculinity/femininity are considered as patriarchal thought that the first word which has a good meaning always put in first before the binary and it refers to men.

            The first wave of feminism mostly talks about an oppression towards woman who cannot fight against the patriarchal society in early eighteenth century. We can see from many novels which the authors usually are men, put the figure of woman as a weak, demanding, and irrational one. Men authors in the classic era are more popular than women one since the educated people at that time are usually men, like this famous novel titled The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

            This story tells about an over twenty years old boy named Dorian Gray who is born with perfection of his face and comes from wealthy society. A prosper boy like him belongs to people upper class society, too, which in the story are Lord Henry Wetton and famous artist Basil Hallward. Dorian Gray has many affairs with many women, but one can be noticed is his relationship with Sybil Vane, a young beautiful street actress who is dumped by him since Sybil has no longer show her charming. Not only because of loosing her charming, the reason why he breaks his relationship with Sybil because of Lord Henry’s bad comments about her that make Dorian feels ashamed to his friends.

            It shows that appearance and performance is very important among men. They will feel satisfied when a woman is in a good or beautiful perform and other men adore her, too; it is called a male gaze. This paper will analyze about Sybil Vane character that experience a male gaze and also becomes a victim in silencing women in nineteenth century.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

            How do the male characters show their male gaze towards woman especially to Sybil Vane character in Oscar Wilde “The Picture of Dorian Gray”?

ANALYSIS

            When Dorian Gray meets Sybil Vane, a young and beautiful but belongs to lower class and her job is a street actress, Lord Henry exactly says that she does not deserve Dorian Gray. Lord Henry actually is a wealthy man in his middle-age who never appreciates woman’s existence. He feels that marriage is just a symbol of “a duty”, it is showed from his say about his wife, “When we meet,—we do meet occasionally, when we dine out together, or go down to the duke’s,— we tell each other the most absurd stories with the most serious faces. (Wilde 7)”

            Lord Henry thinks that woman is absurd; he gives an example about marrying a woman will make man having a boring activity like he does. Most of women are represented as irrational and have no idea of what is in patriarchal mind. Men just give all what woman’s want and never ask in deep about what is on woman’s mind. Woman cannot understand what is in man’s thought and man actually does not give a chance to woman to speak up her thought.

            That is a why Irigaray posits that woman has only two choices, to keep quiet (for anything a woman says that does not fit within the logic of patriarchy. In addition, to imitate patriarchy’s representation of herself as if he wants to see her (Tyson 101). It means that woman’s words are meaningless and cannot reach a thing which man calls ‘a patriarchal thought’. This case is strengthen by Lord Henry’s Wetton comment to Sybil Vane after Dorian tells him about her appearance instead he never sees who is Sybil Vane actually,

“Never marry a woman with straw-colored hair, Dorian,’ he said, after a few puffs. ‘Why, Harry?’ .‘Because they are so sentimental.’ ‘But I like sentimental people.’

‘Never marry at all, Dorian. Men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious: both are disappointed (Wilde 54)”

            In arrogant way, Lord Henry says many things about woman’s existence in his eyes, his male gaze. We can see here, that Lord Henry is depicted as rich, powerful, influential and mature man than Dorian, however, Dorian is depicted as innocent boy who needs advice about life from the expert, including about woman. Sybil Vane becomes a sign of an image of woman’s in male eyes: a doll, a beautiful sculpture whenever man wants to see it, she can be a joy and satisfaction to man’s feeling. From Lord Henry comments about Sybil Vane when Dorian tells him that she is a genius in beauty, “My dear boy, no woman is a genius: women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. They represent the triumph of mind just as we men represent the triumph of mind over morals (Wilde 55).”

            It symbolizes that woman becomes a symbol of winning which is put the importance of man’s power to reach a triumph over woman. For Irigaray, the man looks the woman (subject) and the woman is looked at (object); that is a male gaze (Tyson 102). The more beautiful that man can get, the more he feels proud of himself among his friends, and this is one of reason why Dorian loves Sybil. Because when he looks her on stage, with all of her charm and beauty, he thinks that by loving Sybil, he can make other people feel jealous. All in men’s thought is about competition and power, and winning a beautiful girl can be one of condition that man must get in order to feel triumph.

            At the moment when Dorian shows his lover to Lord Henry and Basil Hallward in order to give him self-appreciation, Dorian has ‘inside’ purpose when he shows Sybil’s charm and beauty, he will win the competition, and he can make other men feel jealous about him. And actually, Lord Henry says that Sybil Vane is the worst artist he ever met and this comment makes Dorian’s feeling broken and directly dumps Sybil Vane.

            Dorian’s reason to break up the relationship cannot be accepted by Sybil Vane. Here, she portrays as mellow and irrational girl who loves Dorian too much. As we can see in Sybil’s utterance, “You came,—oh, my beautiful love!—and you freed my soul from prison. You taught me what reality really is (Wilde 93).” It seems that woman has no choice and stupid (from the sentence: ‘you taught what reality really is’). Wilde depicts the image of woman in less knowledge and less intelligence than man. For Simone de Beauvoir, man is considered as essential subjects or independent, while woman is considered as contingent being or dependent “creature” controlled by circumstances (Tyson 96). Woman is symbolized as dependant person, uneducated and powerless than man, and for patriarchal society, woman also a sign of ‘other’ which can not be compared to them.

            When Dorian Gray dumps Sybil Vane, he says that Sybil has made him proud in front of his friends, and when she cannot give what Dorian (his male gaze) satisfaction, he says he is boring and his friends do too. It is showed in his explanation to Sybil Vane,

“You used to stir my imagination. Now you don’t even stir my curiosity. You

simply produce no effect. I loved you because you were wonderful, because you had genius and intellect, because you realized the dreams of great poets and gave shape and substance to the shadows of art. You have thrown it all away. You are shallow and stupid. My God! how mad I was to love you! What a fool I have been! You are

nothing to me now (Wilde 95)”

            Dorian characteristic shows how a man needs appreciation and pride among his friends. He will feel satisfied when other men feel jealous towards what he has, including a woman. Woman only becomes a thing, or creature that can be a symbol of man’s power and satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

            In the nineteenth century, woman has become an object in satisfying man’s desire of pride and power. The male gaze that is explained by Irigaray has described what actually inside in most of man’s thought towards woman existence. First wave feminist also reveals about the silencing of woman’s words that she cannot speak up what she actually wants and decides or protests something, in addition, woman also portrays as lack of sense of logic (stupid), dependable and cannot think as well as man does. The character of Sybil Vane in this novel has been clearly exposed what is woman in the nineteenth century: only becomes a portrait of man’s desire and her silence.

WORKS CITED

Tyson, Louis. Critical Theory Today Second Edition. New York: Routledge. 2006

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. E-book.

Miss Vane and Mr. Gray

DORIAN GRAY AND SYBIL VANE

ROBERT BURNS: A RED, RED ROSE ANALYSIS

ROBERT BURNS’ LOVE STORY THAT INFLUENCES IN A RED, RED ROSE POEM

Theoretical background

A red, red rose is one of famous poem by Robert Burns, and was written to be sung. It talks about the romanticism of his “someone”. Someone here seems having a close relationship with the speaker, because he describes “The Someone” with hyperbolic and flowering words. By using the expressive approach, we assume to analyze the historical background of the poet why he wrote this poem. 

Robert Burns was born in Alloway, Ayrshire, Scotland, on January 25, 1759, to hard-working farmer parents. He began helping his father with farm work at the age of twelve. The difficulty of the labor later had a crippling effect on his health. Although Burns's formal schooling was limited, he loved to read and for a time he was tutored by John Murdoch, who thoroughly educated him in eighteenth-century English literature.  (Notable Biography)

The family worked hard on the Ayrshire farm and at several others, but their lives were never made easier. Ongoing troubles with landlords and their agents fueled the rebellion that Burns felt against authority, which later became a major theme in his poetry. In 1784 his father died, and the family moved a few miles away to Mossgiel, Scotland. Here and in the nearby town of Mauchline, Scotland, the charming and attractive Burns began numerous love affairs, some of which extended to about 1790, by the end of his short life he was to have fathered fourteen children by six different mothers.  (Notable Biography).

 This paper will analyze how the speaker makes the poem with so much romantic words and by using expressive theory what things that motivated him and his love life which affects it at all.

Analysis

            Burns was famous with his love affair; the first time he writes the love poem is when he was fifteen years old. The poem was called "Handsome Nell" and was about his first love for a girl named Nellie Blair. Throughout his life, Burns was a charming and witty man, attracting the attention of numerous women. Burns, in a later comment on this poem, stated that he had "never had the least thought or inclination of turning poet till I got once heartily in love, and then rhyme and song were, in a manner, the spontaneous language of my heart." (Online)

            From the first and second line in A Red, Red Rose says:

O my Luve’s like a red, red rose .That’s newly sprung in June.

O my Luve’s like the melodie.That’s sweetly play’d in tune .

Burns wants to symbolize his love as a single red rose; newly sprung in June means two meanings; his love begins in June or the the best moment of his affection seems like a rose which blooms its petals on spring. Why a single red rose? Not the red roses (plural)? Because he conveys his love as one and only for the woman he loves, since there is no comparison for his love towards her. Red is the expected hue of the flower, the repetition of the adjective represents the fullest and most adorable thing of the general meaning of rose.

The third and fourth line have meaning that he depicts his love as a melody, a sound which makes him “dance” and follow the tunes and always makes him feel happy. It seems like all his sorrow has gone, the beautiness of the rose makes him forget his dreadful past however music could make somebody feels better and relaxes mind even for a while.

Rose can be captured as a manifestation of a woman; the question is “who is that woman?” . Many research tell that A Red, Red Rose might have given to Jean Armour, his lovely one. In 1786, at age 27, Robert Burns went through a major turning point in his life. He suffered a disappointing love affair with Jean Armour, who was pregnant with his twin sons. The local community and Armour's father were outraged by the affair and her father rejected Burns's offer of marriage. (Online)

Depressed, Burns made plans to leave Scotland and sail to Jamaica in the West Indies. To finance the trip, Burns submitted a volume of his poetry for publication. The publication of 612 copies in a simple, unbound volume was called "Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect," also sometimes known as "The Kilmarnock Edition." The poems were well received in Edinburgh by socialites who were enchanted by the poems and amazed that a poor farmer could write so well.

Instead of planning his escape to a new world, Burns planned a trip to Edinburgh. His confident manner, and his intelligence brought Burns popularity and admiration. Soon, a second publication of his work was executed in Edinburgh. During his live in Edinburgh, Robert Burns met printer James Johnson, who planned a project to print all of the folk songs in Scotland. This project forces Burns and embarked upon a journey throughout Scotland to collect as many folk songs as possible. Burns collected over 300 songs and wrote a few themselves, including "A Red, Red Rose."

Those are written in the fifth until ninth lines:

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,  So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my Dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry.

“ As fair as thou” means that he captures Jean as a clearly and bright creature, enlightens him so everything seems exciting. “My Bonnie lass”, means the good last or th last good for him, although he has many affairs and maybe he cheats from Jean, but at that time the speaker was so deeply in love with her.

And I will luve thee still, my Dear, means he will always love his darling even the distance separates them. We know that Burns had his first journey to Jamaica but he keeps his feeling still to Jean Armour, the sense of both affection remains him so much.  Till a’ the seas gang dry, he will always be into her until the seas going dry or the end comes to him by.

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my Dear.

And the rocks melt wi’ the sun.

And I will luve thee still, my Dear,

We can see the repeatation of those lines Till a’ the seas gang dry, my Dear. And I will luve thee still, my Dear, means that he convinces his deep desire towards Jean, assures her to lock their love inside.  And the rocks melt wi’ the sun, has a mean that his journey to another world has no meaning, the speaker is suffocated because of he must leave his love behind.

While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only Luve!

   And fare thee weel, awhile!

And I will come again, my Luve,           

   Tho’ it were ten thousand mile!

O’ life shall run in the line eleven means that he proebly regrets his journey to Jamaica because he thinks he does not deserve a treatment like he got from Jean Armour’s father. Fare thee weel means that how far he goes or she goes that only counts a temporary distance, just for a while for say. And he promises to his own love that he would come back for a good reason and better future.

Conclusion

            One of the most famous songs that Robert Burns wrote for this project and first published in 1794 was "A Red, Red Rose." Burns wrote it as a traditional ballad, four verses of four lines each. It begins with a quatrain containing two similes. Burns compares his love with a springtime blooming rose and then with a sweet melody. These are popular poetic images and this is the stanza most commonly quoted from the poem.

            This poem is originally dedicated forthe speaker’s dearest woman in life, even though he gets many lover in his whole years but the speakers was truly deep in love when he made A Red, Red Rose. Her name is  Jean Armour, a native Scottish woman, whose affection and charmness will have made addiction to Robert Burns. Since her father was furious of the author, they had to separated their pure love in distance. But far away the speaker goes through the ocean, he keeps his feeling still.

            Another happy outcome of this turning point in Robert Burns's life is that he was able to return home and marry his beloved Jean Armour, now with the blessing of her family. Maybe it is because she born twin sons and the speaker finally finds his better future, and proves that he is not a poor man anymore. That is why this poem is very popular; because of the sad story of true love and it is hidden by the vigorous words which talk about the veracity of faithful love.  

References

Perrine, Laurence. Sound and Sense: A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns (page 111). New York: Harcourt, Brace, & World, Inc.

Robert Burns Biography - life, family, children, parents, death, wife, book, old, information, born http://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Burns-Robert.html#ixzz1JsNwB4JZ

http://languageisavirus.com/articles/writing/poetry/20126.php