We did an assignment on Thursday where we had to divide into groups (those who are reading Jane Eyre and those who are reading Tess) and discuss issues that appeared in the novels.
There was only one group for Tess sadly, but we brought up interesting issues to discuss.
The issue we chose was sexuality.
Back then, if a girl/woman was not a virgin before she was married, she was considered immoral and sinned. However, in Tess's case, she was raped, yet she is still blamed and "chastised" for such event. In general, the topic of sex was avoided and was mainly done for the purpose of making a family. Today, if a girl/woman was raped, she would receive justice and help. Sex is openly talked about today; jokes are made about it, TV shows revolve around it. It's interesting to see how much times have changed.
Well, I suppose a girl is still considered impure if she is not a virgin anymore, but she is not punished or executed for it. I wonder what the future holds...
Boa K.
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ReplyDeleteThere was only one group of Tess readers in my second period class, as well. We too discussed the topic of sexuality in the novel and compared it to sexuality in today's society. We primarily focused on how sexuality and purity are related.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Tess' raping, she was held responsible and her community blamed her for what had occurred. Her village did not reveal any amount of support or assistance to help her cope with the tragedy. We compared this situation to the modern day and noticed an opposite response by society. Today's society shows much support, grievance, and assistance towards unfortunate girls who have been taken advantage of, and the individual girl is not blamed for the rapist's actions.
Our discussion also included trying to determine what would be the cause for a shift in society's perspective on rape. The one reason we came up with seemed to provide a reasonable explanation for the change, and it is the fact that women have gained more freedom and independence. Women are now able to create their own identity and we feel this has contributed to society's change of view.
By Dane Johnson
Although I personally did not read Tess, I know the basic outline of the plot. I find it interesting to see that two different groups chose the same topic - sexuality - to discuss. In addition, the shift in attitude about sex and rape today is controversial. Although it has become much more informal today, is it actually better? Premarital sex is still wrong; however, it seems that more and more people engage in it, and less and less people care. It seems like as we progress farther into the future, we will fall farther into decadence.
ReplyDeleteByron C
What really stood out to me in the book was that Alec was not judged the same way that Tess was even though he was not a virgin. Society tended to not focus on the purity of men, while trying to restrict sex for women until marriage. In today's society women who have sex before marriage would still be judged, but not as much as they would have been in Victorian society. Over time society seems to grow more liberal, and I think that in the future, both men and women would be able to choose when they want to have intercourse and not be judged by other because of their decisions.
ReplyDelete-Jehan T.
The topic of being judged is also a theme in Jane Eyre, although on other aspects. In this novel, the judgment of Jane based on her wealth and social status is more emphasized, and because she had neither for most of the first part of her life, she was looked down upon and her academic excellence was ignored. Thankfully, these judgments aren't as openly exploited in modern society, but the stigma still remains...
ReplyDeleteLian C.
interesting topic and how back then women were punished for not being a virgin. today, women are not punished but are sometimes looked down upon. however in tess's case, it was not right for her family and community to chastise her, but it was expected because they probably assumed she threw herself at alec, thus she deserved to be punished. i do not agree with how tess was treated, but i understand why. how the discussion was linked between purity and sexuality was interesting because it is sometimes exploited in modern society, but it is not has open as it was back in the victorian era.
ReplyDelete- nikki l.
What I thought was very interesting is that as stated before, Alec wasn't condemned for what he did, but what I found really disgusting is that Angel had some kind of relationship with women too- its not really blatantly said, but we can guess- and he STILL rejects Tess after she tells her situation to him. Modern society has become a lot more lax when it comes to sexuality, and though the line between "accepted" and "not accepted" in society has become blurred, thankfully rape victims are not treated as Tess was in Victorian society.
ReplyDelete-Emily S
Though I didn't read Tess, I still find her situation extremely interesting. It's interesting to see how much society has changed in regards to sex and sexuality. This isn't, however, the only topic that has changed throughout time. Several things have changed, and it makes me wonder what else will change in the future as well.
ReplyDelete- Geena