Fallen Women in Victorian Art

 

Through these paintings, you see the shift in the acceptance/tolerance of the Victorians for the “fallen woman”. I think that these paintings also go along well with the readings that we have completed throughout the semester. In Oliver Twist, we have Nancy, the utmost fallen woman. When given the chance for redemption by Rose Maylie, Nancy believes that there is no way for redemption to be possible. Nancy ends up dead at the end of the novel, killed by none other than Bill Sikes. We then shift to Lady Audley’s Secret, a woman who has been married and has disregarded her child to find herself a new life, because she couldn’t handle the pressures of motherhood. Lucy is sent off to an insane asylum at the end of the novel, she doesn't successfully get away with her actions. Lastly, we have Tess of the D’Urbervilles. We see Tess as she struggles with her impregnation. Her family is more accepting and understanding than what was to be expected earlier in the era. Her family takes care of her while she is pregnant and up until the death of her baby. However, Tess also dies at the end of the novel, getting just punishment for the acts of a “fallen woman”. The “fallen woman” was definitely a character trope in Victorian Literature, and it is interesting to know that it was also a trope in the art world as well. In the art world, it seemed to move on more progressively, cutting the woman some sort of slack. However, they are all formed with the same intent—a warning for all women to not become fallen. There are no happy endings for those that have fallen. 

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