Oliver Twist
Name: Riddhi Maru
Semester:2
Batch : 2016-2018
Paper no : 6
Roll No : 21
Unit : 1
Submitted To : M.K.Bhavnagar university , Department of English
Assignment Topic : Oliver Twist
Topic : The woman in Charles Dickens’s
Novel
Oliver Twist
O) Background
1.....Oliver twist – the novel
One reviewer called Dickens
publication of Oliver Twist “ a perfect picture of the morals , manners , and
habits of a great portion of English society “
As a journalist Dickens
Witnessed the living conditions of the poor . Diclkens aim with Oliver Twist
was to raise questions about the inhumanity of the workhouse systems , but also
questions about the poor law Amendment act in 1834 and its effects the forced
peoples to live and work in the Workhouses page writes .
“dickens was to continue his attack on thr
inhumanity of
The Workhouse system :almost thirty years
later , in hie last
Completed novel ,
our Mutual Friend it is still a target
But it is not only topical aspect of this
early novel
Indeed according
to House , A novel could hardly have been more topical than Oliver Twist “
2.....Victorian
class society
The poor Laws were created by
the Victorian middle – class. England was turning from an agricultural to an
industrial nation – Victorian middle – class families gained more economical
power whew the nation was transformed . Money and family held a high status in
the Victorian era being a prostitute was very low status in the society and the
bight cleave people them social support . Fallen woman did not get a second
chance in life .
Middle – Class families saw
work as a moral virtue . They also wanted to climb to a higher social ranking ,
to he a part of the English aristocracy had a high status in Victorian society
. To be poor in thief era was a sign of weakness . Workhouses wars seen as
charity However , many poor people choose to die in Workhouse with its terrible
conditions women had a particularly hard time making a living Oliver spends his
first ten years in a workhouse as an orphan , mistreated , abused and belonging
to the lowest class in society .
Dickens Oliver Twist
contains several themes, including prostitution , thievery and fencing . The
characters in Oliver Twist can be divided into groups of good and evil . The
groups are very different from each other but three all have one thing in
common, they straggle with moral issues. to have good morals and virtues was
very important in the Victorian era , especially for woman .
The female characters:
Differences and similarities
Between the women in Oliver Twist
.........
The main female characters in Oliver Twist arts Agnes, Nancy and Rose,
Nancy and Agnes are both fallen and wronged women Agnes is a fallen woman
because of the “old story ‘which raters to a woman being pregnant and unwed
Nancy is also a fallen woman, not because of the ‘old story ‘ but because of
being a prostitute and a mistress. The unwed pregnancy is presumably just a
matter of time. Agnes and Nancy would not have been approved of in Victorian
society Rose, however, is the perfect lady in the novel. Dickens describes her
as an Angel, a woman with good moral values and standards.
O.... Agnes
Oliver Twist
born in a workhouse in 1830 England. Nobody knows his mother Agnes or ever her
Oliver , and she died shortly after giving birth to Oliver Twist . Her name is
not revealed until the end of the book. Agnes is described as the fallen woman
in Oliver Twist. The nameless woman is a symbol and represents the unwed woman.
She was a mistress who got pregnant and the scandal of her being pregnant but
not married made bar die in disgrace. Before Agnes dies she prays and wishes
for Oliver to know her name and not feel ashamed of her. The very last words in
the novel describe Agnes as a fallen woman.
AGNES there is no
coffin that tomb
And may it be many , many years
Before another name is placed
Above it!Bht, if the spirits of the Dead
Ever come back to earth , to visit
Spots hallowed by the love the love
beyond
Grave of those whom they knew in life ,
I
Believe that the shade of Agnes sometimes
Hovers round the solemn nook. I believe it
None the less because that nook is in a
Church, and she was weak and erring.
Agnes is described as ‘’ Weak and Erring ‘’ because of her pregnancy as an
unmarried women .
Agnes is not desired as
Oliver’s mother until the end of the book . This indicates that she is a fallen
woman . Just like Nancy, but she has also been pregnant and unwed which makes her fall ever more in the patriarchal
orders Agnes is clearly sexually active even though she is not married , which
puts her in the same role or sphere as a prostitute. To be sexual , or show
that you are sexual when not having a husband , was not acceptable in Victorian
society . She is also clearly aware that she does not live up to the standards
of being a good and moral woman Agnes feels a lot of guilt and dies of shame in
her loneliness.
The novel denies Agnes and
her name is not revealed until the end of the book. She does not have a
“complete “name which indicts identity lost and not being married . The very
last words in the novel describe Agnes as “ weak and Erring “ . It was only the
woman that could be weak and erring in the Victorian era men were not
considered werkwhen they had affairs outside the marriage. Society did not
treat women and men equally. Oliver’s father did wrong when he cheated on his
wife . He is excused only because of the fact that he is a man and because he is
unhappy with his marriage . But Agnes mistake does not make Oliver came out of
bad blood .The novel only expresses the disapproval of the sinful relationship
Agnes had with Oliver’s father.
O..... Nancy
The second female character is Nancy . She
is Fagin’s mistress and works as a prostitute. Nancy becomes a good person when
she protects and saves Oliver as the novel develops she has a warm heart . The
Victorians did not accept women like Nancy . She is described as a fallen woman
but there is goodness is her.
Society values gold and
underrates brass, but
Brass has much more strength
and practical use
Than does gold. Translated ,
this means that society
Values the angel-in –the
house, but a woman like
Nancy is much stronger of
character and provides
More practical service.
Dickens depicts Nancy as brass,
which is stronger and more practical than gold . This makes Nancy’s character
in the novel stronger than the other women in it because she is energetic,
active and efferent.
Nancy is a dissenting woman that falls outside the
patriarchal borders and her character subverts domestic ideologies. Nancy
belongs was the working class in society which was the lowest class in society
. She is 16 years old and works as prostitute . She is also skies mistress and
member of Fagin’s gang . Nancy is , however , a mixture of good and evil. She
is with people that have a bad influence on her . she is living in Fagin’s
house and is skies’ mistress she decides to do good when she tells Rose about
the plans that Fagin and monks have for Oliver and this shows that she has a good
heart.
Nancy is aware that she stands
out side the patriarchal borders as we can see when she talks to Rose in a
distanced way .
Oh, lady, lady ! she said,
clasping her hands passionately
Before her face , if there
was more like you , there would
Be fewer like me,- there
would – there would!
Sit down, said Rose,
earnestly. If you are in poverty of
Affection I shall be truly
glad to relieve you if I can, - I
Shall indeed . Sit down
Let me stand, lady, said the
the girl still weeping , and do
Not speak to me so kindly
till you know me better. It is
Growing late. Is – is that
door shut ?
Nancy is criminated form
compassing domestic ideologies. Nancy calls Rose lady. Which indicates that she
has much respect for her? Nancy thinks the word would be a better place if like
she does not belong to the era or even the world.
She is portrayed as a victim
of the environment she is living in .Nancy belongs to skies , and she feels
that she cannot survive without him skies mistreats and abuses her, but . She
cannot leave him because she has no family and nowhere to go this indicates her
weakness even though she is described as brass in the novel Nancy is aware that
skies is no a good man fir her , she states it several times in the novel. It
she were not living in Fagin’s house with the rest of his gang members,
however, she would be forced to live in a workhouse.
Nancy acts like she is much
older than she really is and even though she is confused about right and wrong,
she is a dominating woman in the novel. 58 Several times, she protects Oliver
from Fagin‟s gang. Nancy acts as a surrogate mother for Oliver although she is
only 16 years old. 59 She nurtures and helps Oliver. This makes her a good
person but she falls out of the patriarchal order because she is not a real
mother or a wife. She improves her character which makes her one of the good
people in the novel.
Nancy does not get any recognition at all when
she ignores her own safety by telling Rose the plans that Fagin and Monks have
for Oliver. She sacrifices herself so that Oliver can be saved. Nancy just
strengthens her moral standing, from being an evil character, she becomes a
good and moral person. Nancy is stronger because she does not need a man to
complete a dangerous mission. She knows what needs to be done in difficult
situations. Nancy understands the mechanics of the middle-class system and she
tells Rose to get a man to help her to save Oliver.
Sikes murders Nancy when he finds
out that she has been talking to Rose. It may be her passion that kills her,
the passion to be a good and moral person. Unfortunately she does not get a
fair chance to prove that she is a morally upright woman. It is Rose that gets
all the attention when Oliver is saved but it is because of Nancy he is saved
from Fagin and Monks.
O......Rose
The third female character is Rose. Rose is also an orphan
just like Oliver. She was adopted by Mrs. Maylie when she was a young girl.
Rose is described as an innocent and perfect girl:
She exemplifies all the attributes of
the “mould”: she is young, beautiful, frail, mild, gentle, pure, ethereal,
intelligent, sweet, pleasant, charming, coy and blessed. She even possesses the
right physiognomy (“intelligence…stamped on her noble head”), and she is
performing domestic tasks, adorning both table and self for the gratification
of others. The “blessed” spirits give her approval. Even Nancy calls her the
angel lady
She lives up to Victorian values, which means she is acting
like a women should act in the spirit of the time. She is pure, gentle and beautiful.
The other women in the novel call her angel, and, indeed, Rose Maylie is the
angel-in-the-house of the novel
Rose is clearly a symbol of
the Victorian ideals. She is young, pure and beautiful, with good moral
standards. She is described as gold with its unique qualities. Her angelic
qualities seem to correspond to the Victorian ideals of women. 63 Rose is
surrounded by good people, especially compared to the other women in the novel.
She is surrounded by people that keep her in the “proper domestic sphere”.64
Ayres writes: “More accurately, the good people surround her and contain her
within a proper domestic sphere so that she will never be a social misfit like
Nancy and Agnes”. 65 Rose is in an environment that strengthens her personality
and self-confidence. She is a woman that knows what she is worth, and that
makes her powerful. She is also a woman that spreads happiness and goodness
with her angelic character.
The environment is
important to the female characters in Oliver Twist. Unlike the other women in
the novel, Rose is surrounded by good people who make her innocent and pure
(not sexually active). There is no mention that Rose is sexually active in the
novel, therefore she is seen as a pure woman not destroyed by the ills in
society. Rose corresponds to the domestic ideologies and the “rules” on how to
be a good woman.
Rose is the heroine of the
novel because she is the one that saves Oliver‟s life. When she is told what
Fagin and Monks are planning to do with Oliver, Rose cries out “But what can I
do”.66 Rose does not know what to do with the information she receives but
becomes the hero anyway because she forwards the story to a man, Mr.
Brownlow.67 Rose could not save Nancy‟s life or Oliver‟s by herself, she
requires a man to help.
When Harry proposes to
Rose, she is worried for her reputation. Her moral standards, beliefs, and
angelic character may be threatened. It is important for Rose to have a husband
that has good reputation when going out in the public sphere. She is looking for
someone that can treat a woman well and protect her from bad people or
experiences.68 Mrs. Maylie is also concerned for her family‟s reputation if
Rose marries Harry. Rose refuses Harry, but he does not give up. He gets rid of
his wealth so that he can be in the same social class as Rose. This indicates
that he is willing to give up his life for her, but also how powerful a woman
can be with her angelic character and Victorian ideals: an “object of pure
admiration”. 69
4.
CONCLUSION
Nancy, Rose
and Agnes are three characters that differ from each other. They all have
different social standings and moral strengths. Nancy, a fallen woman, that
works as a prostitute sacrifices her life so Oliver could live. Rose, the perfect
lady, is generally self-sacrificing, nurtures and saves Oliver‟s life. Agnes,
Oliver‟s mother, dies alone in a workhouse after giving birth to Oliver and
sacrifices herself to her family‟s reputation. They all have different living
conditions and different destinies but they all represent goodness and modesty.
Despite their differences and social status in society they also share a
capacity for self-sacrifice and self-abnegation which the Victorians valued in
women.
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