Comment on Alicia's LJ
Alicia’s post regarding women, religion and rape was one that made me stop, think, read and LISTEN to what this girl had to say! Alicia’s post was so powerful and really made me think differently about what The Visions of the Daughter’s of Albion was trying to instill in the reader…what are we supposed to take away from it all…
Alicia talks about the Christian morals/values instilled within the poem and she explains how Blake is in fact using these as a tool to send a message to us, the readers. Alicia describes the situation simply- Theotormon would be going against values and beliefs that have existed a lifetime if he were to put the rape incident behind him and love Oothoon. Oothoon has been violated, therefore she is in a way vile…(my words not Alicia’s!)
In her journal Alicia has included real-life reports about rape and women who have been I n a similar situation to that of Oothoon’s. In perhaps her most ‘hit the nail on the head’ comment Alicia says:
“Blake condemned the cruel absurdity of enforced chastity and marriage without love and defended the right of women to complete self-fulfillment”.
That’s fantastic Alicia! You have really gotten inside Blake’s head, his way of thinking. I to believe that Blake felt this way about women and commend him on having the guts to voice such an opinion when it would have been looked down upon in his time. I’m starting to see why Blake was so poor and unpopular in his time. He really did challenge society in a way where you can see how people would feel uncomfortable or threatened by him. He really is in a league of his own.