BLAKE WEEK SIX REVIEW: Rose Pritchard
Hey Rose,
Just a bit of trivia to begin with which is totally unrelated to this review. You share the first name of my mum and the surname of my next door neighbour. I think that is a little funny haha. Anyway to the review...
First off just want to thank you for dedicating a post to Oothoon. Many people (including me) have done posts on Theotormon and talked about our disapproval of him. I did a post on him but I was trying to stick up for Oothoon throughout the post also.
I think you are spot on when you say that Blake wanted to paint women as heroes and not just victims. I believe that is one of Blake's underlying messages, that women are unsung heroes of his day.
This title is dedicated to Oothoon for enduring a rape but still having a positive outlook on life after it.
What a trooper.
Shame on you Theotormon for being a little man and Bromion for being a littler man.
(In case you want to know, the picture is of Pedro J. Gonzalez. He has a pretty interesting biography that you can read by clicking on the image above)
I strongly agree with the point you made about Oothoon not bowing to the condemnation of Theotormon or society concerning her rape. I don't understand why Theotormon is jealous or upset. Oothoon didn't consent to the sex with Bromion (don't get me started on that dirty animal), so why is Theotormon jealous? I think Theotormon should be comforting Oothoon. She was just forced to have sex with a man whom she didn't want to have sex with. It's disgusting. Theotormon should be there to support his lady and help her through her ordeal. But instead, we read that it is Oothoon who is trying to help Theotormon as if he were the one who was violated. It is smothered in irony I think Rose.
Blake did a magnificent job with the language he used to reveal Oothoon's cry for acceptance. He used contrasting images of night and day, clear and muddy water and awesome comparison to all sorts of animals to get her point across to Theotormon. I think this helped me understand the poem better.
Day surrendering to Night.
I think this artwork is a great example of how Blake produced imagery in this poem.
He was a master of his craft.
I really like the two artworks you added in your post. They related well to what you were saying. It revealed Oothoon's liberated state of being. Oothoon knows she can accept what has happened, she knows Bromion accepts it, she just needs Theotormon to accept it.
Your final paragraph was the stealer though Rose. I truly rate the way you found prophecy in the poem. The plucking of the flower was significant and I think that the line "Another flower shall spring, because the soul of sweet delight can never pass away," is somewhat of a hint to what is going to happen. If it isn't suggesting the rape, I think it is suggesting that Oothoon will always come back from adversity and nothing will scar her soul (not even rape).
Lets face it. Oothoon was a battler. She decided that she wanted to open and up and explore her sexual freedom. She wanted to do this with Theotormon. As she was travelling to do this, she bumps into a roadblock. Bromion. An arrogant and ignorant animal who excuses his actions because of the teachings of Urizen. Well he doesn't actually mention Urizen but he doesn't have to. It's smeared all over his breath. So then she is looking to Theotormon for comfort, for understanding. All she gets is the cold shoulder. Theotormon you are a twit. Oothoon spends the rest of the poem (and judging by the ending, all of eternity) justifying herself to Theotormon and trying to get him to accept the situation. She is a battler. A trooper. An unsung hero.
"That Theotormon hears me not! to him the night and morn
Are both alike: a night of sighs, a morning of fresh tears."
Great Job Rose.
Enjoy reading your work.
Tucks Signing Off.