Women in "In an Artist’s Studio" and "To a Dark Girl" Essay Example

In centuries past, women were seen as housewives and property. Before being given the same rights as men, a woman's status was dependent on their partner’s. In the poem, “In an Artist’s Studio”, Christina Rossetti discusses the depiction of women in the late 19th century, where Gwendolyn Bennett’s poem, “To a Dark Girl” acknowledges this depiction in the 20th. Rossetti and Bennett both tell a story about different women through the eyes of different spectators and in two very different centuries.

“In an Artist’s Studio” by Christina Rossetti takes a stand on how women are viewed in a way that diminishes their value. Rossetti describes this woman through the eyes and opinions of this male artist though she still narrates the piece. She describes women as “selfsame figure[s],” (Rossetti, line 2) meaning that they don’t differ from each other. In the eyes of a man, all women are the same. She also compares women to a man’s canvas (Rossetti, line 1) which is a very demeaning and misogynistic concept. In Rossetti's poem, men are artists painting their idea of a perfect woman. In the middle of the poem, Rossetti writes, “every canvas means / The same one meaning, neither more or less,” (Rossetti, lines 7-8) which shows the goal of this man is to have that “self same” female. The value isn’t in their unique qualities, but in how close to perfect their partner is. It is important to note that this poem was written in the 1800s. In the 21st century, a poem like this would spark a lot of attention and many women may be offended by it, but in the 1800s, more women may have related to these ideas, due to their lack of individual rights. While her poem is demeaning to women, Rossetti shows in her writing that she doesn’t endorse the ideas she’s projecting upon us with the descriptions of beauty she includes. Rossetti’s point isn’t to shame women but to express how we are poorly viewed and mistreated. She expresses this mistreatment in the line, “He feeds upon her face by day and night,” (Rossetti, line 9). By saying the man is feeding on the woman, Rossetti illustrates the way women are at the beck and call of men. He feeds on her because her job is to provide for him. An interesting perspective on Rossetti’s poem is written in a scholarly article by Ashley Miller, stating that this male is almost “vampiric” and feeds on his muse (Miller). However, they also state and agree that this artist is almost “blinded by his own vision of the women”(Miller). They continue to mention that a topic many Victorian poets tend to write about is objectivity and perception, which Rossetti accomplishes in this poem (Miller). 

Bennett’s “To a Dark Girl” takes a different approach than Rossetti’s poem. Bennett depicts the woman as beautiful while still hinting at the troubles that come with being black. She writes through the eyes of an appreciative woman rather than a man like Rossetti does. She expresses this appreciation with the phrase “I love you for…” (Bennett, line 1) repeated twice in stanza one. Bennett takes a different approach because instead of blatantly stating how people view black women, the entire poem is expressing the strength to persevere through these racial challenges. While Rossetti’s poem commented on misogyny, Bennett empowered Black Women in hers. She states, “Forgetting that you once were slave / And let your full lips laugh at Fate!” (Bennett, lines 11-12) which attempts to make the poem more lighthearted than depressing. Trudier Harris writes that Bennett’s poem is an “assertion of the beauty of black women, an assertion that is designed to combat the negative images of black women that a history of slavery has put in place in America,” (Harris).  The era Bennett wrote in was the Harlem Renaissance (1920s) which was a period where white women were gaining more rights, but black women weren't - an example being the right to vote. This is why Bennett spent so much time focusing on the history of black women, because their struggle wasn’t - and isn't - the same as a white woman in the 1800s. 

While both poems focus on two different struggles of women - slavery and male perception in two very contrasting eras - they have many similarities when describing the beautiful features of women. While the focus on Rossetti’s poem is male perception and objectivity, she still describes this woman as a beautiful powerful being - making clear that while her poem is a negative depiction of women, she still doesn’t endorse those ideas. She calls the woman “a queen” (Rossetti, line 5), “an angel” (Rossetti, line 7), and describes her eyes as “true” and “kind” (Rossetti, line 10). While Rossetti writes how men don’t appreciate individuality in women, Bennett expresses her love for these unique features. A key part of this poem is the second stanza where the past of this woman is described as “Something of old forgotten queens” (Bennett, line 5). She also mentions features unique to women in a way that makes a woman feel beautiful. She writes, “I love you for… / the rounded darkness of your breast,” (Bennett lines 1-2). Bennett continues to describe the woman as having “queenliness” (Bennett, line 10).  Therefore, while both poems express struggles of two different women, they are still able to express the beauty each woman possesses. 

All in all, while both poems are seemingly very different, they both accomplish expressing beauty through the eyes of different spectators. Rossetti focuses on the struggle of objectivity where Bennett conveys the burden black women feel because of the history of slavery. Rossetti writes in a period where women had no rights, where Bennett writes in an era where rights for white women were growing, but black women did not get those same opportunities. When compared side by side, the struggles in these poems highlight how drastically different the perception of women is because of appearance.