Cousin Kate - Heroic.

I wasn't here for the lesson when we were studying whether (and to what extent) the women in Cousin Kate were heroic. Thankfully my friend Hannah photocopied me her notes on this and so I have a rough idea/ good outline.

Basically, the question given was 'To what extent do you agree that the women in 'Cousin Kate' are heroic?'
Here we go...

*This is just a plan really with quotes. 


To a certain extent the women in 'Cousin Kate' are heroic, for example;

- In the poem the speaker faces a lot of criticism for her life and choices, she is called an "outcast thing" and is seen as impure, however the speaker overcomes her terrible experience and rises above tradition. The ending of the poem is quite an effective way to prove this point as the speaker challenges tradition through her son, he is her "pride" who is born out of "shame" and therefore shows the speakers strength as she won't let society rule her life and therefore presents women as heroic as it shows how they are determined and strong, even when they've been abused.

- Furthermore, the speaker is presented as quite a headstrong character who knows her morals. The speakers acknowledgement "lived a shameless shameful life" presents women in 'Cousin Kate' as heroic as it shows how she is using her predicament to make her stronger and shows that she has accepted her path in life even though it is one she wouldn't have chosen. Furthermore, the quote "now I moan an unclean thing" shows how the speaker has been hurt and abused and is ashamed of herself, either because she let a man rule her life or because she was too naive and innocent. This presents her as heroic because it shows that the speaker is truly a good person and that through the acknowledgement she won't allow herself to be mistreated again.

Additionally, the mention of how the speaker would "spit" in the Lords face instead of being "bought by his land" shows that the speaker has a high sense of what is right and wrong, this also shows quite a feminist view. This therefore presents women in the poem as heroic as the speaker would stand up against the man/men and take control of her life.

- Furthermore, the speaker prevails over the man through the birth of her son as he will inherit all of the Lords land. Prevailing over the man presents women as heroic as it shows women's strength to carry on fighting for what they want. Women prevailing over men is proven by the quote "Your father would give lands for one to wear his coronet." - also heroic as creates idea of victory as suggests women will always win in the end.

-Finally, women are presented as heroic in 'Cousin Kate' through Rossetti's use of a twist in the ending. This helps present women as heroins in the poem as it appears to counter argue the idea of a fallen woman as it suggests that a woman can never truly be 'fallen' as she will pick herself up again and carry on, this is shown through the mention of her son.

However, it can be argued that the women in 'Cousin Kate' are anti heroins, for example;

- The speaker feels she is better than Cousin Kate,  "neighbours call you good and pure" appears to be quite sarcastic and therefore suggests that speaker feels Kate isn't worthy and doesn't deserve the praise and form of treatment. This therefore present's women is anti-heroins as it draws/creates a line between the women and presents a form of weakness. (In many ways it suggests that women are their own weakness.)

- Furthermore, throughout the poem the women (or at least the speaker) appear quite bitter and resentful, for example, the speaker appears to mock Kate for not being able to have children, "I have one gift you don't." This therefore presents women as quite weak and anti-heroic because they are quite snide and rude to one another.

- Thirdly, women are portrayed as anti-heroins in 'Cousin Kate' through Kate's betrayal to the speaker through the agreement to marry the Lord. This presents women as anti-heroins as it suggests that women can't unit and that men have control over women and their actions as both the lives of Kate and the speaker have been influenced by the Lord. Kate's betrayal also makes women appear as quite fickle and materialistic as the speaker suggests that Kate's love is not true "writ in the sand" and that she only cared about the status of being the Lords wife and all the materialistic objects she'd receive.

- Finally, women are presented as anti-heroins in 'Cousin Kate' because throughout the poem the women are fighting over a man and therefore shows how women are quite weak and not united. It also shows how men are still in control and how they have power over women.

Brief conclusion:

I believe the women in 'Cousin Kate' are quite heroic, this is because the speaker, despite being rejected by society, is bringing up her child alone and she has decided to rise above tradition. This therefore shows that women are heroic in 'Cousin Kate' because it presents/shows the idea that women can survive without men/ without a man in their life. Furthermore, I believe women are presented as heroic because the poem suggests that a woman can be broken, fallen and betrayed many times by people she trusts and loves but she will never give up or back down. *However, the use of Kate's betrayal is useful as it shows that women are not heroic and weak because we are our own worst enemy.

Done.