Her life revolved entirely around her husband and children. Pure: She was the moral and spiritual compass of the home.
The female domain of the home—viewed as a "sacred" refuge from the outside world.
The Angel is a male fantasy. She is defined by how she relates to men (daughter, wife, mother), rather than who she is as an individual. She has no subjectivity of her own. angel in the house
Patmore wrote the poem as a tribute to his wife, Emily, whom he believed represented the perfect woman. In his eyes, this woman was:
The woman’s job was to keep the home a place of peace and virtue. By remaining "untarnished" by the world of money and power, she could provide her husband with the spiritual rejuvenation he needed to face another day of work. The "Slaying" of the Angel: Virginia Woolf Her life revolved entirely around her husband and children
Patmore’s poem, now largely unread, is a testament to the power of unexamined ideology. It celebrates his first wife, Emily, as a paragon of wifely virtue: endlessly patient, utterly devoid of personal ambition, and possessed of a “mildness” that borders on the pathological. The angel does not simply serve her husband and children; she is service. Her desires are their desires; her intellect is a gentle flame, never allowed to blaze into the inconvenient fire of independent thought. She is, in the poet’s immortal and chilling phrase, “a muse, a mistress, a desire, / a friend, a sister, and a saint.” Notice what is missing: a mind, a will, a rage, a self. The angel is a collection of roles, a function, not a person.
"Be sympathetic; be tender; flatter; deceive; use all the arts and wiles of our sex. Never let anybody guess that you have a mind of your own. Above all, be pure." The Angel is a male fantasy
The Angel concept creates an impossible standard. Even today, women are often expected to have successful careers and maintain a perfect home, essentially doing two jobs. This is the modern ghost of the Angel.
The expectation that women should naturally manage the emotional and domestic harmony of the household.
modern literary critiques like those by Charlotte Perkins Gilman or Kate Chopin? AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses Copy Creating a public link... You can now share this thread with others Good response Bad response 14 sites The Angel in the House - Wikipedia The Angel in the House is a narrative poem by Coventry Patmore, first published in 1854 and expanded until 1862. Although largely ... Wikipedia The Angel in the House - Wikipedia The Angel in the House is a narrative poem by Coventry Patmore, first published in 1854 and expanded until 1862. Although largely ... Wikipedia Analysis Of The Angel In The House By Virginia Woolf - 1165 Words Woolf describes 'The Angel in the House' as a woman who “never had a mind or a wish of her own” and who “was pure” (Woolf, 278). W... Cram The Angel in the House, by Coventry Patmore There could be but one answer to the suggestion of Mr. Coventry Patmore that his “Angel in the House” might usefully have a place ... Project Gutenberg Angel in the House, Angel in the Scientific Empire: Women ... Nov 4, 2020 —