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AnnaAntonowicz
objectsofreligiousdevotion.Theneedle,prayerandlongingfortheabsentmale
heroarethesoledutiesandpleasuresofMariana’sconfinement.Theimplied
expectationsfortheVictorianwomanareunmistakable:thewomanissupposed
tobesecluded,faithful,piousanddutiful.Intheend,thus,thepaintingconfirms
theneedtocontrolfemalesexualityenhancedby‘natural’dress,andpointsto
woman’schastityshapedpredominantlybyawoman’ssurroundingsnother
dress,advocatingtheagencyofmalepowertoshapethewoman’senvironment
anddestiny.ThesexualityexpressedbyMariana’sstretcheduncorsetedbody
canonlybecontainedbytheisolatedandenclosedinterior,andtamedbythe
practiceofdomesticcraft.
ThefactthatthemodelswhoposedfortheBrotherhoodartistsdidnotwear
theirartisticdressesinpublic,outsidethewallsoftheirhomesandstudiosas
wellastheframesofthepaintingsandphotographs,onlyaddstothecharacter
ofPre-Raphaelitedressasliberatingthefemalebodybutnotthewoman
wearingit.Anytransgressionoffixedsocialandmoralpatternswasseverely
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punished.Ophelia,inanother(1851-2)paintingbyMillais,whoventuredout
ofherdomesticsphereintotheopenair,suffersthedeadlyconsequencesof
hertransgression.
Themodern/anti-modernparadoxofPre-Raphaelitedressstems,then,from
severalfactors.Firstly,theBrotherhood’sdressdesigncertainlyexpressedthe
modernidealsofmobilityandindividuality,yettheartistschosetopraise
theprogressiveindividualismofthewomanandtheparticularitiesofhernatural
bodythroughantiquatedhistoricgarments,implyingtosomedegreethatbeing
authenticandnaturalisafterallaposethatinvolvesputtingonacostume.
Secondly,thePre-Raphaelitedressliberatedawoman’sbodyandsexualitybut
nottheentiretyofawoman’slife.TheBrotherhoodartistscouldnot,ordidnot
wantto,escapethesocialandmoralconstraintsoftheirtime,particularlywithin
thedomainofgender.
Andyet,sincetheimagesofPre-RaphaeliteclothingquestionedtheVictorian
conceptofwoman’scorporalityandcharacter,thewomeninthepaintingsbecame
iconicfiguresofsubversion,whilePre-Raphaelitedressbecameassociatedwith
progressivevaluesandwoman’srights.Thoughhistoricallystyledandpublicly
restricted,themoststrikingfeatureofthepre-Raphaelitegarmentswasthatthey
allowedforfreedomofmovement.Bythe1870stheclotheswereasymbolof
anew,freerlifestyle,whichpromotedmoreagencyforthewomenthatwore
them.WhatwasleftofthelegacyofthePre-Raphaelitedressinthesubsequent
formsofartisticandreformdresseswasnottheelevationoftheparticularsof
natureorahistoricalstyle,buttheabstractedprinciplesofnature:itsmotionand
vitality.Inhislecture“TheLesserArtsofLife”,WilliamMorriswrote:
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RobyneEricaCalvert,op.cit.,pp.46-47.