The Fallen Woman

*This piece of writing was done for my Women's Literature class. The essay goes into detail about how women were considered to be "fallen" in the 19th century if they had sexual relations before marriage. 

In the 19th century women were considered to be the “angel of the house.” They were expected to do all of the domestic duties. The patriarchal society had certain expectations for women, and if they did not conform to these ideas, they were looked down on. A woman who was a prostitute or an unmarried mother was seen as sexually immoral which led her to the title of the “fallen woman.” Although, the religious taught all women to save themselves for marriage Christian slaves were constantly being forced into unwanted sex. In Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point” a Christian Slave woman is sexually abused and impregnated by her master. Sedgwick’s Hope Leslie is a novel filled with strong and independent women including a woman named Rosa who was Sir. Phillips unmarried lover. Both these women may be judged as “fallen” but they are sympathetic in a vast number of ways.

In “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point” the main character faces the extreme hardships of a woman slave. As the poem begins she speaks to God about the differences between blacks and whites. “I am black, I am black, And yet God made me, they say: But if He did so, smiling back He must have cast his work away Under the feet of his white creatures, With a look of scorn, that the dusky features Might be trodden again to clay” (Browning 22). It is hard for her, like many slaves, to understand why God has let the whites be dominant over the blacks. They have no choice but to be degraded at all times.    

She soon finds love in another slave, which is not acceptable. After a time of secrecy their love is discovered by white men. The slaves’ lover is then killed as a punishment. As she grieves the loss of her lover, the white men take no pity on her. “Wrong, followed by a deeper wrong! Mere grief’s too good for such as I: So the white men brought the shame ere long To strangle the sob of my agony. They would not leave me for my dull Wet eyes!-it was too merciful To let me weep pure tears and die” (Browning 99). It is then when she is unwillingly impregnated. 

At that time, it was not seen as doing something wrong when a white man impregnated a black woman against her will. Most white masters of the women slaves would continuously molest them even though a woman was taught to wait to do sexual things until marriage. Christian slaves were tormented and confused by what was right and wrong. The women were still seen as “fallen” no matter what the circumstance were. The wives of the white masters were in denial as their men were constantly impregnating the woman slaves.

The slave woman in the poem had no other choice but to have the white man’s baby. After the baby was born, she not only had to deal with the guilt inside of her but she was reminded every day of what would be considered “her mistake.” “My own, own child! I could not bear To look in his face, it was so white; I covered him up with a kerchief there, I covered his face in close and tight: And he moaned and struggled, as well might be, For the white child wanted his liberty-Ha, ha! He wanted the master-right” (Browning 120). She felt that she had no other choice but to kill the baby. The woman was left alone to reconcile her sins. 

As a Christian woman in a patriarchal society she was responsible for the forced intercourse that had taken place and the killing of her child. Her soul was aching for truth and forgiveness. “I fall, I swoon! I look at the sky. The clouds are breaking on my brain; I am floated along, as if I should die Of liberty’s exquisite pain. In the name of the white child waiting for me In the death-dark where we may kiss and agree, White men, I leave you all curse-free In my broken heart’s disdain” (Browning 246).

There is so much sympathy for this poor slave woman. Although she had done nothing wrong, she was a disgrace to society, a “fallen woman.” Throughout these times, women were charged with sexual facilities especially slaves who rarely had a choice in what was done to them.  

Rosa, a beautiful woman, who was Sir Philips’s secret lover is an example of a “fallen woman” in the novel Hope Leslie. Sir Philip is an ignorant man who uses Rosa for sexual endeavors. Although Rosa’s sexual behavior with Sir Philip is strictly out of love for him, she is continuously seen as “fallen.” They hide their relationship in fear of society’s judgment on the fact that they are not married. 

Sir Philip writes to a friend talking about a various amount of secrets he has been keeping including Rosa. “She loves me to distraction, and would sacrifice any to me but the ruling passion of her sex, her vanity; but in spite of my entreaties and commands, she persists in wearing a velvet Spanish hat, with a buckle and feathers, most audaciously cocked on one side” (Sedgwick 209). Sir Philip does not have much control over her. She is independent when it comes to her dress and views from society. Rosa can be seen as a rebel, yet society would still degrade her by saying she has “fallen.” 

Rosa has the fear of getting caught constantly in the back of her head. If society was to find out her secret, she would be secluded from everyone as a whole. She cries to Sir Philip that everyone will find out their secret, “where shall I go! if I go to the good, they will frown on me, and despise me; and I cannot go to the wicked,-they have no pity” (Sedgwick 213). 

During the 19th century, even though Rosa loved Sir Philip having sex before marriage was strictly forbidden because of the Puritan views. Usually no one would have sympathized for this “fallen woman,” but we see that Magawisca protects Rosa from everyone finding out the truth. During Magawisca’s trial she did not want to expose Rosa to be Sir Philip’s secret lover. “‘Speak not in parables, Magawisca,’ said Governot Winthrop, ‘but les us have thy meaning plainly.’ ‘Then,’ replied Magawisca, ‘let me first crave of thy mercy, that poor youth, (pointing to Rosa,) withdraw from this presence’” (Sedgwick 307). After Rosa was pointed out to the audience, “a murmur of ‘shame! Cruelty’ ran through the house” (Sedgwick 307). 

The community was not understanding of Rosa’s faults. They were spectacle about her sins and would judge her like any other “fallen woman” in the community. Rosa would never have the chance to change the views people had of her which is why it is not surprising when she commits suicide at the end of the book, blowing up both her and Sir Philip. It was hard for any “fallen woman” to live with herself in the 19th century since society was extremely degrading and judgmental towards these women. This was not fair for any woman because men were allowed to “do” whomever they wanted. Though it was frowned upon for men to sleep with someone other than your spouse it was still acceptable in the patriarchal society. 

Women can still be seen as “fallen” today, but on harsher terms such as whore. No matter how you put it woman are still being degraded today. Unlike in the 19th century sexual abuse is not taken lightly. Whether you are black or white, it doesn’t matter, a woman’s body is still precious and should not be taken advantage of. Both Browning and Sedgwick are strong writers who tried to fight these social issues against woman especially since women of the 19th century were barely considered a part of society. These writers wrote for the sake of every mistreated woman at that time and for the woman who are still abused today.