The Princess (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- First Published: 1847
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Type of Plot: Social
- Time of Work: Indeterminate
- Setting: Indeterminate
- Genres: Poetry, Narrative poetry
- Subjects: Nineteenth century, England or English people, Women’s issues, Women, Victorian era or Victorianism, Princes or princesses
Characters Discussed
Princess Ida, a woman with a strong idea of herself and her sex. Her aim is to establish a college for women. She espouses the feminist cause, exhorting her followers to “lift up their natures.” Her true self is established when she reads to the Prince from a poem: “Come down, O maid, from yonder mountain height.” The poem says, “Love is of the valley.” This descent forces Princess Ida to change from feminist to female. It is not, however, a reversal of her values but rather a process of discovery and discrimination leading toward selfhood. The...
[The entire page is 847 words long]
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