Silas Marner and Artist Objectification

This week in class one topic we talked about was objectification in art. We read a poem and answered some questions about it. I am going to post the same poem and see what you have to say about it. So to start here is the poem.

One face looks out from all his canvases,
One selfsame figure sits or walks or leans:
We found her hidden just behind those screens,
That mirror gave back all her loveliness.
A queen in opal or in ruby dress,
A nameless girl in freshest summer-greens,
A saint, an angel — every canvas means
The same one meaning, neither more nor less.
He feeds upon her face by day and night,
And she with true kind eyes looks back on him,
Fair as the moon and joyful as the light:
Not wan with waiting, not with sorrow dim;
Not as she is, but was when hope shone bright;
Not as she is, but as she fills his dream.

So, what do you think this poem is about as a whole? How is this poem about objectification? Finally, do you think that artistic rendering naturally leads to objectification? Hopefully someone will post their opinion on this topic. Below I will tell you what I thought and maybe it will give you some ideas.

I think this poem is about an artist who painted a woman who was young and beautiful, the woman of his dreams. It is about objectification because it seems like the woman is no longer young and beautiful in real life only in his dreams. They seemed to like each other when he was painting her, but as she grew older she lost a little of her beauty he lost interest. He was not the type of man to wait or have sorrow. So he stopped seeing her and painting her, and left remembering her as she was not as she is. I do not think artistic rendering naturally leads to objectification. I think it is a fine line an artist must be cautious to avoid and be ever vigilant not to cross it. Because once they do cross the line into objectification, then it becomes a habit of sorts, and is hard to cross back over to the other side.

Anyway there is the poem and the questions, as well as what I thought of the poem and the answers to the questions. Feel free to post anything you want. If you want to answer the questions great, if not that is okay. The point is you can post anything you want whether it is about the poem or not. I hope to see some replies next time I log on here. On a side note I know I promised to tell the story about my accident and back injury, but I have been in a ton of pain this week and cannot sit and type for very long. So, hopefully next week I will feel better and can post my story.

Until then, remember my life motto and my #1 rule to live by. Until next time remember those and have a great week.

Carpe diem,
Silas Marner