Coming of Age as a Writer

This document is the famous Magna Carta, which many other important documents in history have echoed. It gave free men a right to a fair trial and became a powerful symbol of liberty. Other documents I noted that were inspired by the Magna Carta, as seen in the British Library was the English Bill of Rights and the Laws of Pennsylvania. It is often stated that the Magna Carta helped form the foundation of english liberties. This document is one that has changed over time, such as Atonement.

During World War II, both the soldiers and civilians faced many hardships. In the novel, Atonement, Robbie battles many mental extremities that he endures throughout his time in service. The Imperial War Museum gave our group insight to how hard and troubling the war proved to be for those that were fighting and also to the families, many of which were split up as the kids were sent off to the countryside.

I found these facts to be very staggering, especially the last one. Most of the children during the war had no choice but to grow up, as they were on their own without their parents. This war was one that could be considered an equalizer, seeing that it did not matter whether you were of higher status/educated or not. All British citizens faced hard times during the war and it was a war that could not be won without everyone doing their part and helping out.

At the Florence Nightingale Museum, it was interesting to compare Florence to the character and writer, Briony. Both were shown to be very organized and determined in their works and in their character. Coming of age as a nurse, Florence defied social expectations by not marrying to instead work as a nurse and do something meaningful and important in her life. When other nurses were training at the Nightingale School, Florence was very adamant in regulating strict uniforms (shown in the image above) and behavior, to remain professional and not be distracting.

Florence many times was called, "Lady with the Lamp," as she led many nurses during the Crimean War and cared for many soldiers. She was very heroic in her ways by putting her heart and soul into her profession of being a nurse and was ambitious in her cause. It was interesting to expand upon the fact that Briony was a nurse under the Nightingale School during the time of World War II in the novel, Atonement.

Coming of Age as a Traveller

Our first destination this week was to the John Soane Museum. This portrait, done by artist Sir Thomas Lawrence depicts John Soane who was an English architect. The museum showcased many collectables and antiquities that Mr. Soane acquired throughout his travels, highlighting the influence from other cultures such as Greece and Italy. Unlike Lucy from the novel Room with a View, Mr. Soane travelled with purpose while Lucy travels as a tourist.

Day two provided us the opportunity to visit the famous National Gallery Museum. Probably my favorite destination thus far, this museum holds many well known works of art from Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli, to 17th century pieces, all the way up to impressionist collections.

One of Sandro Botticelli's painting is titled, "Venus and mars," created around 1485. Commonalities can be seen between Venus and Lucy, and Mars and George. I believe this painting exemplifies the passion George has for Lucy, as he sees the beauty in her.

This painting by Gherardo di Giovanni titled, "The Combat of Love and Chastity," has commonalities to characters in Room with a View. In this art piece, chastity uses a shield against love's arrows, which can be compared to Charlotte shielding Lucy and limiting her from the progressing outside world. In the novel, is becomes clear that Lucy is growing up in a world where she is heavily influenced by what her elders and society want her to act, not by how she is herself.

To wrap up week three, we went to the Tate Britain Museum to view Turners collection of art. This specific painting is titled, "Palestrina-Composition," and I noticed how Turner portrays both the town landscape, as well as the nature scene. Turner takes in his whole scene and does limit what he sees, such as how Lucy takes in her surroundings while as a tourist in Italy. I enjoyed how Turner paints a pathway down the nature section, almost as if its leading to some sort of journey or adventure awaiting its audience.

Coming of Age as a Skeptic

In the novel, Brideshead Revisited, one can view the fountain at Brideshead as a symbol of Catholicism. One way people see it this way and connect it to the religion is through the flowing water a fountain contains, that reflects purity. This fountain found on Oxford's campus immediately reminded me of this and I found myself seeing the beauty it in such as Charles does at Brideshead.

Also found on Oxford's campus is the magnificent Christ Church Cathedral. These stained glass windows pertain to the Catholic church, which is the religion Sebastian was raised up in, in the novel. While the cathedral is grand and extravagant, religion proves to be a main force in driving Sebastian away, as it makes him question.

Such as Brideshead, one place we visited being Eltham Palace has a cathedral connected to the house. It was unique for a family to have a cathedral on their property, which shows one insight to how unusual Sebastian's family is, even if they were a high, upper class family. The other interiors of Eltham Palace showed off decor in different rooms from various places around the world, telling a story almost of the coming of age as a traveller.

Our final destination for the week was Hampton Court Palace, which could be related to the vast wealth Sebastian and his family inherit. Much of the architecture here is symmetrical and shows order, as this was a place where royalty once lived at.

The inside of the palace was beautifully painted, but showed the tensions of religion. While Sebastian and the Flytes were Catholic, is was not a dominate religion during this time. Much of the paintings at Hampton Court had a protestant touch with what was depicted and how it was styled. Different religions faced conflict such as Sebastian and Charles struggle and conflict with religion in their own lives.

Coming of Age as a Worker: Week One

For the first day of class, we adventured to the Foundling Museum and I came across this art piece by Emma Brownlow titled, "Taking Leave." This explores the idea that those that were foundlings usually went into domestic servitude at a young age, usually starting around age 14, much like the protagonist Jane Eyre in Charlotte Bronte's novel, "Jane Eyre." Servitude was met with those that were of a much lower status during this period in time.

Day two involved the group taking a trip to the Geffrye Museum to dig deeper into the meaning of what it meant to be apart of the middle class, which was of higher status. Instead of working, a middle class women would instead direct the working servants on what to do, allowing the higher class women to have more time to do leisurely activities. Such activities included tending to the gardens or painting.

The middle class women were also faced with expectations, however, when it came to dress and behavior. This included being well-mannered in social surroundings, with the same being towards the children, who the women primarily looked after. This placed constraints on the middle class women due to the fact that they also had limitations in their daily life.

Today the group went to the Tate Britain Museum, which included many famous paintings I had recognized from an art history class I had previously taken. I enjoyed referencing many things to my previous learned knowledge concerning the material and subjectivity.

In William Holman Hunt's painting, 'Claudio and Isabella,' a common theme is that of innocence pertaining to the woman. I correlated this to Jane Eyre in how she starts to love Mr. Rochester but comes from no prior experience with one from the opposite sex. The working woman did not have the independence to meet others or gain a broader perspective of people in social gatherings, as they were confined and expected to stick to their duties.

While at the Geffrye Museum, I was able to walk around the outside gardens and take in the scenery. So far, its been a great week exploring different museum's and connecting our surroundings and findings about the common working women and the middle class women to the book we have been reading, being Jane Eyre.