“And the silent isle imbowers The Lady of Shallot” (Tennyson, line 17-18)
The Lady of Shalott written by an English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson in 1832. The poem is about the life of a cursed Lady who is trapped in the Tower of Shalott. She is unable to look out the window directly, although she is unaware of the curse she possesses, she seems to live happily in the tower weaving what she sees in the the reflection of the mirror. The elegant voice echoes cheerfully attracts locals “listening, whispers, “ ‘Tis the fairy Lady of Shalott” ”(Tennyson, line 35-36). Although it may sound like the Lady is untroubled, the loneliness and isolation from people made her desperate to look for someone who she could reach out to.
No one knows who this Lady truly is, but her isolation does not allow her to have contact with people beyond the brick walls of the tower. She weaves beautiful landscapes to keep herself busy, and from her signing, the reader can assume that she feels happy and trouble-free. However, deep inside she undergoes loneliness and boredom. Being estranged from other people she is isolated from meaningful, even stating, “ "I am half sick of shadows," said The Lady of Shalott.” ”(Tennyson, line 71-72). For any human, no one would be able to handle such an enclosed environment. All the Lady ever wanted was companionship, comfort, and love.
When the Lady looked through the reflection of through the mirror she saw “A red-cross knight for ever kneel’d” (Tennyson, line 78), and a moment of desire came over her. From all the years of not knowing or experiencing what love was, to feel overwhelmed by it. “She left the web, she left the loom” (Tennyson, line 109) in order to meet Knight, Lancelot. In desperation for love, she is even willing to sacrifice her life for it. As she stepped out of the Tower of Shalott she saw the world without a reflection and felt the wind with no walls. Not soon later the curse is activated and slowly kills her. Although the beautiful moments she dreamt of have not last long, but they still rejoices in the song as she dies.
The mirror symbolizes the censorship preventing the Lady to look out the window directly. The isolation and curse restricted her from having any contact with the rest of the society, therefore leaving her lonely and sad. On the day she steps out the tower, she loses innocence and discovers the beauty of the natural world. This story act as a parallel to some children with extremely protective parents. Many parents wants to put protective barriers around their children, so they do not rebel. However, doing this may have side effects because the child would lose the ability of socializing and interacting with others. The future of the child would not be good because the child could not connect with the rest of the world. Just like when the Lady first steps out of the tower, and the curse becomes active and kills her.
“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in you years” (Abraham Lincoln). The Lady of Shallot, a story of a Lady longing for a connection with human beings brings out her will. The loneliness and isolation in the tower for so many years and weaving the same landscapes over and over leads her to depression and sadness. Discovering what the true life behind the walls that she was ignoring all the years made a worthy memory before her death.
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