© Copyright 2021 Fatima Hammoud, Ryerson University

Introduction

The poem “The Parting of the Ways,” written by Cecil French exemplifies an important message about self-love, specifically, with beauty. There is a contrast between the poem’s theme and the magazine. The first volume of The Green Sheaf magazine represents examples of naturalism in literature. The poem can be seen as a prime example of naturalism in literature because the context of the poem defines one’s ability to accept their natural self. The poem can be found in the first volume of The Green Sheaf magazine, between other works that reflect the idea of naturalism in literature. This essay will analyze French’s poem through the theme of Fin-de-Sicle, arguing how French’s poem was used to express the notion of female beauty and how women were transitioning into the modern idea of letting go of the cultural and faithful idea of what defines women as beautiful. The poem centers around the idea that one cannot hope for beauty but at the same time not be able to let go of judgment of the world. Meaning to be happy with who you are and how you look, you must cast away the fear of judgment and the fear of the world, for you will be stuck in fear for all eternity.

The Green Sheaf was edited and published by Pamela Colman Smith consisting of 13 volumes that were produced between the years of 1903 and 1904. Smith’s purpose behind the Green Sheaf was to showcase her artwork and follow artists to allow them to express their thoughts and opinions. However, it had another agenda, “Pamela Colman Smith’s feminist principles, which sought to support women in business as well as art, the magazine also had a commercial agenda directed at helping women make an independent living”. (The Green Sheaf, p. 11). The magazine helped women both express their writing and editing skills, all while making a livable wage. This pushes into the fin-de-siecle mindset of new beginnings. The Green Sheaf Magazine was edited and illustrated by many artists and writers, it had an explicit platform. “Its manifesto identified Pictures, verses, ballads of love and war; tales of pirates, verses and the sea” (The Green Sheaf, p.3). Cecil French was one of those like-minded artists who used his artwork to express his opinion and beliefs. Pamela Smith personally drew the majority of the works in the magazine. However, French’s skills can be seen in a few of the pieces throughout the magazine; one is in his poem “Parting of The Ways.”

The Parting of the Ways

The poem has an image of a woman’s face in the center of a flower on a cross. The illustration represents the meaning behind the poem how the world and people come hand-in-hand. In the case of the poem, it follows through faith. The cross the rose is centered on exemplifies French’s purpose behind the poem: how women are held to a high standard of how to look and are idolized to look a certain figure. The woman’s face on the rose attracts the reader to see the poem and read its context. Roses may symbolize love or beauty because it is beautiful flower. What better way to attract beauty than with beauty itself? That can be the purpose behind including the image in his poem. French used his poetry to send an indirect message about the criticism behind accepting oneself. His poem pertains to beauty; however, its context discreetly emphasizes the importance of learning to love yourself as the way God made you.

Analysis of Poem

French’s piece begins with an illustration of the narrator recalling a poem that he claims to hear constantly from his heart. “Beyond the warring vain of hope. I hear A voice that cries forever in my breast They who have dreamed of Beauty and yet fear to cast away the world shall find no rest….” (French). He begins his poem with narration to grab the reader’s attention for them to understand what is being said in the poem. The narration is written as though the person is speaking with the reader. This helps capture the reader’s essence to understand the meaning behind the words. The poem is spoken in an old English voice, allowing for a translation to be made by the reader on what is being said; in this matter, it’s about letting go of the fear of others so that the person may feel beautiful. As seen in Jonah Siegel’s essay, he argues about a similar notion done in Alfred Tennyson Poem “The Palace of Art,” he sends it off to be edited by a fellow editor and includes a poem that elaborates the narrative of his work that he claims “he will understand.” (Siegle, 745) Siegle argues that the purpose behind the poem’s inclusion was to emphasize the true meaning behind Tennyson’s story. Thus, it can be observed the same with French’s poetry; he deliberately included a narration before the poem to make a point of the true meaning behind its context, that one can hope for beauty, but to find it, they must let go of the fear of judgment.

Naturalism in Literature

The genre that the poem was written in was naturalism. Naturalism was a literary movement from the late-nineteenth-century that imploded realistic views with human experiences and interactions. (Zhang, 195). The idea is that human experience is influenced by their surroundings. The Green Sheaf was based on this genre; many of the works presented in the magazine were examples of naturalism. One example is in the “book-worm” that was located in the same volume as Cecil’s French poem. The iron of that image was that the scholar had a globe with only one continent, placed upon a pile of books. The scholar wasn’t reading the books but was observing something that was not even discovered yet. The sarcasm behind that was he was attempting to discover something real but wasn’t physically going to it. Realistically, one cannot say something exists without gaining confirmation that it’s real. His environment was filled with objects and not a real place, hence why it was titled bookworm because he was reading more than exploring. This is relative to “The Parting of the Way’s” poem because its context fits the same notion of naturalism in literature, that one cannot sit around hoping for something in an environment that is taking you nowhere, to achieve the goal you want, you must create an environment that allows you to grow. The setting for the poem would be society, and to change that environment simply has to ignore it and build themselves the confidence to ignore the fear and judgment

Women’s Beauty

Analyzing this poem through the theme of fin-de-siecle, we can look at the different aspects of the transition to modernization in the victorian era, focussing mainly on female beauty and women’s roles in the Yellow Nineties Magazines. Culture played a significant role in the world, especially within the beauty industry. Discussing beauty and different ways women could beautify themselves was becoming more common within magazines. Publications began expanding more columns to include sections for female readers. During the transition period, women writers were growing within the publishing industry. As a result, more genres relative to women were growing in the magazines. Beauty columns were being used as a profiting advantage for publishers. However, this made an impression on the female audience by influencing them on the latest trend with looks and beauty cosmetics. As discussed in Jessica P. Clark’s article on “Mundane Beauty in the Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine.”

“Columns could operate as relatively independent entities despite editorial attempts to manage their content, forging a sense of belonging to a discursive milieu populated by textual identity. As part of this exchange, participants in the “Englishwoman’s Conversazione” periodically debated daily practices of bodily management despite popular opprobrium of female beautification through the mid-nineteenth century” (Clark, 540).

The beauty columns in magazines were made as to their own entry but had constant battles with editorial interference about what was being said in the works. This demonstrates how editors were keen on the criteria they presented to their readers to fit a specific perspective that they wanted to show. The textual identities were from participants who shared their makeup tips and routines. (Clark, 542) this started the influence page of women sharing their makeup tips and seeing them within magazines. The English women Convatizme group discussed the different bodily managements seen amongst the women despite the harsh criticism women were recovering during the mid-nineteenth century. This shows how the modernization process of beauty was not accepted openly but criticized how women were changing and not following the ideal look. French’s poem contradicts the idea that a woman must not believe she’s beautiful only by society’s telling her. She must let go of that fear and uncertainty about others’ opinions and simply accept and embrace her naturally beautiful self; only then will she feel beautiful. This demonstrates how the women and their ideas influenced the making of this poem to target the female readers, further pushing them into a more modern mindset of accepting themselves as beautiful, throwing away old traditions of what culture and faith have to say.

Conclusion

French emphasizes this notion through his poem that a woman shall feel beautiful once she throws away the fear of judgment by society. Analyzing the parting of ways through the theme of fin de siècle it becomes more clear how the poem fits into the world that was beginning. The poem’s agenda was to emphasize the context of women’s beauty and push the agenda of beauty acceptance. The Green Sheaf magazine’s sole purpose was to embrace the ideals of feminism and different perspectives about the world. As the world was changing into a new century, The Green Sheaf was embracing the new world through artwork and literature. French’s poem “Parting of the Ways” uses both art and poetry to send its own message to the world, that it is time to let go of the fear and love yourself as thee. The topic of women’s beauty became a popular topic amongst different magazines, although some used to criticize women’s fashion, it was helpful for women to learn tips on maintaining self-care and physical features. Women’s beauty is a largely discussed topic, even in modern times today, it’s important to send the right message to young women about self-love and beauty acceptance. To not be influenced by society’s perception of them, but to let society stand in the way of a woman embracing and loving her natural beauty self, and that was Cecil French’s manifesto when he decided to publish his poem “The Parting of the Ways”.

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Works Cited

Cecil, French.  “The Parting of the Ways” The Green Sheaf, edited and published by Smith, Coleman Pamela, vol. 1, 1903, pp 4. Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/green_sheaf_1903_01/page/n3/mode/2up

Clark, Jessica P. “Will You Give Me Your Opinion?”: Mundane Beauty in the Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine 1860-75. Victorian Periodicals Review vol. 52, no. 3. 2019. pp. 540-565. ProQuest, DOI: 10.1353/vpr.2019.0034

Kooistra, Lorraine Janzen. “’ A Paper of Her Own’: Pamela Colman Smith’s The Green Sheaf (1903-1904).” The Green Sheaf Digital Edition, Yellow Nineties 2.0, 2021, edited by Lorraine Janzen Kooistra, Ryerson University Centre for Digital Humanities, 2021, https://1890s.ca/green-sheaf-general-introduction.

Siegel, Jonah. “Beauty.” Victorian Literature and Culture, vol. 48, no. 4, Jan. 2020, pp. 745–771,https://journals-scholarsportal-info.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/pdf/10601503/v48i0004/745_b.xml 

Smith, French Colman. “The Green Sheaf” Yellow Nineties 2.0 Vol 1, 1903, https://archive.org/details/green_sheaf_1903_01 

Zhang, Xiaofen .“On the Influence of Naturalism on American Literature.” English Language Teaching, Vol. 3, no 2, June 2010, pp. 195-187. Doi:https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1081555.pdf 

https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/interrupted-a-type-of-feminine-beauty-178422/search/venue:cecil-french-bequest-6932/page/1/view_as/grid

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