Godiva Utilitarianism

Megan Frisbie
October 11, 2014
Major English Authors III
Essay #1
Morality and Utilitarianism in Tennyson’s Godiva
Tennyson’s poem “Godiva” follows its narrator’s recreation of the tale. Through this retelling, readers can see how Victorian ideas influenced Tennyson’s work. The piece is marked by a tension between utilitarianism, exemplified by Lady Godiva’s husband, and humanist ethics, demonstrated by Lady Godiva’s actions. Through this historical struggle, the narrator’s comments on modern society can be seen. He finds the utilitarianism useless; instead, he idolizes Godiva’s ability to stand up for the people against taxation and shows dislike for her husband’s policies. Further, he highlights the fact that the townspeople do not view her naked body without consequences in order to strict Victorian sexual ideas. Consequently, the narrator fashions Godiva into a figure of purity and morality; this contradicts and discredits the Victorian ideals demonstrated by her husband. It also upholds Godiva’s morality as she rides through the town. The first four lines of the poem are italicized; this demonstrates the poem outline the narrator’s approach to writing the poem. He says that by looking at
the town of Coventry he “shaped/ the city’s ancient legend into this,” the legend in question being that of Lady Godiva (Tennyson 3-4). This quote acts as a frame story for the poem. It allows readers to understand that the story will not come purely from its source material, the original story of Lady Godiva. Any moral or lesson derived from the poem may come from the intrusion of the narrator into the story. He had molded it to fit his views and opinions. Immediately this can be seen as he enters the narrative of Godiva and invokes the present and compares it to Godiva’s time; this compares her struggle to modern ones. He says that in current times, men: have loved the people well,
And loathed to see them overtaxed; but she
Did more, and underwent, and overcame (8-10)
Basically, although men currently understand and concede that taxes are too high and admit to loving the masses, they do not live their lives to the same moral standard of Godiva. She actively stood against taxation when it affected her subjects. Godiva embodies moral responsibility in this section. She understands injustice, as the current people do, but she goes farther, standing up against the powers. This comparison makes current people far inferior to her. They see the injustice, but do not choose to change it. Their failure to act shows that men during Tennyson’s time are less moral, thus portraying the Victorian Age as immoral and imperfect and the past as a better, more ethical time. Yet, within the past, her husband’s actions follow the Victorian policy of utilitarianism. Godiva’s husband voices his beliefs in utilitarianism when he responds to Godiva’s wish to lower taxes on the people in their town. He points to her fingers and asks if she would “let her little finger ache/ For such as these” implying that the taxes he imposes allow her own and wear prized jewelry (22-23). His argument upholds utilitarian beliefs, because he justifies the suffering of the people for the best interest of the whole town. Though if the tax allows Godiva to afford the ring, it seems that the tax merely supports the couple’s self-interest. It is better for him and his wife to have material goods and for the people to suffer, because it will be for the benefit of the town as a whole if they hold wealth. This demonstrates how selfish his argument is. As Godiva realizes and supports the plight of the townspeople, her husband ignores it in self-interest, justifying the tax because of what he can buy himself and his wife. Godiva’s husband also challenges her dedication to abolishing the tax. In order to demonstrate that Godiva only supports abolishing the tax in theory, her husband challenges her to ride “naked thro’ the town;” if she does so he promises to “repeal” the tax (29-30).
His challenge challenges Victorian sexual morality. By going through the town naked, Godiva would act controversially and would go against society. Showing her body would make her seem immoral. Because of this her husband tests her adherence to her beliefs, because he does not think she will go. Unlike him, though, she feels passionate for the people and accepts his challenge while ensuring that people will not see her riding naked. The challenge makes Godiva face an internal conflict (32-41). She is able to marry her sexual morality to her care and her rejection of
utilitarianism. Her internal conflict takes up a whole stanza of the poem, thus highlighting how important sexual morality is to her. She finally decides to ride into town naked, but for the townspeople to stay inside while she rides. They must
…let no foot pace the street No eye look down, she passing, but that all
Should keep within door shut and window barr’d. (39-41)
This shows two things. First, it shows that Godiva, although passionate about the people, cares about her virtue. Her actions support the idea of morality. By not allowing the people to view her body, she upholds the idea that her naked body, like those of others, are only to be viewed in private. Additionally, the townspeople comply due to the fact that they “loved her well (38). This shows that they respect her values. This is because she fights for their rights. As a result, they understand and respect her body when she fights for them. This allows Godiva to feel comfortable while riding. Before Godiva rides across the town, she takes off her clothes. As she disrobes, she “Unclaps’d the wedded eagles of her belt/ The grim Earl’s gift” (44-45). This implies that she taking off her clothes serves two functions. At face value, doing so allows her to accept the challenge. Symbolically, it allows her to escape the ideas and the values of her husband. Taking off the belt, which as stated above is a gift of her husband, devalues the material gifts she receives as a result of his utilitarianism. This further demonstrates that the act is an act that contradicts the views of her husband. It makes her independent of him. Taking off the belt acts as a physical manifestation of this. In addition, she rides down the town with conviction and morality although she is not clothed. Godiva is described twice as “clothed on with chastity” when she goes across the town on horseback (53;65). This repetition emphasizes Godiva’s moral purity, despite the fact that she is unclothed. Further, her ability to wear chastity makes Godiva seem other worldly, almost angelic. Regardless of what she wears, her idealism masks her nakedness. This shows that Godiva’s actions for the people are divine and just. It also enhances her perceived purity and makes her an angelic figure because she fights for a cause and is masked in morality. The ability to look chaste while naked enhances Godiva’s purity by saying that her physical appearance does not matter as much as her goals and her message does. Consequently, people who do not respect her actions are punished. Specifically, one man peeks at her and suffers blindness for trying to see Godiva’s naked ride when instructed not to do so (65-72). The narrator discredits the man and shows the man’s lack of character in contrast to Godiva by calling him a “low churl” (66). The man’s want to see the lady’s body demonstrates immoral behavior, and his actions do not respect Godiva’s sacrifice. His punishment illustrates that the people must respect Godiva’s actions; otherwise, they will be punished. Also, his punishment comes at the hands of “the Powers” (71). This punishment derives from divine powers and shows how unacceptable his action is. Even such beings support Godiva’s want to lower the taxes, because her morality is never in question. They support the ideals that she rides for. This emphasizes her empathy and further turns Godiva into an angelic figure. Further, her husband rewards her actions by ending the tax (78). Ultimately, Godiva’s morals overcome her husband’s utilitarian tax. Her empathy for the people overcomes his wants of wealth and self-interest. It also undercuts his authority. Applying this to the narrator’s frame story, the work indicates that the narrator prefers humanist ideals to Victorian ones (such as utilitarianism and self-interest) (1-4). Considering that he shaped the story and consequently its message, it is no mistake that Godiva wins; her win negates the authority of her husband and Victorian ideas. Readers can assume that the narrator wants them to focus on the plot and the action of the poem, because it contains no rhyme scheme. This stops readers from focusing and considering frame, and lets the plot remain at the center of the reading. Consequently, readers can messages and morals out of the poem at will. The poem “Godiva” by Tennyson is this a poem criticizing Victorian ideals. It uses the character Godiva to destruct and undercut the ideals. As a result, the poem supports humanist ideals. The past also plays an important part in the work. It makes the struggle in the poem timeless. The tax’s authority is being tested in earlier times, and is struck down. This indicates that the narrator believes it should be appealed in Victorian times. Through Godiva’s struggle, readers should see that purely moral ideals will always overcome those based in self-interest and utilitarianism. Thus, goodness should always win and society should promote ideals that support individual people in order to be just.