The Lady is doomed to remain an outsider to society. She is completely isolated on her own island; ‘a silent isle embowers’; confined to a solitary turret. This reflects the Victorian attitude to women. The image of the ‘four grey walls, and four grey towers’ is restricted and prison like whilst the repetition and lack of colour emphasises the monotonous tone of her existence. This drastically contrasts to the vibrancy of the outside world. When describing the nature outside, the four verbs in quick succession show aliveness and colourfulness, ‘Willows whiten, aspens quiver/Little breezes dusk and shiver’. The activity of the outside world stresses the lady’s own inactivity as her only permitted activity is that of domesticity, the act of weaving. However, a Victorian view of the Lady’s setting would be its shielding nature, protecting the Lady from harm. By depriving her of independence and contact with the outside world, her innocence is preserved. The lady cannot look directly at the outside world, but must look ‘through a mirror clear/…shadows of the world appear’. This symbolises the oppressive societal codes and lack of freedom and independence women had at this time.
The description of Camelot, representative of mainstream Victorian society, shows the restricting gender dichotomy. Camelot, an Arthurian city, is an archetypal example of the male dominated, chivalrous and above all idealised society. This is displayed further with the character of Lancelot. Described as a ‘knight in shining armour’, his character diminishes women to the typical status of a damsel in distress or a wicked shrewd/witch. The traditional, heroic figure of Lancelot is presented to the reader as the complete antithesis of the Lady of Shalott. The Lady’s isolation and loneliness is emphasised by Lancelot’s definite and lively description. Lancelot is associated with light; ‘flamed…sparkled…meteor’; and colour; ‘golden…silver…purple’. However, the Lady is connected to shadows and grey. Lancelot’s energetic persona is shown by the repetition of the plosive b sounds, ‘bridle bells...blazon’d baldric…bearded meteor’. The metaphor of the ‘bearded meteor’ perfectly captivates Lancelot’s presence and influence over Camelot. He is described as otherworldly and vividly contrasted to the ‘still’ Camelot on the following line. In Stanza twelve Lancelot’s overwhelming influence on the Lady becomes apparent as he occupies her space in the stanza, whilst every stanza ends in ‘Shalott’, this ends in ‘Lancelot’ instead.
Lancelot’s character is full of sexual notions. The erotic imagery of the ‘helmet and the plume’ alongside the blooming lily suggests the Lady’s arousal on seeing him. Again, this shows the man’s dominating and controlling nature whilst the female is depicted as helpless and in need of rescuing.
The final stanzas are terribly ironic and sad. At the beginning of the poem the Lady is described as a ‘fairy’; she is an unknown, an insubstantial phantasm. Her ‘fairy’ persona is idealised to the people of Camelot whereas closer contact with the outside world results in danger, shown by the curse, ultimately destroying her. Only through death is she recognised for her own identity and it is only then that her beauty is recognised. Here, Tennyson shows the reader the Victorian’s precarious view on female sexuality. Through death she is harmless and can now be fully appreciated for her beauty and purity by the world.
When Lancelot gazes upon her body, he declares ‘she has a lovely face/God in his mercy lend her grace’. He is blissfully unaware of his effect on the Lady at the end of the poem. From a feminist viewpoint, one could see this as the double standards of men and women during the Victorian Era. The Lady’s arousal is contradictory to the passive, idealised role society inflicts upon women and thus she is punished by death. However, Tennyson rebukes this idea with the continuation of the Lady’s purity and innocence. The Lady is ‘robed in snowy white’, symbolising her Victorian style goodness, as she is conveyed with calm and tranquillity.
Throughout the entire poem the Lady remains a mystery, prompting the reader to ask questions of her true identity. Sadly, we are led to believe no-one in the poem truly connected or understood the Lady.
At the end of the poem we are in doubt of Tennyson’s view on women’s role in society. Does he agree with the demanding society which punishes the creative Lady with death or does he empathise with her desire for a more active, independent lifestyle?