tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3010631809260751335.post983318845467265689..comments2014-12-19T08:38:26.905-08:00Comments on Sex and Death in Victorian Culture: The Pre-Raphaelites: Chenguang Zhu's Blog 2: Trees in Pre-Raphaelite PaintingsNancy Rose Marshallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00375238330159444724noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3010631809260751335.post-18027995327650142992014-12-10T06:41:04.751-08:002014-12-10T06:41:04.751-08:00I found your comparison really interested, and it ...I found your comparison really interested, and it got me thinking about the tree imagery found in John Everett Millais’ Autumn Leaves from 1856. While this painting doesn’t show fully grown trees as you have discussed, its use of parts of trees, the leaves, can perhaps be seen along the same lines. The young girls in the painting collect leaves to burn in their garden. While it has traditionally been interpreted as a reflection of the transience of life, as another year has come and gone with the leaves, I think that it could also be, as you described, a commentary on male dominance in Victorian society. In the burning of the leaves, which are representative of the tree and through your interpretation, male dominance, perhaps it can be observed that these young girls are rejecting this aspect of society. This idea becomes supported by the almost defiant, proud look on the girls’ faces. Although they perform their chores and duties, it is in a way that portrays them as in control of themselves and as destructive, powerful agents, contrasting to the images that you interpreted as subduing and controlling the female characters.<br /><br />Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Millais_leaves.jpgKBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05588540918586627637noreply@blogger.com