From Greece to Rome and to Britain, the world’s most renowned philosophers and literary writers have tackled the concept of suffering. From Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, to the poetry written by Jonathan Swift, John Donne and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, multiple literary scholars have demonstrated suffering throughout the last couple centuries.
Whether it may be sexual suffering as seen in the work of John Donne’s His Mistress Going to Bed, and Jonathan Swifts The Lady’s Dressing Room and A Beautiful Nymph Going to Bed, or the emotional, physical and psychological suffering in Oedipus the King, literature’s greatest authors have allowed audiences to experience a character’s suffering and emotions in various forms – sexually, emotionally, physically and psychologically. This was intentionally done to allow viewers to experience situations that they may or may not have experienced themselves, and to allow a connection to be formed between the character and audience.
His Mistress Going to Bed by John Donne is a short poem written in the 16th century, that heavily emphasizes the concepts of eroticism and sexuality. In the poem, Donne revels in the experience of undressing his mistress in stages. His excitement and desire for her increases throughout the poem, resulting with him exclaiming in an ecstasy of admiration, “full nakedness! ” (His Mistress Going to Bed, 33) At this point, he is at full arousal and stimulation. Donne’s character continues to suffer sexually, as he waits for his mistress to reach full nudity and to be with her.
In a sense, the mistress seems to be teasing Donne with her body and beauty. It is as though she is exposing herself piece by piece, rather than all at once – this may be being done intentionally, and may be a way for her to become aroused while watching Donne’s excitement and anticipation build up. This results in Donne’s excitement and his desire to have her to himself grows. This sexual suffering can be seen in relationships or in individuals who suffer from sexual frustration.
This form of suffering has a positive outcome for those involved in the storyline, and possibly for those who are witnesses to it. Oedipus the King is one of literature’s greatest known tragedies written by Sophocles. This play is a classic Greek tragedy and is regarded as a masterpiece. It is mentioned in Aristotle’s Poetics, as being an exemplar of the composition of tragedy. Oedipus the King tells the story of Oedipus, a man who becomes the king of Thebes, while unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that would kill his father, Laius, and marry his mother, Jocasta.
Throughout Oedipus’ journey, viewers are introduced to various forms of suffering – physical, social, emotional and psychological. The first case of suffering that the audience is introduced to, is a brief mention of the despair that the city of Thebes was found in – before Oedipus defeated the Sphinx, who had initially released a plague on the village. The people of Thebes were subjected to plagues, which resulted in the death of many, as well as shortages on resources such as food and water. The city was in turmoil and war was constant (Oedipus the King, 25-41).
This is an example of social suffering. This example of suffering can be connected to the dreadful conditions of those living in third world countries such as Africa – for instance, Nigeria, Ivory Coast – and Haiti. People living in the third world suffer from diseases such as HIV, AIDS and Malaria. They do not have a sufficient amount of food and water to maintain their health and are victims of corruption and war. Emotional, psychological and physical suffering are introduced all at once at some point during the performance.
Due to Oedipus’ unrelenting desire to undercover the truth about his destiny – which he was warned about numerous times to leave undiscovered – Oedipus is unable to accept his fate or his murderous actions. Jocasta – Oedipus’ wife and mother – commits suicide, as she too is ashamed of her actions (Oedipus the King, 1451). Along with having his destiny exposed, Oedipus must deal with the death of his wife. This takes an emotional toll on him and as a result, he intentionally blinds and banishes himself from the city of Thebes.
This is not just suffering for Oedipus but for the viewers who are exposed to this as well. Jonathon Swift was an Anglo-Irish satirist, poet and cleric in the 16th century. Swift is remembered for works such as Gulliver’s Travels, A Tale of a Tub and A Modest Proposal. He is regarded as the foremost prose satirist in the English language, and is less well known for his poetic works. Jonathon Swift’s short poem, A Beautiful Nymph Going to Bed, reflects the relentless, emphatically unromantic, and savagely satirical visions that mark Swift’s art.
This poems presents the process by means of which an eighteenth century London prostitute prepares for sleep – a process which involves her stripping herself of various deceptions, which she seeks to disguise both her physical and moral suffering. Swift’s detailed description of Corinna’s ritualistic undressing essential exposes his audience to the various artful deceptions by which the prostitute establishes her outward appearance (“A Beautiful Young Nymph Analysis”, 2). Ultimately, Corinna’s personal and physical suffering is uncovered.
One may assume that Corinna suffers from low selfesteem and has issues with body image. Her charm and beauty is a merely an imitation of who she wishes to be. Her hair, for example, is a wig; her eyebrows have been crafted from the skins of mice; the beautiful curves which define her are supplied by padding and as Swift indicates, a “steel-rib’d bodice” (A Beautiful Nymph, 13-24). At one point, Swift states that one of Corinna’s eyes, is actually made out of glass (A Beautiful Nymph, 11-12), signaling that she suffers from some sort of medical condition or was in an accident that resulted in the loss of her eye.
Corinna’s personal suffering and physical disability essentially allows readers to feel guilt and pity for her. It is not that fact that she is selling herself to make a living that makes viewers feel bad, but her urge to disguise who she truly is. This form of physical suffering and issues with body image are common in the twenty-first century, especially in regards to women. Corinna can be seen as an outlet to those who attempt to be someone they are not. For instance, young adolescent females who look up to female celebrities and attempt to mimic their appearance.
This ultimately leads to issues of body image and self-esteem, as seen with Corinna. The Lady’s Dressing Room, a poem written by Jonathan Swift, takes on a different perspective about women, compared to his other piece – A Beautiful Nymph Going to Bed. The Lady’s Dressing Room is the complete opposite of A Beautiful Nymph Going to Bed; in fact, rather than taking a calmer and accepting approach towards women and their flaws as he did in A Beautiful Nymph Going to Bed, Swift attacks women and takes on a more sexist and misogynistic approach.
Swift’s poem is highly invasive as it chronicles the unwanted entry of Strephon, a young man, into a Celia’s dressing room; it is here that Strephon begins to suffer psychologically from what he witnesses – in fact, Swift states that he “pity wretched Strephon blind, to all the charms of female kind”. Strephon does not literally go blind – as Oedipus did in Oedipus the King – but is psychologically scarred by the “horror” that he witnesses when he is exposed to Celia’s mess. Strephon is ultimately disillusioned by the discovery of his beloved Celia’s humanity and flesh-and-blood physicality.
It is at the moment that Strephon shouts “Oh! Celia, Celia, Celia shits! ” (Lady’s Dressing Room, 118), that audience members are truly aware of Strephon’s horror and suffering. Although some may feel pity for Strephon, his suffering is quite humorous. After Strephon runs away from Celia’s chamber, the reader is reminded of how foolish his actions and reaction to his discovery of Celia’s bodily functions were. Throughout the poem, Swift suggests that Celia’s lover is suffering and being punished severely for his constant need and excessive ambition to lift the veil from a mystery that was better left undiscovered.
Swift’s “hero” does not die but becomes lost to the world; with his loss of vision by the “undiscovered” truth about women and foul perception of the world, Strephon is destined to live a depressing, joyless and sorrowful life – ultimately, he will suffer from his stubbornness and his constant desire to delve into uncharted territories. The Reasons that Induced Dr. S to Write a Poem Call’d the Lady’s Dressing Room is a poem by Lady Mary Wortley Mo published in 1734.
The poem falls under the category of a satire – a genre of literature in which abuse and shortcoming are used to ridicule an individual, with the intention of shame – and was a response to Jonathan Swift’s The Lady’s Dressing Room. Montagu essentially attacks Swift’s character and suggests that he wrote The Lady’s Dressing Room as a result of his sexual frustration and inability to perform sexually. Lady Montagu is implying that Swift’s poem was a way for him to attack women due to the fact that he suffers from the inability to perform erotically with women.
Swift’s inability to release his sexual frustration is an indication that he also may not be able to arouse women or that they may not find him desirable. His sexual suffering is quite common among men and even some women as well, who are unable to reach a certain level of sexual arousal. In a sense, this issue with sexual performance and arousal can actually create a relationship among viewers; especially those who suffer from sexual medical issues or personal reasons – such as the inability to be aroused by others.
For centuries, literary scholars have used various forms of suffering to capture audiences and connect with spectators. Whether it may be comical suffering as seen in the Canterbury Tales or the heartbreaking and pitiful suffering as seen in Oedipus the King and a Beautiful Nymph Going to Bed, literatures most famous authors have been able to tug at the heartstrings of many, and have created characters that some audiences can relate to.
Suffering has become an important theme in many popular literary works and has allowed readers and onlookers to delve into emotions and situations that they may not always find themselves in. Suffering is another way for people to escape their reality – as well as a way to connect to it – and to become involved in the work, emotionally or through the use of ones imagination.
