The Theme of Female Oppression in "Visions of the Daughters of Albion" by William Blake

William Blake uses Visions of the Daughters of Albion to emphasize how important it is to use pure knowledge in the face of oppression. Blake uses marriage to illustrate female oppression, while simultaneously referencing slavery. The poem begins with the rape of the main character Othoon, while she is on her way to visit her partner Theotormon. Theotormon is unable to forgive Othoon and instead, chains Othoon and Bromion together. Theotormon represents the eyes, Bromion represents the mind, and Othoon represents the power in combining them both in the face of oppression.

A women’s chastity has always been determinative of her value, and this was exaggerated in Blake’s time. Women were expected to be innocent through a lack of sexuality. Furthermore, a women’s acceptance of her sexuality was often visualized as a threat to morale and society. Blake answers this dichotomy using Othoon’s rape: “but the terrible thunders tore / my virgin mantle in twain” (iii, 7-8). Othoon’s prior virginity destructs the pre-conceived notion of women tempting men into sex because it verifies her innocence. Othoon “pluck[s] Leutha’s flower” (iii, 5) to symbolize the beginning of her decision to have sex with Theotormon, reversing the colloquial term “de-flowering,” which asserts a heterosexual image of the male “plucking” the female’s “flower.”

Furthermore, as Othoon plucks the flower out of the ground, the nymph reassures her that, “another flower shall spring, because the soul of sweet delight / can never pass away” (1, 9-10). This is important because it emphasizes the importance of both the physical form of the flower, and its soul that allows the flower to continue reproducing. This adjoins the physical act of reproduction with the spiritual aspect of a soul, which is a reoccurring theme in Visions.

Bromion neglects to attach substance to his arguments and fails to root his ideas in tangibility. Bromion’s figurative language therefore exemplifies his tendency to think with only his mind, which will later become his downfall. For Bromion, Othoon’s rape resulted in possession because he gained masculinity in the form of domination. Bromion later supports this idea when he talks about his desire to colonize: “Thy soft American plains are mine, and mine thy north & south: / Stampt with my signet are the swarthy children of the sun” (1, 20-21). Bromion is comparing Othoon’s rape to the act of colonizing new land by metaphorically referring to her body as “American plains.”

Furthermore, he considers the rape a metaphorical “signet,” alluding to the practice of branding slaves with a stamp. Bromion takes the role of the European settler who unwelcomely claims territory and feels entitled to the possession of his commodities. Othoon is treated as the commodity because she is turned into an object: “behold this harlot here on Bromion’s bed” (1, 18). Othoon is labelled a harlot and she is equated to a possessed territory. As a result, Othoon loses her self-identity and is de-humanized, similar to a slave. Slavery was a means of productive labour because it yielded a tangible result. Slaves were therefore exploited and used for their labour in order to increase the amount of end-product. The oppressors operating slaves became oppressed to the system of productive labour because it confined their minds by encouraging thinking from the eye.

Theotormon is unable to understand the transparency behind emotion, and instead tries to find substance in something as impalpable as thought: 'Tell me what is a thought? & of what / substance is it made?' (2, 23). Theotormon therefore eliminates the figurative aspect of sex altogether. Instead, he focuses only on the tangible aspect of sex by perceiving it as productive labour. Theotormon physically chains Othoon and Bromion together, alluding to the metaphorical “binding” of two people in a marriage: “Bound back to back in Bromion's caves terror & meekness dwell” (2, 5). The chains symbolize the system of a loveless marriage that is oppressing Othoon’s sexuality and degrading sex as a simple physical act.

Othoon hopes that Theotormon will forgive her once the eagles feed on her flesh because it will make her pure again: “the eagles at her call descend & rend their bleeding prey” (2, 7). This is symbolic of women “giving up” parts of themselves to fit into the oppressive role of a wife. Because it was for Theotormon’s forgiveness, Othoon gave up physical parts of herself, contrary to the popular metaphorical saying. However, Theotormon merely smiles and does not forgive Othoon. The reason Othoon can still long for Theotormon is because she can separate sex as fulfillment for the mind (love) and sex that is a means of productive labour (marriage), while Theotormon can not. Theotormon takes the role of oppressor as he chains up Othoon and Bromion. His insistence on productive labour prevents him from being able to free his mind because his mind is a slave to his eyes.

While Bromion takes the physical act of branding slaves and turns it into a metaphor to refer to his rape as an act of possession. Theotormon takes the metaphorical aspect of a “binding” marriage and turns it into physical chains that bind Othoon and Bromion together. Blake uses chains to describe the oppression of women in marriage in addition to the oppression of slaves. However, Othoon fights both her physical oppression of chains and the mental oppression of marriage and slavery by using her sovereign mind. She opens herself up to “joy and delight,” (6, 22) not allowing her entrapments the ability to oppress her vision of the world. Othoon later compares the act of physical reproduction with the act of reproducing with her eyes: “If in the morning sun I find [joy and beauty], there my eyes are fix’d / in happy capulation…” (7, 1). Othoon interprets sex within the confines of marriage as a process of procreation, where partners are not only allowed to reproduce, but are encouraged to do so. However, couples that engage in martial sex do so without joy and interpret the act of sex as a means of labour. Othoon therefore calls out for “happy happy love” (6, 16) believing anything beautiful has the potential to be sensual as long as the eye and object meet.

Othoon later compares jealousy to someone who is too busy counting gold on their floor to focus on the sun. She compares emotions like jealousy to the act of limiting one’s mind to what is going on around them. She defies productive labour by illustrating how materialistic wealth can oppress an individual’s ability to appreciate beauty. Othoon also symbolizes how powerful the mind is by her careful choice of words. She uses words that reference slavery like “capture,” but she presents them in a positive way. In Theotormon’s mind, “capture” means chains, but to Othoon it symbolizes picking a girl for Theotormon: “and catch for thee girls of mild silver” (7, 24). Othoon proves that the mind is what controls oppression and perspective because the opening of one’s mind leads to new perspectives. Othoon is giving her mind the power to reproduce, to imagine, and to be free. Othoon’s mind refuses to confine in the face of oppression and pure knowledge is what sets her free.