Envious Opression

Envy – it is one of the seven deadly sins also known as the Cardinal Sins. The Christian church uses the Cardinal Sins to instruct its followers about “fallen humanity’s tendency to sin”. Sonnet XLIV written by Charlotte Smith is full of envy towards the dead bodies being battered in the oceans surf. The bodies no longer hear the warring elements but as for Miss Smith – she is doomed by an oppressive lifelong storm. It is therefore not surprising that she is envious and wishes she could be free and gazes with envy on their gloomy rest.

Charlotte Smith is oppressed by life and her inability to control her emotions. She longs to be part of the Earth again like the dead bodies although this thought itself is oppressing. It can be argued that envy can lead towards a life of oppression as it did for Miss Smith. Sonnet forty four is filled with melancholy emotions but the cause of envy is not revealed until the end. Perhaps if Charlotte Smith stopped being so envious her overall tone would be different. Yes, she lived a hard life but her works of literature could portray an optimistic look into nature. It was not until I read this Sonnet of hers that I believed that the cause of such oppression was in fact her envious view of the freed dead.

The picture below is a some what comical view of envy. The big green dog represents Charlotte Smith who has a life, and yet is envious of the smaller dog who has a bone, the dead floating bodies!