“Plums and prisms” is a quote from Mrs. General in Charles Dickens’ Little Dorrit. It refers to the idea that a polite lady should be transparent and ornamental, reflecting the opinions of others. The term becomes a metaphor for snobbery and humorlessness in literature, and even influences characters in other works such as Ms. Prism in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. References to “plums and prisms” declined in the late 20th century as Dickens’ lesser-known novels were read less frequently.
Plums and prisms refer to a quote from the posh and snobbish Mrs. General, in Charles Dickens’ novel Little Dorrit. When the Dorrit girls and their family are released from Marshalsea Prison, Mr Dorrit pledges to hire a companion for his daughters who will help them ‘clean up’ and finish. Madame General becomes this companion and is always imparting annoying advice, which her daughters feel free to ignore.
The direct quotation often associated with the terms is as follows: “Papa, potatoes, poultry, plums and prism are all very good words for the lips”. Dickens goes on to detail several chapters on the nature of plums and prisms and how the Dorrit girls are oppressed by Mrs General’s snobbery and prudish nature.
Dickens’ specific choice of words is interesting. Dad, potatoes, poultry and plums are all corny words and will surely result in the shape of the pursed lips suggested as the best way to appear by the lady General. However, the word prism requires a little more analysis.
A prism is often associated with reflective light or a source through which light passes to create rainbows. It could be read as a suggestion that the polite lady, according to the lady General, should be a person who is transparent, worldly and allows others around her to shine. The right woman is not the source of her own light, but rather merely ornamental, reflecting the opinions of others rather than promoting her own. This is very much in line with the concept of the Victorian woman as an ornamental “Angel of the House”.
In any case, Dickens clearly hit the mark with plums and prisms, with constant references to it as a state of being in other works of literature. For example, Louisa May Alcott references plums and prisms in Little Women and at least one other novel. Lucy Maud Montgomery introduces the concept of this type of mouth in several of her Anne of Green Gables books. The term becomes metaphorical for disapproval, humorlessness, and snobbery, just as the pursed lips that Mrs. General maintains suggest an air of displeasure.
While Oscar Wilde wasn’t a huge fan of Dickens, plums and prisms clearly influence his character of Ms. Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest. Mrs. Prism is another housekeeper with high morals, snobbery and modesty. Many of her see her as a direct echo of the Madam General, although by the end of the play, she is revealed to have led a less than perfect life.
References to plums and prisms continue into the mid-20th century. A 20th Time Magazine article about Virginia Woolf refers to her as if she didn’t have that kind of education. CS Lewis’ second Narnia novel Prince Caspian, originally published in 1937, has a character called Queen Prunaprismia.
As Dickens’ lesser-known novels are read less frequently, references to plums and prisms declined in the late 20th century.
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