Ruskin was impatient with the social conditions of the Victorian age. In all his works he openly preaches ways and means of improving society. In Sesame and Lilies he addresses himself to the task of educating men and women along proper lines. In Sesame he discusses what to read and how to read. He divides books into two categories, books of the hour and the books of all time. The former are like newspapers and have only a temporary appeal whereas the later have an everlasting value. unless we know how to read a book, its value is lost to us.
Ruskin's views on women have a prophetic ring, as he foresees the conditions of women all over the World in the twentieth century also. Ruskin says that woman is not man's slave. her powers and talents make her complementary to man. Man is aggressive and creates war and tension all around himself. But woman has softer qualities and is good at making peace. Tracing the word “lady” to its original meaning of “loaf-giver”, Ruskin says that woman is best suite to be a bread-giver. She is compassionate and the bread that she distributes is the bread of love and understanding rather than of flour.
Next, Ruskin calls woman a queen, as she has the power to rule, arrange and order. It is unfortunate that woman neglects her roles as bread-giver and right-doer and devotes herself to the frivolities of bejewelling and adorning herself. Ruskin says that woman should give up her flippancy and undertake serious pursuits. woman should not confine herself to her narrow domestic circle. She should pay attention to what is happening outside home also. The world is a garden and the people in it are flowers. The ‘flowers’ wilt and wither if woman's loving care is not bestowed on them =. The world without woman's love will become like a stony desert.
Ruskin belongs to the rank of such great adorers of woman as Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare and Scott in England and Homer and Dante Abroad. At the same time he is aware that woman can become a monster of cruelty like Goneril and Regan.
on the whole Ruskin preaches very sound values for man and woman to follow. He is not only a preacher but also a prophet, as he looks forward to future times also.
