Elizabeth Barrett Browning s Aurora Leigh: Art is much, but love is more.

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1 Elizabeth Barrett Browning s Aurora Leigh: Art is much, but love is more. Natalie Phillips Department of English Faculty Advisor: Beverly Taylor Graduate Mentor: Devon Fisher

2 Elizabeth Barrett Browning A Time Line Born: March 6, : Battle of Marathon privately published 1833: Prometheus Bound published 1836: Barrett Browning meets Mary Russell Mitford 1840: Death of Bro 1844: Poems published 1845: First letter and visit from Robert Browning 1846: Marriage 1849: Birth of Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning 1850: Sonnets from the Portuguese published 1851: Casa Guidi Windows published 1856: Aurora Leigh published Died: June 29, 1861

3 Aurora Leigh Story Line In her dedication to John Kenyon, Barrett Browning wrote that Aurora Leigh expressed her Highest Convictions on Life and Art. Aurora Leigh born in Italy to Italian mother and English father At 13, Aurora becomes an orphan upon the death of her father and is moved to England to live with her father s sister On her 20th birthday, cousin Romney Leigh proposes and Aurora rejects him Six weeks later her aunt dies Aurora leaves to be a poet in London

4 Aurora Leigh Story Line Aurora suffers from loneliness Aurora receives a visit from Lady Waldemar, an aristocratic woman who loves Romney Lady Waldemar reveals that Romney plans to marry a street wretch: Marian Aurora goes to visit Marian and gives the marriage her blessing Marian fails to appear at the very public wedding Aurora s loneliness worsens Romney becomes engaged to Lady Waldemar Aurora departs for Italy via France Aurora discovers Marian living in Paris Marian has a son and reveals that Lady Waldemar had persuaded her to leave England with a servant bound for Australia The servant tricked Marian into a brothel where she was raped and impregnated Aurora extends an offer of sisterhood and the two women depart together for Italy Aurora writes to inform Romney In Italy, Aurora realizes her love for Romney and she becomes depressed Romney appears, confesses his love for Aurora, and proposes to Marian Marian rejects him and he proposes to Aurora Aurora accepts him and they plan to marry

5 My Interpretation A Semi-Autobiographical Romance

6 Critical Approach Sisterhood Some critics view Aurora Leigh as a story of sisterhood between Aurora and Marian Proponents: Angela Leighton, Nina Auerbach Aurora suffers from the void created by her father s death and also from Romney s belief that marriage is an institution based on social utility rather than on love Marian suffers abuse in childhood at the hands of her parents and in adulthood is raped and tricked into a brothel Aurora and Marian depart for Italy in an attempt to exchange romance with a man for friendship with another woman The man had baffled, chafed me, till I flung For refuge to the woman (IV, 350).

7 The friendship between Aurora and Marian is remarkably similar to Barrett Browning s friendship with fellow female writer Mary Russell Mitford... Aurora and Marian Aurora s consciousness is dominated by the memory of her father Aurora turns to Marian when both Romney and her father fail or are unable to provide comfort Aurora and Marian share great intimacy during Romney s absence but upon his arrival in Italy the sisterhood dissolves and Aurora and Romney make plans to marry The major flaw in the friendship is Aurora s need for male love Barrett Browning and Mitford Barrett Browning idolized her father, dedicated much of her early poetry to him and continued living at home into her 40s The period of intense intimacy between Barrett Browning and Mitford coincided with the deaths of their traditional male confidants The bonds between the two women weaken quickly as soon as Robert Browning begins courting Barrett Browning The major flaw in the friendship is Barrett Browning s need for male love

8 Mary Russell Mitford A Time Line Born: December 16, : Miscellaneous Poems published 1824: beginning of Our Village series of sketches 1828: Rienzi published 1833: Julian published 1836: Meet Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1837: began editing Finden s Tableaux 1842: death of father 1852: Recollections of a Literary Life published 1854: Atherton published Died: January 10, 1855

9 Critical Approach Social Criticism Most critics depict Aurora Leigh as primarily a social criticism They Cite: Barrett Browning s need to give voice to her female characters as evidenced by: Marian s refusal to be ashamed of her rape or her illegitimate child Marian s criticism of society s apathy to the poor Aurora s willingness to befriend Marian and to write about her plight Some believe that Barrett Browning s social criticism was successful (Angela Leighton, Cora Kaplan) Others believe that because of her upper-middle class background, Barrett Browning unintentionally depicted the poor as animalistic masses (Deirdre David)

10 Critical Assessment The Sisterhood The sisterhood between Aurora and Marian functions as a refuge, not only for Marian but for Aurora as well, and is drawn from Barrett Browning s unique relationship with Mary Russell Mitford. The sisterhood is an important aspect of the novel-in-verse. However, it is not the most central relationship in the work. Additionally, the sisterhood is highly problematic for three primary reasons. 1) First, Aurora is clearly the stronger partner in the relationship. Marian functions in a variety of inferior roles; sometimes as charity case, sometimes as daughter, and sometimes as muse. 2) Second, the sisterhood is not satisfying to Aurora. She is unproductive and lonely in Italy and spends her days pining for Romney. 3) Third, the dissolution of the sisterhood immediately upon Romney s reentrance emphasizes the superior importance of the romance.

11 Critical Assessment Social Criticism Aurora Leigh should not be read primarily as a social criticism. Barrett Browning s ability to depict the actual situation of the poor masses was severely hampered by her lack of exposure and upper-middle class background. However, her willingness to attempt to treat the situation openly and frankly is praiseworthy. Barrett Browning s assertion that Marian, a fallen woman, deserves friendship and respect is Aurora Leigh s most revolutionary feature.

12 Aurora Leigh is MOST successful when it is read as a poem about love. Aurora herself says Art is much but love is more (IX 660).The sisterhood is about love between friends. Yet, for Aurora the love of Art and the love of sisters pales in comparison to the love of Romney. At it s most fundamental level, Aurora Leigh is not a social criticism or a story of sisterhood; rather it is the story of a lonely poetess who discovers her own highest convictions on art and life through the acknowledgement of love. My Thesis