Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s epic poem Aurora Leigh presents a viable feminist ideal. Its heroine, Aurora Leigh, ultimately resolves the dilemma of having to deny love for the sake of her work or vice versa by developing a new concept of the female artist. Although Aurora Leigh offers material for a much broader analysis of feminism, this paper will focus on the main character and narrator, Aurora Leigh herself. Although characters such as Marian Erle and Lady Waldemar also present interesting figures for further study, extending the analysis to them would be beyond the scope of this paper. As this paper concentrates on the feminist ideal in relation to a woman’s vocation as an artist, Aurora Leigh best exemplifies this dynamic.
Beginning by addressing Aurora’s education and early career in order to demonstrate her progression from a traditional concept of love and work, this paper will follow her development as she rejects conventional opposition to arrive at a fuller understanding of life as a female artist. Possible alternative readings, such as the argument that Aurora ultimately sacrifices her artistic strivings for a conventional marriage, will also be discussed in order to support the thesis.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Education and Early Career
3. Resistance to Traditional Roles
4. Rejection of Conventional Love
5. Critique of Romney's Perspective
6. The Struggle of the Artist
7. The Dilemma of Choice
8. Reevaluation and Synthesis
9. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This paper examines Elizabeth Barrett Browning's epic poem Aurora Leigh to explore how the protagonist develops a viable feminist ideal by reconciling the perceived dichotomy between a woman's artistic vocation and her personal life. The central research inquiry focuses on how Aurora evolves from a restrictive, masculine-coded concept of the artist toward a balanced identity that embraces both creative work and feminine nature.
- The intersection of Victorian gender roles and female authorship.
- The rejection of the traditional binary opposition between love and work.
- Aurora Leigh’s psychological and creative development as a poet.
- The critique of the Romantic notion of the solitary, isolated artist.
- The redefinition of the female artist through the integration of personal experience and professional ambition.
Excerpt from the Book
The Need to Assert Her Own Identity as an Artist
The need to assert her own identity as an artist leads Aurora to reject love in order to stay true to her calling as a poet. The only form of love that is available to her as a woman is one that denies an essential part of her nature. This traditonal concept is represented in Aurora Leigh by Aurora’s cousin Romney, who denigrates women’s capacity for serious work in general and her vocation as a poet in particular, saying that “‘[women] as you are,/ Mere women, personal and passionate,/ You give us doating mothers, and chaste wives,/ Sublime Madonnas, and enduring saints!/ We get no Christ from you, – and verily/ we shall not get a poet in my mind’” (II. 220-225).
While admitting women’s importance in the realm of love, Romney assigns to them an inferior role in the realm of work. Aurora points out Romney’s fundamental misunderstanding of a woman’s nature, accusing him of [misconceiving] the question like a man,/ Who sees a woman as the complement/ Of his sex merely. You forget too much/ That every creature, female as the male,/ Stands single in responsible act and thought,/ As also in birth and death. Whoever says/ To a loyal woman, ‘Love and work with me,’/ Will get fair answers, if the work and love,/ Being good themselves, are good for her – the best/ She was born for […](II. 433-442).
Interestingly, the last part of this passage indicates already the conditions under which Aurora could and would accept him, i.e. only if love and work were treated on the same level and no longer as separate realms. She cannot love Romney if the quality of his love depends on her and the quality of her work on him – both love and work must possess an intrinsic value. As it is, Aurora comes to the conclusion that “[…] me, your work/ is not the best for, – nor your love the best […]” (II. 449-450).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter outlines the thesis that Aurora Leigh resolves the conflict between love and art by creating a new concept of the female artist.
2. Education and Early Career: This section details Aurora's traditional upbringing and her initial resistance to the education designed to force her into conventional gender roles.
3. Resistance to Traditional Roles: The chapter explores how Aurora creates a separation between her inner life and external expectations to preserve her identity.
4. Rejection of Conventional Love: The discussion centers on how the pressure to conform to traditional marriage leads Aurora to prioritize her vocation as a poet.
5. Critique of Romney's Perspective: This part analyzes the confrontation between Aurora and Romney regarding his limited view of women's creative potential.
6. The Struggle of the Artist: This chapter examines Aurora’s difficulties in fulfilling her own high standards and her temporary adoption of a masculine model for artistic success.
7. The Dilemma of Choice: The text discusses the physical and mental toll Aurora suffers when attempting to suppress her feminine nature for her art.
8. Reevaluation and Synthesis: The chapter highlights Aurora's realization that true art must arise from a whole, unsuppressed nature, leading to a reconciliation with love.
9. Conclusion: The summary concludes that Aurora achieves maturity as an artist by embracing her womanhood and merging the realms of love and work.
Keywords
Aurora Leigh, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, feminism, female artist, Victorian literature, vocation, love and work, gender roles, poetic identity, Romanticism, Romney Leigh, artistic autonomy, self-realization, womanhood.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper explores the feminist ideals presented in Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem Aurora Leigh, specifically focusing on how the protagonist reconciles her career as a poet with her personal life.
What are the primary themes discussed?
Key themes include the struggle for female artistic autonomy, the rejection of Victorian gender binaries, the interdependence of love and work, and the psychological health of the artist.
What is the central research question?
The paper asks whether Aurora Leigh succeeds in creating a new concept of the female artist that avoids the traditional sacrifice of either love or professional ambition.
Which methodology is employed?
The analysis utilizes a literary critique approach, examining textual evidence from the poem to track the character's development and the evolving symbolism of her struggle.
What does the main body address?
The body analyzes Aurora's education, her resistance to social pressures, her intellectual conflict with Romney, and her eventual realization that art and femininity are not mutually exclusive.
Which keywords best describe this work?
Relevant keywords include feminism, female artist, Victorian literature, vocation, and the synthesis of love and creative labor.
How does Aurora's definition of an "artist" change over time?
Initially, Aurora views the artist as a masculine, solitary figure, but she eventually realizes that a "perfect" artist cannot exist without embracing all facets of her female nature.
What role does Romney play in Aurora's development?
Romney represents the traditional Victorian view of women as inferior in the realm of work; his interactions with Aurora force her to articulate and refine her own philosophy of creative identity.
- Quote paper
- Katharina E. Thomas (Author), 2008, Feminism in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s "Aurora Leigh": Developing a Concept of the Female Artist, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/172963
