Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies

English Language and Literature

Bc. Dominika Sirná

The role of women in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's

double works of art

Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: Bonita Rhoads, Ph. D.

2013

1 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

…………………………………………….. Author’s signature

2 Acknowledgement

I would like to thanks to my supervisor Bonita Rhoads, Ph. D. for her kindness and my family for their love and support.

3 Table of Contents

1. Introduction...... 5 2. Life...... 7 2.1 Early life...... 7 2.2 The Pre-Raphaelite Brootherhood and an idea of Beauty...... 12 2.3 Later life...... 20 3. The representation of women in the middle of 19th century...... 25 3.1 Pre-Raphaelite stunner...... 28 3.2 Fallen Woman...... 33 3.3 Virginal woman...... 36 4. Selected Double Works...... 38 4.1 Found and “Found”...... 46 4.2 The Girlhood of Mary Virgin and “Mary's Girlhood”...... 50 4.3 Lady Lilith and “Body's Beauty”...... 53 5. Conclusion...... 58 6. Bibliography...... 60 7. Appendices...... 64 7.1 Bocca Baciata...... 64 7.2 Proserpine ...... 64 7.3 Found...... 65 7.4 “Found” (For a Picture)...... 65 7.5 The Girlhood of Mary Virgin...... 66 7.6 “Mary's Girlhood” (For a Picture) I...... 67 7.7 “Mary's Girlhood” (For a Picture) II...... 67 7.8 Lady Lilith...... 68 7.9 “Body's Beauty” ...... 69 8. Résumé...... 70 9. Resumé...... 71

4 1. Introduction

During his whole life Dante Gabriel Rossetti had been torn between two different arts–painting and poetry. He excelled in both, either separately or together. And it was Rossetti's “double work of art” which attracted the attention of public the most.

Rossetti usually completed a picture and then wrote a poem discussing the aspects of the pictorial work. This process could also be subverted and then the poem preceded the painting. Nevertheless, each of these double works are closely connected together and cannot be split up as they “illuminate each other exactly” (McGann). Rossetti was also an illustrator and his total life's work is rather extensive. This bachelor thesis is therefore concentrated on three oil paintings to which was later added a sonnet and whose all parts are preserved till nowadays.

The topic The role of women in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's double works of art is closely connected to his life, emotions and beliefs. Rossetti was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which presented a new concept of perceiving and creating art. This movement was closely associated with the themes of Nature, Love and

Beauty; thus, the women stood in the center of attention and were the prime source of inspiration. The paintings of Rossetti's depict women in a specific position but their roles differ according to the theme they represent; there is the dangerous femme fatale, the pure Victorian maiden, and the fallen woman.

In the 19th century the gender roles were crucially divided but over the years the image of an independent woman started to be far more real than ever. A typical liberated fin-de-siecle woman emerged in the late 19th century but the struggle lasted longer.

Victorian society was constructed on the basis of essentialism which further influenced

5 the division of normative social and sexual behavior.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti worked within this puritan society but was deeply influenced by his ideas about love and spiritualism which were conveyed through the beauty of women. As “Rossetti's art cannot comfortably mediate between profound subjectivism on the one hand and a notion of objective truth on the other” (Henderson

912), it is more likely to claim that there are more possible interpretations of his work.

Although he lived in a patriarchal society and was tempted to depict women in their inferior position, I argue that in his double works are traceable first indications of a feminine equality. The sonnet often reflects an intrusive thought and its short form enables the reader to explain it in distinctive ways.

My analysis is concentrated on different representations of woman with the aim to prove their coherence with the myth of the 19th century women. Then it will be further explored how a painting is interrelated with an accompanying sonnet and if their interpretations could differ or not. In order to comprehend his relation to women more explicitly, the thesis includes a bibliographical part which will examine his life and beliefs more closely. The rationale of this thesis will be the survey of different roles which women had in Rossetti's work.

The thesis is divided into three main sections; the first deals with the Rossetti's thoughts and life experiences, the second explores the representations of women in art in the 19th century, and the third compares the interconnection of selected double works and evaluates their interpretation in respect of potential feminine superiority.

6 2. Life

In order to fully apprehend the complexity of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's work, it is essential to survey his life carefully. It is general knowledge that every artist is inspired by the people and events which occur in his instant surroundings. And again, it is important to know what an artist had on mind while working. This suggests that the topic of this bachelor thesis is closely connected to his life, emotions and beliefs as there is an obvious “conflation of art and life” (Cherry and Pollock 207) regarding

Rossetti's work.

2.1 Early life

Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born on May 12 1828, Portland Place, and as his later life proved, he had a multiplicity of talents; he is widely acknowledged both in art and poetry, which are for him “a means of expressing fundamental intellectual and emotional attitudes” (Doughty 5). He was not the only talented member of the family.

His father, Gabriele Rossetti (1783-1854), was an aknowledged poet and he was deeply interested in politics (Sharp 3). He moved to London in 1825 where he sought for a political exile and where he met a governess, Frances Polidori, whom he married in

1826 (Sharp 5). Gabriele was teaching Italian Literature at King's College for fourteen years (Sharp 5) and Frances was taking care of Dante and her other three children. His both parents were Italians by origin living in London; they were cultivated, educated and well-mannered. Mother inclined to Anglicanism (Benson 3), but father was rather

“a free thinker, but with a strongly spiritual nature” (Benson 5). But despite of their

7 different beliefs, they had a high intellect which proved to have a positive influence on their children. Dante's siblings were: Maria Francesca (1827-1876) who was a member of Anglican Sisterhood, William Michael (1829-1919) who was a critic and a biographer and who kept a diary of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and Christina

(1830-1894) who was an accomplished poetess; it could be stated that “they were thus a family of marked characteristics, with strong literary and artistic gifts, with which was combined, in the sisters, a deep and mystical religion” (Benson 6) and who later achieved a prominent position in the society.

Dante was baptized and received three names: Gabriel Charles Dante; first was his father's name, second was a name of Mr. Lyell, a geologist and a family friend, and third was given to the child to honor a great Italian artist who influenced the whole family (Sharp 7). Later, Dante changed his name in order not to be mistaken for his father. The children were inspired by their father's studies in the early years and they tried to produce their own original work. Dante was not so promising as a child, but it was obvious from his paintings that he “chose to create rather than copy” (Benson 8).

He also admired Shakespeare and Dante and he devoted himself to study their work passionately as a young boy.

Dante attended a day-school in Portland Place a year before he entered a King's

College in 1837 where he learned Latin, French, German and a little of Greek and where he stayed until 1842 (Benson 9). As a child he was a kind and sociable boy, but later he became rebellious and impatient student (Doughty 5). In 1842 he was encouraged to maintain a professional life but he did not proved to have any special abilities (Benson 10), nevertheless, “he manifested a strong desire to become a painter, and was so persistent in his expressed desire that his parents agreed that as soon as he

8 could leave school he should receive fitting instruction in art” (Sharp 10). Thus, he entered the Art Academy of Mr. F. S. Cary in Bloomsbury Street where he remained for four years. Interestingly, he rather followed his own methods then taking advices from

Mr. Cary (Benson 10). In 1846 he was finally accepted to Royal Academy Antique

School (Sharp 10). He was rather careless in dressing and had a strong individuality, but he was true in heart – he behaved gently and generously and he much resembled his father. In addition, he was also “a rather desultory student, and in consequence by no means attained proficiency in the important items of drawing and arrangement, an inattention that often subsequently was to cost him deep regret and was the chief cause perhaps of his leading defect as an artist” (Sharp 11). Although he wanted to educate himself in art, he was also developing his passion for literature; he was reading and translating Italian texts and “he read Shelley and Keats with profound admiration, and many other poets; in prose he had a taste for the legendary, the strange, the supernatural, combined with a great relish for humorous writing of any kind” (Benson 12). In 1847 he was greatly inspired by Robert Browning, a famous Victorian poet. He wrote a “The

Blessed Damozel” which is considered to be “in many respects his finest and most characteristic poem” (Benson 12) before he was 20 years old. He started to write without any prior lecturing and he was successful at it; his friends considered his poems very “original and individual” (Sharp 11). He also wrote “Ave”, “Dante at Verona”,

“The Last Confession”, “The Bride's Prelude”, and an original draft of “Jenny” (Benson

13) and he proved to have a vivid imagination.

In 1848 Rossetti wrote a letter to Ford Madox Brown, a painter whom he greatly admired for his striking originality of his Westminster cartoons (Sharp 12). He was praising him and asking if he could become his pupil in order “to obtain some

9 knowledge of color” (Benson 13). Brown accepted him but forced Rossetti to do meaningful work, such as to paint pickle-jars (Benson 14). For Rossetti it was not satisfactory; “Mr. W. M. Rossetti says that his brother was sick of his artistic education, and desired just to gain sufficient technical knowledge of brush-work to start upon original technical designs” (Benson 13). Nevertheless, Ford Madox Brown became

Rossetti's close friend.

By this date Rossetti became a friend of two young men at Academy: Mr.

Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and “Mr. Hunt advised Rossetti, who had loudly lamented the degrading character of the work he was doing, to begin a large picture, and gain technique by using the still-life objects which he was eventually chose The

Girlhood of Mary Virgin as a subject” (Benson 15). At this time, Rossetti was still undecided if he should choose art over literature or not. Rossetti turned for advice to

Leigh Hunt, a literary critic, who considered Rossetti's poetry remarkable. But he also advised him that he should not be a professional poet: “'Poetry,' he says, '...is not a thing for a man to live upon while he is in the flesh, however immortal it may render him in spirit'” (Benson 15). This was an impulse for him to leave Mr. Brown's studio as a regular student and to join Mr. Holman Hunt as a tenant of a studio in Cleveland Street,

London (Sharp 12). Rossetti devoted himself to painting a picture mentioned above:

The Girlhood of Mary Virgin which could also define the first phase of his life.

In this period, the only woman who influenced him the most was his respectable mother whose “High Anglicanism stimulated Rossetti's asceticism and moral idealism at this time, and soon became an important element in the internal conflict which disturbed his adolescence and indeed in some degree continued in the later years” (Doughty 8).

But there could be traced a pure admiration for his sister Christina, both intelligent and

10 virginal who sat for his Mary in the painting The Girlhood of Mary Virgin (Orlando

614). Otherwise “they did not penetrate deeply into one another's mundane life” (Angeli

22). The most inspiring for Rossetti were sensuous and desiring women. But as a youngster he was not tempted by a carnal lust, his imagination was purely platonic as

Mr. Benson quotes in Rossetti's bibliography:

It is strange that one whose intellect reached its maturity so early, and in whose conceptions of life Love actual and idealised was to play so unique a part, should have been, on the threshold of manhood, so virginal and even cold in disposition. Probably the intense preoccupation with intellectual and artistic things, combined with the enthusiasm of equal friendship, left but little scope for the approaches of passion. (Benson 44)

He created his lyrical poem “The Blessed Damozel” where is apparent the influence of Robert Browning's medievalist concept of writing, but also “Dantesquerie of his father [and] the High-Anglican devotionalism of his mother and sisters” (Doughty

14) and also where he proved to be “markedly original and individual” (Sharp 11). A great success also earned him more realistic poem called “My sister's Sleep”.

In both works, he showed “a vivid imagination” and “an absolute maturity”

(Sharp 11). All was combined by his own sense for aestheticism, tenderness and thanks to his ability to perceive an ideal of beauty.

This period is significant for his later life as he was developing his interests, his beliefs and attitudes regarding art and literature. And his family surroundings had a great merit in the expansion of his intelligence.

11 2.2 The Pre-Raphaelite Brootherhood and an idea of Beauty

William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti shared the same attitudes toward art and they believed that it became too much conventional and therefore it needed to be changed. The result of their meetings and discussions was a creation of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in the autumn of 1848 (Benson 18). The main goal was to develop “a more natural way of painting, greater attention to detail, and naturalistic lighting” (Doughty 6). They believed that emotions were preffered more than the basic rules and that art became too superficial. Below is included the description of the Brotherhood by Mr. Benson:

The central idea of the Pre-Raphaelite movement was a revolt against conventionality. The Pre-

Raphaelites thought that the English school of painters had fallen into a thoroughly insincere manner.

They felt that the English genre school, originated by Hogarth, whom they valued for his hard observation and firm naturalism, had degenerated in the hands of Wilkie, Leslie, and Mulready-kindly, childlike masters-into a school of painting characterised by conventional optimism and trivial humour, whose works appealed to the heart rather than to the mind and eye. (Benson 19)

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was created to promote the change in artistic creation. But among the members there were also different attitudes and expectations as described by Mr. Doughty:

Hunt's objection was primarily moral. In place of the superficial, the trivial and insincere, he demanded seriousness, morality, nobility. Art must copy 'Nature' closely; be 'a handmaid in the cause of justice and truth'. Millais was at heart indifferent and sceptical; Rossetti thought a revolt against

Academicians would be exciting: a good 'lark'. (Doughty 5-6)

12 The founders turned for an inspiration to old Italian painters (the ones before

Raphaelite) as Giotto or Leonardo; “in one sense these ancient painters were conventional, but it was only a conventionality of technique, not of conception, and did not override the original impulse of the artist” (Benson 20). They believed that back then, the art was more spontaneous, individual and original, but also very precise in technique and details;

The Brotherhood used primary colours, and avoided low tones and dark backgrounds, which were at that time the fashion ; and instead of aiming at harmony by concentrationg colour and working away from a point, they developed each individual portion with the same fidelity. (Benson 21)

The Brotherhood soon attracted wide public interest and retroactively it was labeled as “the first avant-garde movement in British painting” (Orlando 617). In 1849,

Millais and Hunt were successfully exhibiting in Royal Academy and they marked their paintings by P.R.B. Rossetti painted The Girlhood of Virgin Mary (1849) which was also well received and sold. Rossetti used the outcome for a trip to Belgium where he first encountered the art of the Flemish painters Memmling and Van Eyck which influenced his early paintings, mainly in the “rich colour effects” (Sharp 14).

But later, as he painted Ecce Ancilla Domini (1850), the situation changed. It was due to a fact that the Brotherhood was formed in the so called year of Revolution and therefore the members were “suspected of secret subversive aims, aesthetic, political and religious, the destruction of the Royal Academy, the propagation of

Chartism and 'Popery', the Brotherhood invited attack from all quarters: from traditionalists in art, politics, and religion” (Doughty 7). Also their work was severely

13 judged and believed “to ignore all the great principles of art” (Benson 24). In 1851 they were attacked also by the Times, but in May of the same year Ruskin decided to help them and sent two letters to the editor's office arguing the intentions of the group

(Doughty 7). The situation improved again and all of the members continued to work.

The three founders were later joined by the literary critique and Dante´s brother

William Michael Rossetti, the painter James Collinson, the art critique Frederic George

Stephens and the sculptor Thomas Woolner (Doughty 5). All of them were “men of untainted lives” (Benson 23) devoted to the noble cause of the movement and work.

Thanks to Rosseti and his natural power as a leader, the Brotherhood extended its ideas also towards literature (Doughty 6). Rossetti insisted on issuing of the magazine called The Germ. In this magazine, he promoted the ideas of the Pre-

Raphaelite Brotherhood towards art in a more direct way; it should be treated “humbly, faithfully, reverently” and “each number was to contain prose, both original and critical, poetry, and an etching (Benson 27). Rossetti believed that even literature should be written in a simple manner but with interesting details. His brother Michael and sister

Christina also contributed. In the magazine there were included for example Rossetti's

“The Blessed Damozel” and “My sister's Sleep” and it was their simplicity which represented the main ideas of the movement by its “colourful, decorative (and) descriptive details” (Doughty 17). Other aspect of these poems is a “sense of silence” which functions with “a dramatic effect” (Doughty 16). Despite of the best interests of the Germ, it was badly accepted and because of the lack of finances, it was issued only from January 1850 to May 1851 (Doughty 7). It could be said, that the public was not prepared for “a whole background of ardent impulsive figures, inspired by a generous emotion, and determined to see things with their own eyes and to say them in their own

14 way” (Benson 30). In 1852, the members of the Brotherhood departed to reach their other aims. Rossetti moved to a house in Chatham Place, Blackfriars Bridge (Benson

31). There he stayed for ten years and his memories connected this place with his wife

Elizabeth Siddal.

The year 1850 is the most important “formative period in Rossetti's earlier life”

(Doughty 7) because in this year he was introduced to his future wife Elizabeth Eleanor

Siddal, daughter of a retired Sheffield tradesman (Benson 45) and therefore a working- class woman. They both were models for a painting of W. H. Deverell and this “tall dignified girl of extraordinary beauty with a brilliant complexion, pale-blue eyes, and a mass of coppery-golden hair” (Benson 44) enchanted him completely.

It was a time of Pre-Raphaelism and for Rossetti, it was very inspiring period:

“into this first love experience there entered all the idealism Rossetti had absorbed from the Platonic works in his father's study, as well as from the poetry of Dante and the medieval troubadours, which he was himself translating into verse” (Doughty 7-8).

Elizabeth was indeed very inspiring person, at least for Rossetti as described by Mr.

Benson:

She was artistically gifted, and had a considerable faculty of poetical invention which is traceable in her drawings; and though the impress of Rossetti’s mind and taste is everywhere visible in those pathetic designs, it seems that her own methods to a certain extent affected the character of his work. (Benson 46)

In 1851 Rossetti proposed, but did not have sufficient amount of money to arrange a wedding. Also there was a hostile atmosphere regarding the Brotherhood and the failure of the magazine. Rossetti unsuccessfully tried to improve his oil paintings

15 and therefore he turned to water-colours and “produced … many small paintings on

Dantesque and Arthurian subjects” (Doughty 8). The main motif of these paintings was

Elizabeth and her astonishing deathlike appearance. There is an apparent link between

Rossetti's obsession with works of Dante Alighieri and his affection for Elizabeth; he associated her with Beatrice and could be therefore labeled as romantic poet (Cherry and Pollock 207). The role of Elizabeth in Rossetti's work could be also supported by the fact that Beatrice was “a lady of love” and „the symbol of true Christianity and the special object of … love and adoration” (Sharp 6). He was impatient and cultivated, she was rather simple but respectable and also “deeply and passionately attached to him”

(Benson 49-50). For Rosetti she became a virtuous idol. Her melancholy and quietness was highly disturbing but pleasing at the same time.

Elizabeth was a muse for the whole Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and there is also an assumption that Rossetti's love and jealousy was the reason of lessening his contact with other painters (Angeli 187). She sat for example for Mr. Hunt's Hireling Shepherd and The Two Gentlemen of Verona and also for Mr. Millais's Ophelia (Benson 25).

Nevertheless, it could be a natural development of Rossetti's interest as he was moody and his choice of friends changed during the years.

In 1854 Rossetti became friend with Ruskin who “seems to have constituted himself a kind of amiable mentor to Rossetti, both artistically and practically” (Benson

33). This bond was very beneficial for Rossetti as Ruskin was willing to provide funds for him or to buy any of his accomplished paintings. Rossetti could behave as a true artist – life without any obligations and duties.

In 1857 Rossetti made the acquaintance with William Morris and Burne-Jones as he “was desired by Ruskin to do some designing work in connection with the Oxford

16 Museum in 1855 which had been placed in the hands of architect Benjamin Woodward”

(Benson 36). Rossetti's task was to decorate the walls of the Debating Hall of the Union

Society (Doughty 8). The empty spaces were covered by frescoes in tempera dedicated to Arthurian legends. Nevertheless, neither of men were familiar with the mural paintings and it faded quickly (Benson 36). Only advantage was that for once it brought

Rossetti and Pre-Raphaelitism back into the public. He also became a mentor for both men although “he was unaware of the influence he exerted, and used no arts to gain or maintain it” (Benson 40). The reason why he was so popular among these men was thanks to his “bodily genius” (Sharp 21). As a result, he could easily defend his attitudes and beliefs with an extraordinary certainty while simultaneously he respected the opinions of others. Another friend of Rossetti was Mr. Swinburne who together with

Morris belonged among the most accomplished poets of those times (Doughty 9).

Ruskin was also introduced to Miss Siddal who “showed brilliant promise as a colourist” (Sharp 22) and therefore she managed to enchanted him by her talent and grace. Ruskin then “granted them a pension and agreed to buy all their paintings”

(Doughty 8). Thanks to Ruskin, Rossetti was able to visit Paris in 1855 and in 1860

(Sharp 18). The latter trip also served as a honeymoon as they finally managed to end the prolonged engagement and to marry on May 23 1860 in Hastings (Benson 47). But their life as a married couple was short and unhappy.

In 1853, Elizabeth Siddal was infected by tuberculosis and her condition gradually worsened. In addition, in 1861 she gave birth to a still-born female child and since then, her health condition declined even more (Benson 48-49). In 1862 she accidentally overdosed herself by laudanum and two hours later she died. For Rossetti it was a great loss. Their relationship was special, although strained by prolonged

17 engagement and “Gabriel … wearied of the unnatural state of things, grew physically indifferent to Lizzie, and sought for an easier and more natural love response elsewhere” (Angeli 190). As a painter, Rossetti was often in the company of his models.

During this period, his love for Elizabeth was purely platonic although “she did not choose to live with her family, but in rooms of her own or Gabriel's choice, while most of her time was spent at his chambers overlooking the river at Chatham Place” (Angeli

189-190). Their relationship was rather progressive and spiritually fulfilling but

Rossetti's physical desire remained unsatisfied. It is said that Rossetti had an affair with a “vulgar but beautiful model, Fanny” (Doughty 9) whom he met during the year 1857

(Angeli 218). However, it is improbable that Siddal knew about it.

To show Rossetti's remorse and to punish himself for not being more observing and helpful husband, he decided to bury with his wife a manuscript of his unpublished poems (Benson 50). But it did not help him to forget as he “was haunted for the remainder of his life by suspicions of suicide” (Doughty 9). It could be said that his regrets were tangible.

Fanny Cornforth is not the only woman who was involved with Dante. Another important woman with whom he made the acquaintance was Jane Burden. It was in

1857 during his prolonged stay in Oxford when she sat for him as a model. It is said that they had fallen in love but due to Rossetti's engagement and friendship with Miss

Siddal, they departed and Jane married William Morris instead (Doughty 10-11). It was

Jane and their unfilled relationship which inspired a majority of his oil paintings in his later days.

Apart from his translations of this period as Vita Nuova or The Early Italian

Poets, he also wrote or rewrote poems as “Sister Helen”, “The Bride´s Prelude”, “Dante

18 at Verona”, “A Last Confession”, “Jenny”, “The Burden of Nineveh”, and other (Benson

25-26). In art he depicted his wife in drawings or created water-colours of miscellaneous genres. His turning-point is indicated by the oil painting Bocca Baciata which he started in 1859. This change is closely associated with events in Rossetti's life as said by V. Surtees:

Arthurian and Dantesque subjects had begun to vanish from the easel; with the declining health of Elizabeth Siddal the small angular figures with their medieval accessories familiar from the earlier water-colours gradually disappear, and in her place appears a new type of woman … in which the sweep of the neck, the curved lips, the indolent pose of the head and the emphasis given to the fall of hair foreshadow his prolific output of studies of women (often with similarly fanciful Italianate titles), sensual and voluptuous, mystical and inscrutable but always humourless, gazing into the distance with hair outspread and hands resting on a parapet, often with some heavily scented flower completing the design.

(quoted in Cherry and Pollock 221)

This new concept of art is a result of his increasing skills as a painter and the forthcoming period is therefore known as “women and flowers” (Doughty 10). The model was sensuous Fanny Cornforth with whom he met probably during 1857 (Angeli

218). In 1854 he also made first studies for an unfinished oil painting Found which depicts a widely discussed theme of a fallen woman. It is about urban prostitution and it is regarded as one of the greatest Rossetti's achievement (Benson 25). Fanny herself was considered to be a prostitute and uneducated:

It is certain, however, that Gabriel was much attached to Fanny and at one time found her very attractive. The portraits of her, from Bocca Bociata onward, are indeed engaging: in her young days especially she looks good-natured and the reverse of neurotic – thy type of woman likely to be more help

19 than hindrance to an artist. She had little or no education and did not speak the Queen's English-which amused Gabriel. (Angeli 221)

Her impertinence was also the reason why a lot of Dante's friends disliked her

(Angeli 219-220). But it needs to be stated that she was “an essential corollary to the devastating experience of the two great loves that played havoc with his peace of mind”

(Angeli 223) – his wife Elizabeth and close friend Jane.

The tragic event of Elizabeth's death also led Rossetti to leave the house which he had shared with her. He moved to house with a beautiful garden in Chelsea, No.16

Cheyne Walk (Sharp 24-25), where “Fanny joined him as housekeeper” (Doughty 9) where he lived (apart from a fey breaks spent in the countryside) for the rest of his life.

2.3 Later life

As was stated above, the last part of Rossetti's life was the most important as he

“turned with increasing skill to oils, and, from his former Dantesque and Arthurian subjects, to portraits of beautiful feminine models often representing mythological or fanciful conceptions” (Doughty 9-10). After his wife's death he started to suffer from depressions and he lost his inspiration as “disappointment and cynicism had begun to displace Rossetti's former idealism” (Doughty 10). He could not write poetry for several years, till he found his inspiration again. He then became a sociable companion and made several new friends.

His former affection to Jane Burden (Morris) was renewed when he was painting her portrait around the year 1867 (Angeli 214). She looked like a goddess and was admired by many. Nevertheless, Rossetti's passion for her remained well-kept and there

20 is no direct evidence of a possible love affair between them apart from his anxiety about her health condition in some preserved letters. Thanks to her, in 1866 he wrote “Soul's

Beauty” and in 1867 “Body's Beauty” and he returned to “his former Dantesque and

Platonic idealism” (Doughty 10). Moreover, he started to be acknowledged as a succesful painter. Apart from Elizabeth, Jane and Fanny, there are also other two models who sat for him quite often; Alexa Wilding and Marie Spartali (Stillman) (Angeli 224).

Both of them were amiable companions and beautiful women but Rossetti had not an intimate relationship with them.

He preferred to work in private and to be in connection only with a small circle of friends (Doughty 9). He also devoted himself to spiritualism and he was eager to prove if there is a life after death (Angeli 205). In this period, he had a very spontaneous life, he lived as he pleased although “he had a taste for wealth, but none for economy”

(Benson 53) but in 1867 it was overshadowed by a fact that he started to have a poor eyesight and an insomnia (Sharp 26). His troubles with sleep and pondering about love, life and death enabled him to write a book of sonnets The House of Life and he once again started to be ambitious in poetry (Doughty 11). In 1868 and 1869 he visited

Penkill Castle in Ayrshire where he was invited by his friend Miss A. Boyd's who manage to make his stay most enjoyable (Sharp 27). He was resting and creating there; he wrote for example “The Stream's Secret” which is inspired by his renewed love for

Jane (Angeli 213).

Also, he tried to remember the poems which he had buried in the grave along with his wife. But his memory had failed him and therefore he gave permission to his friends to dig up the manuscript (Benson 55). The poems were published in 1870 as

Poems and they received much admiration (Doughty 12). From now on, his work was

21 familiar to the people who did not know him before. Unfortunately, his insomnia was getting worse and in 1870 he started to use chloral to break it (Benson 57). But he gradually became addicted to it and it is believed that the drug was “responsible for his failing constitution” (Benson 59).

In 1871 Rossetti was invited to live with William Morris and his family in

Kelmscott, near Oxford (Doughty 12). A few months later, a journalist Robert

Buchanam attacked Rossetti's work in Contemporary Review where he published an article later turned to a pamphlet entitled The Fleshy School of Poetry (Sharp 28). It really hurt him, because it was “at that time a damning indictment which could deprive

Rossetti not only of his success as poet, but, by frightening away patrons, also of his means of livelihood as a painter” (Doughty 12). He had a nervous breakdown; “he became the victim of a delusion, from which he never entirely recovered” (Benson 64).

He tried to ease the pain by taking laudanum, the same drug which had killed his wife.

He survived and later recovered in Scotland and then again in Kelmscott where he intermittently remained till 1874 (Sharp 64-65). It was his stays in Kelmscott which made him eventually happy because of Jane Burden Morris. Rossetti wrote in his letter to Madox Brown from Kelmscott about the positive influence Jane had on him:

Janey is very delicate and appallingly unable to walk out compared with her condition last year.

However one must hope for improvement. Had I not renewed correspondence and resolved to come here,

I should never have got a bit better or been able to take up work again in Scotland. (quoted in Angeli 215)

It was also the time when he started to work on Proserpine (1872) (Angeli 215).

Interesting fact about the role and evaluation of women in Rossetti's life is told by an episode at Kelmscott. Dante was receiving visits there and also his model, Alexa

22 Wilding accompanied him, but he was constantly declining to receive Fanny. There could be seen a conjunction with the fact that Kelmscott was Jane's home and that he probably valued company of Jane more than of Fanny (Angeli 223, 239). On the other hand, Fanny was in touch with him till the end of his life, so it was just a courtesy of

Rossetti's towards Jane because he respected her and loved her but could not have her.

Nevertheless, his delusions of spirit and hallucinations still haunted him and he decided to return to his house in Chelsea (Benson 65). There he devoted himself to work.

During following years he suffered from depression and his physical condition slowly declined and as every great artist, he was also terrified by the idea “that he would no longer be able to design or paint” (Benson 65). He was still an amusing companion and in his later days he made many friends such as William Graham, purchaser of his paintings, Mr. Theodore Watts-Dunton, critic and novelist, or Mr. Hall

Caine, novelist. Towards the end of his life he finished a lot of his incomplete poems and in 1881 he decided to republish his Poems and to add another volume entitled

Ballads and Sonnets (Doughty 13). In this volumes were therefore included three ballads Rose Mary, The White Ship and The King's Tragedy and then the whole book of sonnets House of Life or “The Bride's Prelude” (Benson 66). Everything was very well received as Rossetti was a famous artist already. In December of this year he had a paralytic stroke and “it was decided that the chloral must be summarily cut off” (Benson

71). Rossetti felt much better without the drug in his system but he was not able to fully recover. He died in Birchington on April 9 1882.

Towards the end of his life he produced the most feminine paintings. As in the previous part of his life, he admired his wife, now her place was taken by Jane Morris

23 who often posed as a model “far above those of all other models, to the close of his life”

(Doughty 11). She was a platonic symbol of Love and Beauty for him as he could not have her. There also were other models but the most significant appeared to be for him the women which he considered to be intelligent which could be a result of his impression absorbed in youth at home. Thanks to his melancholia the message of the paintings started to be more melancholic than optimistic, however.

24 3. The representation of women in the middle of 19th century

Although England underwent radical changes in the late 18th century and the

Victorian society with its severe rules regarding class and gender were exposed to a clash of traditions and modern attitudes, the masculine superiority prevailed during the whole century and was visible both in art and literature.

English society was very puritan and the gender roles were crucially divided but at the same time people were interested in eroticism and therefore this century could be labeled as “an age of sexual repression, of public virtue and private vice” (Cherry and

Pollock 220). In general, women were accepted as passive and men as active. According to Helene E. Roberts this separation of roles could be also indicated in clothing worn back then:

Men were serious (they wore dark colors and little ornamentation), women were frivolous (they wore light pastel colors, ribbons, lace, and bows); men were active (their clothes allowed them movement), women inactive (their clothes inhibited movement); men were strong (their clothes emphasized broad chests and shoulders), women delicate (their clothing accentuated tiny waists, sloping shoulders, and a softly rounded silhouette); men were aggressive (their clothing had sharp definite lines and a clearly defined silhouette), women were submissive (their silhouette was indefinite, their clothing constricting). (Roberts 555)

The distinction was also indicated by the fact that working-class woman should execute the domestic works, while men were expected to secure the family wealth

(Nead 27). Women should be moral, pure and virtuous and to bear any kind of suffering as they “had been taught that submissiveness and pain were related, and that they were women's lot” (Roberts 556). In this masculine society women had no choice than

25 approximate their looks as to be desirable for men. It was due to the fact that in order to secure a good life a girl was to marry well.

Men were fascinated by “the pale, passive female bodies recorded in visual art as beautiful corpses” (Orlando 612). Therefore an ideal woman should have a deathlike appearance, to move slowly and graciously and to be submissive. Their willingness to become a perfect image of men desire was highlighted by the choice of their clothes.

There was a corset, crinoline and tied-back skirt with train; all of them indicated the restriction of movement (Roberts 558). Moreover, the fascination by death could be also associated with clothes as the crinolines were made of a light material which was very flammable and there were recorded many deaths by burning (Roberts 557). Women deliberately lived in danger, all because of men and because of strict upbringing all within the demands of masculine Victorian society where “submissiveness and pain were related” (Roberts 556). However, the first attempts for a change were traceable to the Women's Emancipation Movement which emerged in the 1860's and presented a concept of a “new woman” (Allen 286, 292) who is equal, emancipated and liberated.

Men felt threaten by those women who wanted to be educated and to be discharged of an obligation to bear and raise children. These convulsions forced men into fixing the role of women at least in art where “images served to reinforce women’s status as objects of a gaze that would control, sexually objectify, and commodify” (Orlando 621).

The depiction of an “ideal woman” in art was even more demanding.

According to Ruskin ideology, she should combine ethics and aesthetics in “the qualities of the perfect artist with the art object” (Austin 28). In general, she should be beautiful and divine but also artistic and creative. But again, all within the general notion that woman is inferior to man. These attitudes seemed to be influenced by the

26 Victorian standard; the true feminine ideal is to execute the role of woman within the family as mother, wife and daughter (Nead 27). A woman should be graceful, moral, but again passive as the beauty is the visual sign of the divine and it should be endorsed by woman's visage (Austin 29). According to Ruskin, an “expression dominates form and is the means by which spirit and intellect make a face truly beautiful” (Codell 267). The mythical ideal of woman was Athena for him because “she essentially rules as a transfigured housewife and daughter, a domesticated, passive woman in whom Ruskin saw a supernatural being harboring divine and demonic strength” (Austin 28); therefore, she embodied the traditional approach towards a woman's character. The demonic strength probably marked the covert danger of sexual domination: for men, the true ideal was a woman, both virtuous and sensuous.

In general, Rossetti's work was concentrated on glorifying different forms of womanhood. The constant equivocal attitude in the depiction of an ideal female is due to the contradiction of her character: she is selfless, submissive and passive but also energetic, strong and virtuous (Austin 31). According to Sonstroem, there are “four feminine archetypes in Rossetti’s work: the Heavenly Lady, the Femme Fatale, the

Sinful Woman, and the Victimized Woman” (quoted in J. Lee 4). But because both the

Femme Fatale and the Sinful Woman are depicted as an object of men desire and are sexually attractive, they could be labeled as Pre-Raphaelite stunner or Pre-Raphaelite ideal woman. The only distinction between them is in a form and scale of their sexuality as stunners are said to be “women who have the power to suspend subjectivity or self- consciousness as they enforce submission to their sublime charms” (Henderson 913) while ideal woman could be attractive but also virtuous.

All representations of women are in a way mythical as they embody different

27 archetypes of women: there is a Pre-Raphaelite woman which could be compared to a goddess, a fallen woman is based upon biblical fallen Eve and a true virtuous woman is

Virgin Mary.

3.1 Pre-Raphaelite stunner

The true Pre-Raphaelite woman was similar to Ruskin's concept and thus was depicted in the visual art. She was virtuous but proved to have a marked degree of sexuality in her facial expression and body language. This was fundamental for Pre-

Raphaelite painters as they “attempted to expand the range of human characters and psychological expressions in paintings through an anatomical naturalism which they believed was ennobling” (Codell 256). The depicted figures should be therefore anatomically perfect but also emotional.

The aim of Pre-Raphaelite painters was to convey a symbolic meaning in their paintings which cohered with the fact that Victorians loved spiritualism and mysticism and because the sexuality in this conservative society was hidden even in the smallest gestures. An unstable position of gender separation was highlighted by the artistic approach and lead to idealization of women.

To depict the model more naturally, it was preferred to choose an unprofessional one because academic models were too stiff and stereotyped (Codell 257). Moreover,

“the depiction of the body in transitional postures is consistent with the frequent theme in many PRB paintings of psychological or moral transformation” (Codell 264). The true artist should be an observer of everyday life and to depict everything naturally as it

28 was. This was encouraged by Charles Bell who claimed that:

Beauty is consistent with an infinitive variety of forms … its cause and origin is to be found in some quality capable of varying and accommodating itself, which can attach to different forms, and still operate through every change. This quality I conceive to be expression. (quoted in Codell 271)

This suggested that beauty is in everyone and it could be evaluated only if it is properly conveyed; the expression is more valuable than beauty itself. The Pre-Raphaelites therefore chose to paint the family members or ordinary peoples such as their lovers, stunners or friends because these types had a story of their own. According to the Pre-

Raphealite motto “truth to nature,” this was the best way how to depict rough emotions or “a reflection of mind and soul” (Codell 269) as their facial expression could be easily recognized.

It was also recommended to paint the sick people, but it was disapproved by

Victorian critics who claimed that “their figures appeared deformed and diseased in their angularity” (Codell 270-271). In the end, this accusations turned to be valid.

Victorian men favored pale-faced women who wore corsets deforming their spines but disliked any realistic depiction in art. Once again, traditions clashed with innovations and the masculine society was refusing the possible change–art should always show the purity and respectability of the desirable ideal and women should not show any improper emotions. Earlier art (as Greek) produced idealistic figures while the

Pre-Raphaelites preferred to show an individualistic approach in their canvases. But individual was meant to be unconventional and the “faces … were intended to be seen as symbolic types” (Codell 275). Unfortunately, puritan Victorian society acknowledged

Beauty in its purest form and to depict sickness was antagonistic; “ugliness was rejected

29 as unfit for the idealization of human nature and unrepresentative of noble emotions or permanent values, such as devoted motherhood and heroic manhood, maintained even under such wrenching circumstances as ruinous fires” (Codell 285). This is an explanation of their dislike.

On the other hand, the disapproval was based upon the fact that “fidelity to nature was eventually abandoned in favor of pursuit of a highly unnatural ideal”

(Orlando 618). Figures appeared to be a little “overscaled” (Codell 272) and their postures a bit frozen. Also Ruskin warned artists in order not to exaggerate and not “to improve upon nature” as “the images of women presented on PRB canvases, and especially Rossetti’s later works, were waxen, over-the-top, and far from realistic”

(Orlando 618). “Far from realistic” reflects in Rossetti's art the liking for depiction of a perfect woman–a goddess. But a viewer must understand that “to Rossetti, indeed, human love, with its hazards and limitations, stood ever as the symbol or earthly counterpart of love eternal–which, even in the absence of definite religious conviction, shone clearly ahead as the ultimate purpose of existence” (Angeli 211-212). This is associated with Ruskin's depiction of an ideal woman (beauty as a sign of divine) and coheres with Rossetti’s spiritual beliefs; “a combination of the ethereal and the ephemeral” (J. Lee 6).

A dying woman was in a most delicate state of mind and the mixture of emotions was at its peak. A sickness was more mythical (and therefore closer to the imaginative ideal) and it was the moment of death when women were the most beautiful (Orlando

624). The painter as an observer could catch the exact moment and reveal the story of her life so as the viewer could question the essence of the whole painting. This could be also supported by the excerpt of the work of Charles Bell:

30 Let us imagine to ourselves the overwhelming influence of grief on woman, the object in her mind has absorbed all the power of the frame, the body is no more regarded, the spirits have left it, it reclines, and the limbs gravitate; they are nerveless, and relaxed, and she scarcely breathes; but why comes at the intervals the long-drawn sigh? - why are the neck and throat convulsed? - what causes the swelling and quivering of the lips, and the deadly paleness of the face? - or why is the hand so pale and earthly cold? - and why, at intervals, as the agony returns, does the convulsion spread over the frame like a paroxysm of suffocation? (quoted in Codell 271)

As was stated above, the passive, submissive position of woman was associated with pain, therefore in the paintings of dying women, the viewer could indicate the masculine superior role. As Elisabeth Bronfen claims: “death turns the woman into an object of sight–the dead feminine body comparable to an exhibited art object” (quoted in Orlando 623). Woman once again loses her inner self and becomes an object of the ideal. Expression in her face functions as a poetic language of the body; the more unexpected and unconventional the more valuable the beauty was (Codell 267) and more easily the meaning was transferred to the audience. Their art proved to be a synthesis of “psychological, social, historic, and economic” (Codell 289) forms which was created through a combination of “observation, imagination, and empathy” (Codell

258).

In art, apart from expression and gestures, women were also determined by their clothing, coiffure and gaze. All of them highlighted their sexuality and role in paintings.

The gaze is most symbolic, as a “man is the owner of the look” (Cherry and

Pollock 223) and therefore the woman is depicted according to “patriarchal perspectives” (Orlando 617). She is powerless and submissive, but coheres with the

31 psychological depiction of woman: “her gaze reflects a character transformation, not a fleeting emotion. Her expression is a response to a complex events, both imagined and real; it is a symbolic expression, not merely a descriptive one” (Codell 279).

Nevertheless, the gaze labels woman as an object of man's desire and entraps them in their possession. In visual art, this unequal separation of gender is highlighted by the delimitation of space; a woman is often depicted inside a room which suggests that she has no future destiny (Codell 265) and is enclosed in her static life.

Clothes served for exhibiting of “vital beauty, or imaginative sympathy” (Austin

32). If woman's clothes are uncorseted she is “in danger of being accused of loose morals” (Roberts 565). Clothes served for distinguishing between genders as well as social classes. Jane Morris and Elizabeth Siddal refused to wear fashionable restraining clothes and they “substituted a fluid style of dress with simple lines, based on a vague medieval model, that became something of a fad in more fashionable circles” (Roberts

567). There could be traced their desire for distinguishing themselves from social restrictions but it could marked their own attempt for liberation and to be unconventional.

Victorians were also obsessed by hair and they ascribed them various meanings and magical and symbolic powers (Gitter 963). The mythologized Victorian woman was depicted with golden hair which could become her garnish or menace, depending on her role–angelic or demonic (Gitter 963). The hair also evoked a strong connotations with woman's sexuality; in private women let their hair down but in public they could tied them hard and according to requirements of the society (Orlando 630). Men were often fascinated by them and took the hair tokens of their beloved ones.

The deathlike appearance coheres especially with the drawings of Rossetti's wife

32 Elizabeth. She herself suffered from mental and physical diseases and her face was often more pale than the other woman's face. She was Rossetti's Beatrice–an ideal love and inspiration for verse (J. Lee 7). Within the course of years, “the faces of his loves and of his models displace one another and their lineaments are superimposed on the palimpsest of his canvases” (Angeli 213-214). Therefore Lizzie is gradually substituted by Jane and her presentation as an untouchable goddess. Mr. Spartali (Stillman) and

Alexa Wilding both were important for later years of Rossetti's visual art, but he did not incline to them so strongly and respectfully as he did to Jane.

3.2 Fallen Woman

Beside the virtuous character of an ideal woman, there was a degraded woman.

Thanks to the industrial development and new job opportunities, an economic situation changed. A working-class men were supposed to get a work in the city while women should stay at home as there was an “unspoken assumption that the only honorable position for a young woman is her role within the family: the role of daughter, wife, and mother” (Nochlin 141). This new role of woman within the family served as a distinction for other classes:

The formation of distinct gender roles and the ideologies of home and family were part of the creation of a middle-class moral and cultural identity. The domestic ideal was an expression of class confidence, signalling the moral superiority of the bourgeoisie in comparison with the immorality and vice of the aristocracy and the working-classes. The values of domestic life were defined in terms of

"health" and "respectability" - marking off those outside this category as deviant and dangerous. (Nead

27)

33 This position of women either in working class or middle class should be an emblem of piety, chastity and respectability. Once again, there is a connection to the fact that Victorians admired but feared female sexuality (Auerbach 31). The complex system of social and sexual behavior (together with distinguishing between respectable and non-respectable behavior) defined this puritan society (Nead 26). Women were considered to have no sexual desires and if they have any, it was accepted as a deviant behavior and a fall from virtue (Nead 26, 32). Thanks to the “the sexual asymmetry peculiar to the notion of falling” (Nochlin 139) this “sexual trespass” (Auerbach 30) created the Victorian myth of the fallen woman.

Fallen woman is a term for a prostitute who was “an agent of chaos bringing with her disruption and disorder” (Nead 31) and whose fall marked “the implicit loss of domestic happiness, the irrevocable exclusion from the joys of the family” (Nochlin

141). Prostitute was at first perceived as a dangerous element in disruption of the family as “Victorian premonitions of national destiny transmutes a woman's fall from a personal to a national event, both instigating and symbolizing Victorian England's epic portrait of its own doom” (Auerbach 30-31). Breakdown of the family would mean “a total social disintegration” (Nead 27). However, this myth that a woman is responsible for the fall of economy was later substituted by “making her victim rather than agent”

(Auerbach 31) because a woman might fall “as much through need as through greed”

(Nochlin 141). A woman might be forced into prostitution in order to provide food for her children if her family was unsecured. The woman's fall is accepted rather economically than morally (Auerbach 31) as she is condemned for prostitution.

She might be saved through “repentance and subsequent reintegration into the

34 family” (Nochlin 141), but “Victorian conventions ordain that a woman's fall ends in death” (Auerbach 30) in order not to allow women behave unrespectable and not to show their capability of being independent on men (to have an active role). Although in a real life “even a fallen woman [could] have hope, rather than merely settle for inevitable shame and guilt” (Codell 279) and she did not have to end her misery by committing suicide and could eventually enter into a marriage, in art and literature the death was inevitable and the myth of fallen woman persisted. It was believed that dying was the only honorable implication of her fall and because only in death she could be redeemed:

The fallen woman was understood in terms of lost innocence. Having succumbed to temptation, and deviated from the virtuous norm, the fallen woman could not return to respectable society but was forced into a life of prostitution. Tortured by memories of her lost childhood innocence, the prostitute turned to drink to ease her conscience and suicide was the final act of this poor social victim. Through death, the prostitute could find salvation with Christ, which again comfortably removed any responsibility or guilt from respectable society. (Nead 31)

Also, there was a slight difference in the act of dying in art and literature. In art a woman was depicted in the moment of her death without any further explanations while in literature a narrator described what had preceded her fall.

The Pre-Raphaelite painters rather disapproved a cruel fate of fallen women and believed that there is a change for change of a character: “their paintings imply that actions are not final and that ordinary commonplace humans live a transitional existence made up of continual fluctuations in their physical movement, emotional states, social status, and moral values: a common carpenter becomes St. Joseph, a fallen woman rises,

35 a patriot broods bitterly” (Codell 287). It could be related to their liaisons with models because as artists they inclined to lead a bohemian way of life and to violate the social order:

Over and over again we find male artists of this circle searching out working-class women as models, lovers and wives, desiring them for their difference, persistently re-forming them and always experiencing some anguished conflict over the role and place of these women in the society into which these artists had dragged them. (Cherry and Pollock 216).

On the other had, Rossetti was also influenced by his attitude towards spirituality and God and even though he was convinced that a glimpse of the divine could be in every woman, he also believed that the innocence is irretrievable.

3.3 Virginal woman

The depiction of a pure woman coheres with the notion of a perfect woman; the ideal was “the cultural norm, against which all other forms of female sexuality were defined as unnatural and deviant” (Nead 27). Virginal woman therefore is an opposite to fallen woman as she should embody a the “feminine ideal of the Angel in the House”

(Ready 151) or in other words to be a faithful woman who stands in the center of the family.

A woman was again labeled according to her sexuality; the best personification of an ideal woman was a virgin whose beauty was a sign of the divinity within her.

Beauty should mirror a good condition of body and mind or to be “both sensuous and

Christian displays of the spirit” (Austin 32). A virgin was a “bridge” between the human

36 and the divine (Ready 157) as she was spiritually close to God. The best example of

God's virgin was Virgin Mary. In England between 1833 and 1845 was “a religious revival within the Anglican Church” (Ready 152) which encouraged people to acknowledge Mary's religious status even more. Rossetti's mother was a devoted

Anglican therefore Rossetti's interest in Virgin Mary could be associated with her impact. Moreover, Mary was a woman and thus (apart the fallen women tempted by lust as Eve or Mary Magdalene) the only biblical character who deserved to be depicted in his work. In order to emphasize the erotic value of Virgin Mary, she is perceived as an object of desire for God himself.

Another prototype of a true fair lady whose sexuality remained pure was embodied by Beatrice, Dante's love. Beatrice proved to be more important for Rossetti than Virgin Mary as he believed that earthly love could be compared with heavenly bliss

(E. Lee). An image of a fair lady whose beauty is almost divine who loves passionately but praises God deserves to be glorified. A true Rossettian fair lady could be found in the poem The Blessed Damozel (1850) or in the painting Beata Beatrix (1864).

37 4. Selected Double Works

Dante Gabriel Rossetti worked with an idea that behind every picture is a story and that is the reason why the sonnets accompanying his canvases are profound; he could highlight the causes leading to the instant moment depicted in the paintings (as death) or describe the composition in a more touching way. Moreover, it could assure the viewer that he understood the conveyed meaning correctly. Although the theme of his double works was homologous, it differed in a way that the sonnet treated the theme from a different point of view than the painting. This is supported by a statement:

Each part of the double work is a unique view of an ideal visionary reality whose existence is posited through the different incarnate forms. The whole of the double work becomes, then, a dynamic representation of the process by which the visionary imagination sustains and develops itself. (McGann)

Although Rossetti is known for his double works of art, he considered himself to be a painter for painting was his livelihood. But as an engraver, he was tempted to convey the visual and the textual altogether. As Maryan Ainsworth explains: “when

Rossetti brought those two arts together, he intended that each complement or expand the other's meaning, not that they merely illustrate or echo one another” (quoted in

Frederick 77). But there is also an opposite attitude; the sonnets are said to limit “the spectator's access to the visual” (Donnelly 476), as claimed by Lynne Pearce, which means that the spectator is shown the only possible explanation and has no space for employing his/her own imagination. All in all, the prevailing evaluation of Rossetti's double works suggests that both visual and textual parts are interchangeable and coherent. Together they create an intertext or “composite moments of representation”

38 (Donnelly 476).

Emotions were central for Rossetti's poetry (Doughty 28). He was greatly inspired by Romantics as Keats, Wordsworth and Coleridge and he always inclined to be obsessed by Dante Alighieri and his undying love for Beatrice. His sensuous style also coheres with natural and detailed manipulation of Pre-Raphaelite ideal and as a conclusion his “imaginative experience tends to become erotic or aesthetic experience”

(Prince 359). He underwent two stages of his style: the early “Art Catholic” where he sought for an ideal courtly love and then he switched to Classical Renaissance phase

(Waldman 121). Rossetti further elaborates the Petrarchan sonnet, which is usually divided between sestet and octave and through self-reflexivity reveals “an opportunity to explore two sides of a single thought or emotion” (Donnelly 479), and constructs it differently. This dualism is fundamental for Rossetti as he was persuaded that there is a dichotomy of good and evil (Allen 285) and according to the Greek ideal, that beauty consists of the union of body and soul.

Rossetti highlights the tension in placing of volta; his point of dramatic change is stressed later by “employing a climatic quatrain or even couplet” (Donnelly 479). Also he compiles the same theme of Petrarchan sonnets which referred to “the dramatic extremes of human love for divine objects” (Stein 791). In his introductory sonnet or

“Sonnet on the Sonnet” in The House of Life (1870-1881) Rossetti reflects his belief that

“A Sonnet is a moment's monument” (Rossetti 127). He believed that a role of the sonnet is to capture one climatic moment and “to preserve it in spite of change and mutability” (Prince 355). Nevertheless, the sonnet thanks to its “basic duality of its structure” (Stein 779) has both its statis and movement within: “the structural composition of the sonnet itself is crucial to this mode of reading and viewing, its form

39 providing Rossetti with a template within which to imagine a temporal narrative through a spatial image” (Donnelly 478). The sonnet could therefore work “in several directions simultaneously” (Stein 792) while the visual art is considered to be final and static.

There could be traced a difference between Rossetti's evaluation of each type of art. The paintings are rather definite as “it is sufficient for the painter to represent the consequences of a complex idea, the products of an extended range of thought, without the poet's obligation to express the process that gave birth to his images” (Stein 782).

But the intertext of double works deepened; Rossetti used his poetry decoratively while paintings were composed literary – they show emotion, episodes or moral qualities but through the usage of symbols (Stein 784,786). It could be said that Rossetti tended to write as a painter and to paint as a writer as his art showed symbolism and his poetry decorative description. However, Rossetti inclined to represent the landscape in both poetry and art pictorially and unrealistically as “imagined ideal places, gardens seen in dreams, with tender light of evening over lawns and thick-grown trees” (Benson 16) for he valued the human beauty more than nature.

Nevertheless, to evaluate the complexity of interrelations is rather difficult as both art and poetry of Rossetti convey a lot of paradoxes, symbols and abstractions.

Rossetti regarded art as a “vehicle for the exploration and manifestation of subjective experience” (Henderson 911) and an aim of both arts was “to arouse imaginative or empathic response” (Prince 360) within the spectator's mind.

In his earlier works, Rossetti elaborated an ideal love in a form of a pure woman.

Later, he started to depict different types of women as his concept of united earthy and eternal love gradually dissolved. He was frustrated with the platonic relationship with

40 Elizabeth Siddal and he realized that woman are more complicated and could not be integrated in one ideal (E. Lee). However, all representation of women are based upon a different scale (or form) of their sexuality; sensuous, virginal, mythical or adulterous.

These forms are mingled together according to the qualities which were glorified in particular woman. Nevertheless, “the love of woman” (Angeli 212) was central for the work of Rossetti. According to Charles Richard Cammell, Rossetti searched his own spiritual identity:

The soul of a man is incomplete, and must seek out its complement, in the soul of the one woman, its affinity. Not by all men, in this pilgrimage of life, is the complemental soul found or findable; but somewhere in the infinitely mysterious passage of the human spirit to its Eternal Goal will the two half- souls meet and, uniting, create of themselves that Union with the Divine Essence which is the sum of

Attainment ... Rossetti, an Italian under an alien sky, taught his pre-Raphaelite friends to paint the souls of women, and to portray each his own soul in the pensive countenance of his Beloved. (quoted in J. Lee 5)

For Rossetti it was a way how to empower his originality and his position as an artist; he decided to use “the female model whose appearance he appropriated as a signifier of his artistry and his personality” (Cherry and Pollock 207). A beautiful female embodied an object of desire and a heavenly bliss which could be received through earthy love as “for him erotic love and spiritual love can be one, just as body and soul can be one” (Prince 353). Every model was a bit different and for several he developed a personal attachment; Elizabeth was his virginal muse, Fanny evoked more indecent cravings and Jane was a powerful woman who was enclosed in mystery

(Angeli 223). According to David Sonstroem their role in Rossetti's work is based on their relationship with him: Elizabeth Siddal is sometimes the Heavenly Lady, and at

41 other times the Victimized Woman; Fanny Cornforth is the Sinful Woman and the

Femme Fatale; Jane Morris is the Heavenly Lady and the Femme Fatale (J. Lee 4-5).

Elizabeth was never depicted as a Femme Fatale nor Jane as an ordinary Sinful Woman.

As was stated in previous section, all of their role is dependent on the form and extent of their sexuality and as such, the differences could be removed.

But Rossetti incorporated his own feelings in his paintings and therefore he seemed to evaluate every woman as he respected her. This is testified by all of the members of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as they often married their models and

“employed [them] in a peculiar and original manner, giving in their works not only fidelity to the appearance of the model but also to the model's character” (Cherry and

Pollock 218). This method is present both in art and literature. Models were for Rossetti essential for he had high expectations; if he could not find an appropriate model, he dropped the theme of the painting entirely. His style is said to be influenced “by the types he admired and studied; each separate and one symbolic of some idea he wished to express” (Angeli 224). This statement is true regarding his own object of desire:

Elizabeth, Jane and Fanny. All of them were assign to their roles as lovers, goddess or seductress, according to what did they mean for him: Elizabeth was his ideal, Fanny was his lover, and Jane was his goddess – he could not have her. The seclusion of their roles could be an impact of his personal relations towards each model. As Jennifer Lee argues, Alexa Wilding “includes all types of his fantastic visions of femininity–both the idealistic and the nightmare, the positive and the negative” (J. Lee 17) because she was not involved with Rossetti in any love affair. When Rossetti first met Alexa in 1864 and ask her to sit for him, she even did not showed, most likely due to the fact that models

“were generally considered to be little more than prostitutes, and often one and the

42 same” (J. Lee 21). For Rossetti therefore a separation of his personal attachments in his latter years was beneficial as he could employ one model into the different roles.

Elizabeth Siddal was a model for a lot of his water-colours where she was characterised by “graphic signs denoting lowered head, averted eyes with heavy lids, uptumed lips, hair softly framing the face in deep loops or falling freely” (Cherry and

Pollock 223). She functioned as an ideal for Rossetti, which he embodied after her death in 1864 in oil painting Beata Beatrix. Fanny and Jane were represented mainly as a

Femme Fatale but differs slightly as their sexuality was expressed differently: Fanny was a seductress while Jane was a goddess. This could be demonstrated on oil paintings

Bocca Baciata (1860) (see fig. 1) and Proserpine (1872) (see fig. 2). The first is based upon Boccacio's sonnet where a woman appears in a role of a lover as she is “the mouth that has been kissed” (quoted in J. Lee 12) and, moreover, she is depicted in an iconographic position; her gaze is dreamy, her hair sensuously loosened and a symbol of appeal is playfully depicted in the corner of the painting and marks a hidden threat. The latter refers to a goddess “tragically caught in a loveless marriage” (J. Lee 14). She is depicted as a pensive woman wondering about her fate: “carried off to Hades from her home in the fields of Enna, in Sicily, by an enamoured Pluto, [Proserpine] was subsequently doomed to remain there for half the year because … she had eaten food in hell—in fact, the pomegranate pictured in her hand in the paintings” (McGann). The role of Proserpine is suitable for Jane as we presume that she was in love with Rossetti but was trapped (so as Proserpine) in a marriage.

All of the depicted women in Rossetti's painting are in a center of male gaze and embody their object of subjective desire which could be “worldly (the longing for a beautiful woman) or transcendent (the adoration of an artistic or spiritual ideal

43 symbolized in a beautiful woman)” (Henderson 915). This also includes depiction of

Virgin Mary as she attracts God's desire. Their inferior position suggested by their dreamy gaze, gesture and perspective evokes their role as erotic signifiers. Rossetti's women of his mature paintings were “lushly beautiful and often absorbed in a reverie that invites voyeurism, [their] size nevertheless makes [them] appear powerful rather than vulnerable” (Henderson 912) and this mannish appearance made them more independent and almost intimidating. Although in Victorian England, Rossetti “might be credited with partially challenging an essentialized understanding of the sexes” (Ready

166). In a way, he managed to partially liberate woman from their completely inferior position as his women became “icons of power in restraint” (Henderson 913).

In order to highlight a dangerous power of women and despite the fact that

Rossetti inclined to agnosticism, he often employed ancient archetypes of woman as

Venus or Lilith or symbolically likened the depicted women to the role of biblical Eve.

Both his painting and poetry was characteristic for its “sharp juxtapositions of narrative and decorative material, as well as shifts between physical description and symbolic details” (Stein 775). The symbolism was also conveyed through the luminosity between bright colours and deep shades. Moreover, in his eyes a negative aspect could arouse a positive connotation. Death for him was a symbol for hope: “when the spiritual component in the quest for beauty is absent, the impulse toward that beauty becomes erotic rather than uplifting, and the outcome, according to Rossetti's essentially moral perspective, is destruction and death” (Wasko 335). This quotation brings all of the themes of Rossetti together. Death was an implication of heightened sexuality: its powers proved to be self-destructive. But in death, one could enter in heaven and therefore the spiritual demands are fulfilled.

44 Rossetti's dichotomy towards women could be illustrated on Rossetti's relations with them. His wife Elizabeth was a girl from a working class. Rossetti therefore married beneath him, but for artists it was common to marry their muses. But above all,

Elizabeth was an artist herself, and during her short life she produced quite a lot pictures. This also marks Rossetti fascination with woman capabilities: “if a woman artist did marry, unless it was to another artist, it often meant the end of her career, as her primary focus would necessarily become domestic, not artistic, pursuits” (Orlando

635). Elizabeth as others Pre-Raphaelite women (wives of artists) wore more comfortable garments and was in favor of women rights. Moreover, she was nicknamed

“Ida” according to Tennyson's poem “The Princess” where the main female was a feminist and “new woman” by William Rossetti (Allen 293). And as Rossetti respected his wife, it is arguable to claim that he must have speculated about the subject of gender equality.

In addition, Rossetti partially worked with respect to demands of his dealers and purchasers as “the ladies' longing expressions also provide a space of fantasy for the implied viewer … for satisfying [her] ungratified desire” (Waldman 144). His buyers were from the industrial higher class and through Rossetti's sensuous paintings they wanted to remind the former times of aristocratic traditions. To evoke the mythical powers of women, Rossetti depicted his working-class models in gorgeous clothing.

Susan Casters speculates that Rossetti “may have … signified the possibility of class mobility” (Waldman 150) and although she is convinced that the high class would not accept those ladies, it is an interesting view which coheres with a theory that Rossetti was in fact in a favor of feminism.

45 This section includes close analyses of three of Rossetti's double works. Each type coheres with the particular representation of woman within his paintings: a fallen woman, virginal woman and Pre-Raphaelite stunner. Their connecting component is their relation to an archetype of Eve; a fallen woman resembles Eve's fall, Virgin Mary could be perceived as the Second Eve as she is “directly counteracting Eve's role in bringing sin and death into the world” (Ready 165) and Lady Lilith once occupied Eve's role as Adam's mistress. It would be shown if visual and textual parts of these double works bear the same message or if they could differ in their interpretation.

4.1 Found and “Found”

The double work representing a fallen woman is a painting labeled as Found

(see fig. 3). Rossetti started to paint it in 1854 but he never finished it. He also substituted models from shabby-looking to more well-built who was in reality Fanny

Cornforth (Auerbach 44). The theme of fallen woman was present in number of his poems but in visual art he devoted himself to the composition of Found entirely.

Rossetti described his intentions in a letter to Holman Hunt in January 1855:

The picture represents a London street at dawn, with the lamps still lighted along a bridge which forms the distant background. A drover has left his cart standing in the middle of the road (in which, i.e., the cart, stands baa-ing a calf tied on its way to market), and has run a little way after a girl who has passed him, wandering in the streets. He had just come up with her and she, recognizing him, has sunk under her shame upon her knees, against the wall of a raised churchyard in the foreground, while he stands holding her hands as he seized them, half in bewilderment and half guarding her from doing herself a hurt. These are the chief things in the picture which is to be called “Found” and for which my

46 sister Maria has found me a most lovely motto from Jeremiah: “I remember Thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals.” (Surtees quoted in Nochlin 139)

The composition of the painting convey a highly symbolic character. The fall from innocence of the girl is highlighted by a distinction between rural appearance of a man and urban appearance of a woman. The environment also suggest the difference between “the health of the countryside and the corruption of the city city and innocent countryside” (Nead 34). The bridge and fall are symbolic. The wall serves as a last chance for an escape as the woman tries to retreat from her former suitor to an oblivion

(Auerbach 44). The bridge also implies a division of city from country (Nochlin 150).

Also the clothing is significant: “the faded, gaudy clothes of the prostitute were believed to represent the artificiality and corruption of modern city life and offered an obvious contrast to the simplicity and honesty of the country person” (Nead 34-35). But both the bridge and the worn-down clothes of the prostitute suggest the inevitable end of the prostitute – suicide. As Lynn Nead claims there is a whole symbolic mechanism of the composition:

In Found the drover has begun his work with the first light of day-he follows a Christian and a natural cycle. The prostitute sinks to the pavement in shame, she has been wandering the streets at night, she is deviant and unnatural and her end is suggested by the bridge in the background. Her guilt may drive her to suicide and through the act of suicide, the prostitute is drained of her power and threat and is constituted instead as an object of pity and compassion. (Nead 35)

The whole suggestion of a deep space conveys more symbolic factors of morality and spirituality: the graveyard which separates life from death and indicates both spiritual and physical death, the bridge implicates the fall (from innocence to

47 death) and connects the past with the future, and the white calf's net means that innocence will be eventually destroyed (Nochlin 149, 150). Through a white calf

Rossetti again employed an interconnection between biblical stories of fallen woman

(such as Mary Magdalen) and even though in every woman was a glimpse of divinity, he implied that “salvation for the fallen woman could take place only in distant biblical times, through the intervention of Christ, and that no possibility of redemption is possible for the modern prostitute” (Nochlin 152). Apart for kneeling position of a girl, her gaze also suggests that she is inferior to men–she is ashamed for her sins in front of her former suitor and refuses to look at him. But once again, her fate was sealed by masculine society which provide only inferior work opportunities to women and rewarded them by small wages.

The painting does not include the event which has cost the fall, it only captures the consequences (Auerbach 49). The viewer would expect that the sonnet (see fig. 4) which accompanies the painting would reveal further information but Rossetti decided to simplify the meaning although in a more effective way. It was written retrospectively in 1881 and it elaborates further the symbolical message of the painting. Rossetti chose to emphasize “the contrast between light and dark as a moral metaphor of despair”

(Nochlin 149). An opening line is taken from Keats's famous sonnet “To Homer” and highlights a chance for a change “There is a budding morrow in midnight” (Rossetti

192) as it there is a glimpse of hope for everybody (Donnelly 483). Rossetti was deeply inspired by Keats and Homer seems to be a right choice for an allusion he wanted to create–he could be seen as a symbol for the dawn of literature as he inspired a lot of

European writers. Homer himself works as a notion of hope. But than it is switched drastically: “Can day from darkness ever again take flight?” (Rossetti 192) and instead

48 of hope there are doubts and suggest that the deeds of a fallen woman cannot be forgotten. The man here figures as a reminder of what was lost once, as he awakens her sentiment. So the question which ends a first paragraph signalized also a personal dilemma–is she able to forget what she has done? The collision of gender roles and the uncertainty which it evokes in the reader is also signalized in first part of a sonnet

(Donnelly 484). The other half of the sonnets is even more dramatic. There are “stops, disruptive punctuation, and intrusive, exclamatory speech, heightening the sense of confusion, bewilderment, and resistance conveyed in the image” (Donnelly 484). The

“to-day” in line 11 and then “but what part / Can life now take?” (Rossetti 192) both relate the sonnet to the moment captured in the painting when past and future collides in order to create an instance of the present. While in the painting the fate of the woman is rather uncertain, the end of the sonnet is more pessimistic in “cutting off the fallen woman from possible redemption” (Nochlin 149). The last line of the sonnet “Leave me

-- I do not know you -- go away!” (Rossetti 192) makes the resolution absolute. The last line also emphasizes the climax of this double work as the woman refuses her suitor both verbally and visually. Her final decision coheres with the fact that she is convinced that there is “no possible rescue in the form of man's good will or chivalric impulse”

(Nochlin 152). The end of the sonnet once again symbolizes the struggle which women were forced to lead.

There is an ambivalence in perception of this double work for “the rigid separate spheres of traditional Victorian representations of women are disturbed by the uncanny reconfiguration of the narratives of innocence and experience presented in these works”

(Donnelly 482-483). The woman seems to be independent while the man is losing his superiority over her. Rossetti probably meant to signalize that a fall from innocence is

49 absolute and that a woman could not be redeemed.

But if we consider the end from the position of woman, the refusal might have signalized not only her shame but also obtaining her own independence. However, this view could be applied only to the sonnet itself. The painting captures the moment when the woman's emotions outbalance everything else and the overall idea is a sense of her guilt. Through the sonnet, a woman obtained a superior position over men.

4.2 The Girlhood of Mary Virgin and “Mary's Girlhood”

The Girlhood of Mary Virgin (1849) (see fig. 5) and Ecce Ancilla Domini! Or

The Annunciation (1850) are considered as Rossetti's most famous “Art Catholic” paintings (Waldman 142). Apart from other double works of Rossetti, the composition of these oil paintings is slightly different–in the center is not a woman, but the whole family of Mary. This environment captured Mary in a different role; she is depicted as a daughter while her role of a mother is still awaiting her. Young Mary represent the ideal of a pale, sickly and passive woman who is sexually objectified (Orlando 615). Now the common observer of woman's beauty is substituted by God himself who intimidated other men to look on Mary, an object of his own personal desires (Waldman 142), which is suggested by the division of light and darkness.

Rossetti included in this painting many symbols both Catholic or Victorian as is claimed by Alistair Grieve in catalogue of the Tate Gallery:

The books representing the virtues are coloured symbolically. The lamp is an emblem of piety, the rose is the flower of the Madonna. The vine refers to the coming of Christ and the red cloth, embroidered with the Tri-point, beneath the cross-shaped trellis, symbolizes His robe at the Passion. The

50 palm and thorn shaped branches prefigure the seven joys and seven sorrows of the Virgin. (quoted in

Donnelly 476)

There are also other symbols employed. Lily which is being held by an angel is a symbol of the unborn Christ (Waldman 138), ivy-covered cross is a symbol for immortality (cross) and resurrection (ivy) (Ready 155). The most crucial is the separation of light and darkness because it marks a division of labour in Victorian

England (Waldman 138); St. Joachim is tending vines while women are working in a simple way. The composition of the painting could be seen as “an allegory of gender division within the Rossetti family” (Waldam 138) where men were agnostic and women believed in God. This is also supported by choosing Rossetti's sister Christina to sit for Mary in order to personify the divine. Moreover, the mystic value is also conveyed through colours as “red and white commonly signify the conjunction between opposing male and female principles” (Ready 155). In a way, the painting broadly discuss gender roles and Rossetti's own doubts regarding the topic.

Also the theme of the education of the Virgin differs: “rather than showing Mary learning to read at her mother's knee … Rossetti shows her working at embroidery in a stylized domestic setting” (Donnelly 478). This could be a response to Ruskin's ideal woman who should be able to sew and “to be gracious as to help others in despair”

(Austin 32). A sewing Mary therefore coheres with the notion of a female artist, as she should be able to create but remain virtuous. On the other hand, it also suggested that woman's role is strictly domestic. The direction of gazes on the painting differs crucially so as “none of the other figures pay attention to Mary” (Ready 157). On the one hand, it could be analyzed as showing respect to Mary who is an emblem of the divine and others do not deserve to look at her. On the other hand, it could enforce a conviction of

51 woman's inferiority-she is still to young and she did not fulfilled her destiny or the role of being a mother; “the Virgin had … been historically exploited both to support and to challenge the status quo, to affirm a sexual hierarchy or to insist on the equality of the sexes” (Ready 165). Questionable is also the fact, that Mary does not look straightly on an angel although she must be aware of his presence. Mary therefore evokes a sense of a resistance as she refuses to accept her predestination.

Two sonnets accompany the painting in order to guide the viewer and control

“the process of interpretation” (Ready 157). First sonnet convey the story behind the painting while second one refers to the symbolism; “together the sonnets articulate the complex array of visual and verbal strategies Rossetti utilizes to construct meaning”

(Donnelly 478).

Sonnet I (see fig. 6) signalizes the qualities which an ideal woman should have: she is virginal, respectful, patient, faithful, virtuous and reliable, moreover, as suggested by “simpleness of intellect” (Rossetti 185), she is intelligent but still passive and beneath men. The first stanza, however, refers to her predestination: “This is that blessed Mary, pre-elect,” (Rossetti 185) and suggests that Mary is a moral icon for others who did not inherit such a graceful character. The period in line 11 is a sign that this still life will end eventually (Donnelly 479). “Till one dawn” (Rossetti 186) further highlights the important moment in a woman's life when she enters a role of mother and loses her virginal naivety; Mary “felt awe” (Rossetti 186) as she was scared of becoming a mother and her awe also embodied the incapability of a woman's choice– although a biblical character, Mary was a human and disliked the potential entrapment.

In a Victorian context, although the superiority was symbolized by a divine power, it still emphasized that woman's role was passive, domestic and “pre-elect” by masculine

52 God himself. Her gaze also suggests that a man is an owner of the look as it is fixed on the lily, a symbol of her destiny–a role of a mother. This sonnet also highlights the presence of an angel and therefore a “slip between the real and the symbolic” (Donnelly

480) and coheres precisely with the painting–although Rossetti favored naturalism and depicted reality, he chose to include an angel within the picture as an emblem of God's power.

Sonnet II (see fig. 7) refers to a role of symbols in the painting which were already described. The dramatic turn is in both sonnets suggested through the use of temporal unit “untill” or “till” (Rossetti 186). In sonnet II this climax also ends a virtuous girlhood of Mary and highlights expectations regarding her womanhood:

“Until the time be full” (Rossetti 186). This is supported by the description of lily:

“Therefore on them the lily standeth, which / Is Innocence, being interpreted” (Rossetti

186). Although lily is typically an emblem for innocence, this line also invite us for reevaluation of its interpretation as both sonnets suggest that her turn from innocence marks also her sexual maturity (Donnelly 480).

If we compare the overall message of painting and sonnets, the textual form exceeded the visual one regarding the superiority of women. Although the religious theme limits the feminine approach, sonnets are not written in purely obedient way of

God's power but express also Mary's doubts concerning her fate. A woman therefore obtains partial independence as she deconstructs her own divine pre-election.

4.3 Lady Lilith and “Body's Beauty”

The concept of an attractive Pre-Raphaelite woman could be represented by an

53 archetype of a woman who is “deadly as well as seductive” (Allen 286) at the same time. Rossetti consulted this theme with other artist and it could be said that this new concept of woman fascinated him entirely. In correspondence with the poet Thomas

Gordon Hake he first mentioned the idea of “perilous principle” (Waldman 146) of womanhood with its hazards and connected it with Lilith who figures as “a symbol of the destructive power possessed by femme fatale” (Allen 286). Legend of Lilith, Adam's first wife, is not interpreted in high art as much as it should be, probably because of her endangering status:

According to legend, she was created with Adam from the same handful of dust, and, as his equal, refused to be subordinate to him. She left him to consort with demons; because she refused to return to Adam, her own demon-begot infants die daily, and she preys on the babies of others. She also visits men in their dreams and bewitches them. (Allen 286)

Rossetti started to work on Lady Lilith (see fig. 8) in 1864 and he chose to depict Lilith in a modern way: seated in front of her boudoir she is combing her hair while looking into a mirror. This personal scene where Lilith's hair are let down and her garments are arranged in provocative manner should evoke her dangerous sexuality.

Although Lilith's gaze is once again adapted to masculine notions of inferiority and she is an object of a gaze rather than active participant, she looks into a mirror. Her gaze could be understand either as “a trap of lovelessness for the hapless male suitor”

(Waldman 146) or as a declaration of liberalization as she narcissistically nurtures herself and does not care for anything else.

The role of hair was important for a Victorian viewer as it was a signifier of mythologized woman's sexuality. If a woman was a demonic creature, her hair

54 represented a mantrap (Gitter 963). Although she was depicted as a liberated New

Woman who rebelled from masculine superiority (Allen 286) and therefore for Rossetti she was rather disturbing element. As “the female arts of hair combing and spinning or weaving are connected” (Gitter 963), Lilith could also be situated into Ruskin's image of an ideal woman: she should be able to sew and to become an artist herself. Although sewing belongs to domestic duties of a wife and could be accepted as inferior, it also proves her artistry.

Another symbolic value is ascribed to flowers depicted within the picture. There is a rose and poppy, or Love and Death which are “often united in Rossetti’s philosophical and spiritual beliefs” (Lee 28) and underline the dichotomic essence of his work. Foxglove then raises this duality as it could be used either as a medicine or a poison (Allen 291). A boudoire itself could be perceived as an altar for praising both

Love and Death or Lilith's vanity (Allen 291). And it also highlights the spiritual quality of female's beauty. Again, religion is closer to women than to men.

At first Rossetti used Fanny Cornforth as a model but in 1872 Rossetti decided to alter a face in order to emphasize Lilith's demonic character and ancient origin:

“Alexa Wilding's heavy-lidded eyes and remote face certainly convey a colder and more dangerous form of Eros to the viewer than Fanny Cornforth's softly rubicund features”

(Allen 293). Nevertheless, painting still evokes a sense of a modern woman.

On the other hand, the sonnet „introduces us to mythic Lilith, who may live in any woman, but who seems to exist primarily in the realm of the poet's sexual imagination“ (Allen 291). In 1867, Rossetti wrote “Body's Beauty” (see fig. 9) which is associated with “Soul's Beauty” and together they signalized the woman's duality (J.

Lee 28): a woman embodies both soul and body or spirit and beauty. The fact that Lilith

55 was not widely remembered is suggested in the line 2: “(The witch he loved before the gift of Eve,)” (Rossetti 161) where Rossetti uses brackets for a description of her status.

The word choice of witch does not necessarily mark a witch, although Lilith is said to have deviant mythical powers for seducing men, but to a fact that Lilith was labeled as

Lamia:: “a word which has much the same meaning as our witch but which was originally the name of a Libyan Queen, who, having lost her child, was said to prey on the children of others” (Allen 292). The line 3 “That, ere the snake's, her sweet tongue could deceive,” (Rossetti 161) implies Lilith's connection with the snake which allured

Eve into committing a sin. Although Lilith neither in the sonnet nor in the painting has a serpentine shape, she is supposed to be equally deceitful. This is also connected with her hair which are often described as “aggressively serpentine, strangling, and biting”

(Gitter 950) and which functions as a mantrap: their “enchanted” (Rossetti 161) essence allures men into danger. On the other hand, there is an indication of a moment when

Lilith was virtuous as her hair “was the first gold” (Rossetti 161) and could be signed as her “aureole or bower” (Gitter 963). But then the narrative is twisted and “the bright web” symbolizes her attraction and her power to intrigue men. In a way, she has a same position as a fallen women: she is both “victim and predator” (Gitter 939). She demanded to be an equal but Adam disagreed. Therefore she turned to vengeance. This is another dual aspect of her character. The sonnet closes with “And round his heart one strangling golden hair” (Rossetti 162) and suggests that a deceived woman is the most dangerous because she could always get everything. This situated men into inferior position as they could not resist female erotic powers.

The theme of Lilith itself evokes a sense of women's liberation as she is

(although having negative qualities) the first liberated woman from men's superiority.

56 The sonnet regard Lilith as an ultimate seductress and highlights her independent position in a more negative way. In the picture, there is a modern woman as described by Rossetti. The symbolism of flowers and hair in the painting however labels her as a deadly creature and she has no opportunity to change her fate. Although men could experience an ecstasy of love, their action would bring them death. Therefore, although a bit negative, Lilith gains her real powers in the sonnet.

57 5. Conclusion

It is difficult to interpret Rossetti's life-work seamlessly as each part discusses a different aspect of woman's character. Rossetti was greatly inspired by women in his environment-by his mother, sisters, wife and lovers. Over the course of years, Rossetti changed his attitudes towards women but he always respected them, no matter what their position was. This is clear from his long but always platonic engagement with

Elizabeth Siddal, his quiet affection for Jane Morris and his lifetime friendship with

Fanny Cornforth.

Rossetti believed in dichotomic functioning of world, which is evident from the choices he made during his life. He was a poet-painter, he wrote sonnets with double meanings and invented double-works of art. The same “double” principle he saw within the character of women. Their beauty was described as a unity of body and soul.

Although, they were depicted as objects of men desire, they proved to “demand the admiration of their viewers” (Henderson 913) and in this manner they declared their own independence.

Rossetti's personal relationships with women therefore enabled him to convey his own subjective desire and project it into the mind of other viewers. Women seemed to be inferior to men, but the effect of their depiction is rather twofold; man was the owner of the look but woman appeared to have the real power. Masculine superiority was overshadowed by a sense of guilt; men felt ashamed for their lust. On the other hand, Rossetti was convinced that women were closer to God and therefore he assigned them superior spiritual status. Although, it is not proved that Rossetti directly supported the question of gender equality, his doubts are visible in his double works.

58 His canvases elaborated the idea of female independence. Although spatial division and symbolism assigned women to be eternally inferior (due to their predestined nature), Rossetti seemed to offer them an escape from this position. He granted them a dreamy landscape (often a garden) which could be considered as their dominion. Since garden is often associated with Eve, Rossetti might have proposed a direct connection to the dichotomy of woman's character-sinful and virtuous. Rossetti further separated the reality from this unrealistic world where women were independent by the frames of his paintings. Therefore he managed to satisfy masculine audience while implicating that women are not entirelly powerless.

Close analyses, however, proved that his canvases are more limiting than the accompanying sonnets. The structure of sonnets was more adjusted to explain the meaning in different ways than it was possible with static paintings. Sonnets therefore expand the theme more thoroughly and let each spectator evaluate the theme individually as “nothing that Dante wrote was allowed to be capable of simple and natural interpretation; every passage and every word was an elaborate vehicle for the concealment of some mystical speculation or political idea” (Benson 7-8).

Rossetti was driven by the complexities of love all his life and it was his love for women which prompted him to ponder about their role. He gratified men in patriarchal society but he also managed to point out an insecure position of women and their right for acknowledgment.

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63 7. Appendices

7.1 Bocca Baciata, source: the Rossetti Archive

7.2 Proserpine, source: the Rossetti Archive

64 7.3 Found, source: the Rossetti Archive

7.4 “Found” (For a Picture), source: Rossetti, Dante Gabriel a Jerome J McGann.

Collected poetry and prose.

"THERE is a budding morrow in midnight: " --

So sang our Keats, our English nightingale.

And here, as lamps across the bridge turn pale

In London's smokeless resurrection-- light,

Dark breaks to dawn. But o'er the deadly blight

65 Of love deflowered and sorrow of none avail

Which makes this man gasp and this woman quail,

Can day from darkness ever again take flight?

Ah! gave not these two hearts their mutual pledge,

Under one mantle sheltered 'neath the hedge

In gloaming courtship? And 0 God! to-- day

He only knows he holds her; -- but what part

Can life now take? She cries in her locked heart, --

"Leave me -- I do not know you -- go away!"

7.5 The Girlhood of Mary Virgin, source: the Rossetti Archive

66 7.6 “Mary's Girlhood” (For a Picture) I., source: Rossetti, Dante Gabriel a Jerome J

McGann. Collected poetry and prose.

I

This is that blessed Mary, pre-elect

God's Virgin. Gone is a great while, and she

Was young in Nazareth of Galilee.

Her kin she cherished with devout respect:

Her gifts were simpleness of intellect

And supreme patience. From her mother's knee

Faithful and hopeful; wise in charity;

Strong in grave peace; in duty circumspect.

So held she through her girlhood; as it were

An angel-watered lily, that near God 10

Grows, and is quiet. Till one dawn, at home,

She woke in her white bed, and had no fear

At all,—yet wept till sunshine, and felt awed;

Because the fulness of the time was come.

7.7 “Mary's Girlhood” (For a Picture) II., source: Rossetti, Dante Gabriel a Jerome J

McGann. Collected poetry and prose.

II

These are the symbols. On that cloth of red

I' the centre, is the Tripoint,—perfect each

Except the second of its points, to teach

That Christ is not yet born. The books (whose head

Is golden Charity, as Paul hath said)

Those virtues are wherein the soul is rich:

Therefore on them the lily standeth, which

67 Is Innocence, being interpreted.

The seven-thorned briar and the palm seven-leaved

Are her great sorrows and her great reward. 10

Until the time be full, the Holy One

Abides without. She soon shall have achieved

Her perfect purity: yea, God the Lord

Shall soon vouchsafe His Son to be her Son.

7.8 Lady Lilith, source: the Rossetti Archive

68 7.9 “Body's Beauty,” source: Rossetti, Dante Gabriel a Jerome J McGann. Collected poetry and prose.

Of Adam's first wife, Lilith, it is told

(The witch he loved before the gift of Eve,)

That, ere the snake's, her sweet tongue could deceive,

And her enchanted hair was the first gold.

And still she sits, young while the earth is old,

And, subtly of herself contemplative,

Draws men to watch the bright web she can weave,

Till heart and beauty and life are in its hold.

The rose and poppy are her flowers; for where

Is he not found, O Lilith, whom shed scent

And soft-shed kisses and soft sleep shall snare?

Lo! as that youth's eyes burned at thine, so went

Thy spell through him, and left his straight neck bent

And round his heart one strangling golden hair.

69 8. Résumé

This bachelor thesis entitled The role of women in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's double works of art explores the first indications of gender equality in Rossetti's double works of art. Together with other Pre-Raphaelites he managed to revolt against

Victorian conventionality of art and in a sense also of life.

Rossetti's work is closely associated with his life therefore the first chapter is concentrated on his biography. His attitudes to the question of women equality is also influenced by love and respect he had for women. Then it is discussed how women were represented in art and literature in Victorian England with respect to the myth of 19th century women. Rossetti admired fair ladies because he believed that beauty displays the union of spirit and body. Therefore a woman impersonated a dichotomic principle; she was both virtuous and sinful-good and evil. The third part then analyzes three double works of art; each of them coheres with the different role of women. The fallen woman is depicted in Found, femme fatale or Pre-Raphaelite sensuous woman is represented by Lady Lilith and a true ideal of a virginal fair lady is in The Girlhood of

Mary Virgin. Close analyses proved that the textual part in a form of sonnets is more suitable for double interpretation; one in favor of masculine superiority while the other recognizes the potency of independent women. Although canvases seem to be more limiting regarding “women question” their dreamy landscape also provided women a temporal escape. Therefore, Rossetti's art bears visible signs of feminism.

70 9. Resumé

Tato bakalářská práce s názvem Role žen v „dvojitých“ dílech Dante Gabriela

Rossettiho zkoumá stopy genderové rovnosti právě v jeho „dvojitých“ dílech, které se skládají z vizuální a textové části. Rossetti se společně s dalšími Prerafaelity dokázal vzbouřit proti konvencím viktoriánské společnosti, které omezovaly jak umění tak

život.

Rossettiho dílo je úzce spojeno s jeho životem a právě proto se první kapitola zabývá událostmi, které zformovaly jeho život. Právě láska a úcta, kterou k ženám choval, ovlivnila jeho názory v otázce ženské rovnosti. Práce dále rozebírá reprezentaci

žen v anglickém umění a literatuře 19. století, s ohledem na jejich mýtický status.

Rossetti obdivoval krásné ženy, protože věřil, že právě jejich krása představuje spojení duše a mysli. Žena tedy zosobňovala dichotomický princip – byla ctnostná I hříšná, dobrá a zlá. Poslední část práce pak analyzuje tři vybraná „dvojitá“ díla, přičemž každé z nich reflektuje jinou roli žen. Hříšná žena je vyobrazena v obrazu Found, smyslná femme fatale je reprezentována obrazem Lady Lilith a pravý ideál ctnostné ženy se nachází v obrazu The Girlhood of Mary Virgin. Podrobné analýzy dokázaly, že textová

část ve formě sonetu je vhodnějším prostředkem pro dvojitý výklad díla – jeden je nakloňen mužské nadřazenosti, zatímco druhý zohledňuje potenciál nezávislých žen.

Ačkoli se olejomalby zdají být více limitující, s ohledem na otázku ženské rovnosti, jejich snové krajiny poskytly vyobrazeným ženám možnost dočasného úniku.

Rossettiho dílo proto nese viditelné prvky feminismu.

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