Weaponised Imagination: Sibling Collaborations and Rivalries in the Brontë and Rossetti Families Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Ann-Marie Richardson November 2018 2 RICHARDSON PAGE LEFT INTEN TIONALLY BLANK Contents: Abstract iii Acknowledgements v Epigraph vii Brontë and Rossetti Family Trees ix Introduction: Reuniting the Brontë and Rossetti Families in Criticism 1 1 Mother(s) of Invention: Recovering the Literary Legacies of Maria Brontë and Frances Rossetti 13 Critical Renaissance of the Matriarchs’ Relics 13 Let Me In!: Critical Renaissance of the Matriarchs’ Relics 20 Muse in a Pinafore: Clutching the Literary Apron-Strings 44 2 Poetry and Politics: The Influence of the Brontë and Rossetti Patriarchs on the Juvenilia 79 Literary Patriarchs: Leading by Example 79 ‘Welcome, Heroes, to the War’: The Influence of the Fathers’ 84 Political Beliefs and Writings The Shadows of Heroes: Echoing the Fathers’ Written Works 127 3 Exiles and Escapees: How “Feminine” Realities threatened to disengage Literary Sisters from Creative Collaboration 157 “Outgrowing” the Juvenilia 157 The World Without: From Collaboration to Catharsis 166 The World Within: Sisterly Solidarity in Life-Writings and Fiction 210 4 RICHARDSON 4 Prodigal Poets: “Playing” with Male Identity and Privilege amongst Literary Brothers 223 Great Expectations: Redefining Primogeniture in Literary Families 223 The Rakes’ Progress: Transforming Boyish “Play” into a Poetic “Self” 232 Unpleasant and Undreamt: Sisterly Deconstruction of the Brothers’ 258 “Second Selves” 5 Last Sibling Standing: Charlotte Brontë and William Michael 285 Rossetti as Custodians of the Family Legacy 1849 & 1894: Worlds of Sadness 285 The Kingdom Where Nobody Dies: “Resurrecting” Childhood and 296 Juvenilia Thy Brother’s Blood Crieth: “Corrective” Custodians and the 309 Memory of the Brother Bade my Sister to Arise: One Legacy Redeems Another 328 Conclusion: Recognising the Role of Familial Collaboration in the 353 Literary Legacies of the Brontë and Rossetti Families Bibliography 361 Image Index 377 RICHARDSON iii Abstract: For the Brontë and Rossetti siblings, familial collaboration shaped their working methods from their earliest juvenilia to the end of their careers. Both sibling sets would continually compare their works and seek advice on how to develop their early writings – a sense of co-dependence they never fully outgrew. This thesis examines the dynamic of these sibling sets from the early need of parental approval; their ambitious juvenilia – and the need to maintain the familial connection such early works provided upon entering the adult world of work – and finally the autobiographical narratives of the surviving siblings. This analysis will explore how these siblings’ literary collaborations altered under the cultural expectations of class and gender, as well as familial aspirations. Nevertheless, the support network of childhood writings could be “restored” by recreating the motifs and methodologies of their early juvenilia. Weaponised Imagination applies close, comparative readings to works completed by the Brontës’ and Rossettis’ throughout their careers, which can be applied to literary families throughout history. iv RICHARDSON PAGE LEFT INTEN TIONALLY BLANK RICHARDSON v Acknowledgements: I gratefully acknowledge the support of my PhD Supervisors, Simon Marsden and Matthew Bradley. Special thanks go to Simon for the exceptional advice offered throughout the previous three years, and for the past three weeks of supporting last- minute panics. The Brontë studies portion of this thesis would have been more difficult to research without the friendly support from the people of the Brontë Parsonage Museum. Many thanks to Sarah Laycock who was the first to show me Maria Brontë’s copy of The Remains and Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White – the timing of the relic’s return to the Parsonage was rather uncanny. Further gratitude goes to Ann Dinsdale who remembered how fascinated I was by Remains and offered to answer any questions I had throughout my thesis – and, of course, for asking me to contribute my thoughts on the relic in Charlotte Brontë: The Lost Manuscripts. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the support of The Lost Manuscript’s editor and publisher, Julia Barnes and Kitty Wright. I would also like to thank my good friend and conference-buddy, Edwin J. Marr, for answering any queries I had about Branwell Brontë’s life. My analysis of the Rossettis could not have been possible without the helpful staff of the Bodleian Library, but especially Colin Harris – his knowledge of the Rossetti archives was immeasurable, and I would like to thank him for introducing me to Frances Rossetti’s Hodge Podge and diary papers, and a tremendous thank you for showing me Gabriele Rossetti’s autobiography (in English and Italian) – just because he thought I would enjoy vi RICHARDSON it! Chapter Two would not have been possible without these materials. The support of Elizabeth Ludlow must be acknowledged also – I know she wants Maria Rossetti to be recovered in contemporary criticism as much as I do, and without her notes on the rare letters of Maria Rossetti, I would not have benefitted from such a clear insight into Maria’s personality beyond her being “the Rossetti who became a nun”. Tremendous thanks to my external examiner, Amber Regis, and my internal examiner, Gill Rudd for reading all of this work I have accumulated over the past three years. Finally, to my parents, thank you for your support of every kind throughout the length of this thesis and beyond. RICHARDSON vii ‘Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.’ - J ul e s de Gaultier ‘Le Bovarysme’ (Paris: Société du Mercure de France, 1902) , p.13 viii RICHARDSON PAGE LEFT INTEN TIONALLY BLANK RICHARDSON ix Family Trees: x RICHARDSON PAGE LEFT INTEN TIONALLY BLANK I NTRODUCTION : Reuniting the Brontë and Rossetti Families in Criticism The creative dynamic of literary siblings prepared some of the most celebrated writers of the nineteenth-century for the competitive world of publication. This thesis will focus on the tight- knit childhood collaborations of the Brontë and Rossetti families to demonstrate how familial cooperation shaped their artistic voices. The notion of observing the collaboration of the Brontë and Rossetti families in their entirety rather than focusing on individuals and their collaborations with other individuals (as with Charlotte and Branwell, for example) is in itself an original approach to the literature-based biography. Charlotte Brontë’s Villette (1853) states that ‘it is right to look our life-accounts bravely in the face now and then and settle them honestly’1 – this thesis utilises a similar approach: analysing the ‘life-accounts’ of the Brontë and Rossetti families in the form of their collaborative fiction, from their earliest juvenilia to the surviving siblings’ attempts to revive their former co-authors in their work. Most criticism of the collective works of literary families currently use two methodologies: family biographies which map the lives of the entire family in varying detail, or close-textual analysis which focuses predominantly on the works of the more prolific or culturally-relevant kin. This thesis takes a more nuanced third approach and considers the biographical in textual terms. In a unique interpretation of the literary biography genre, this method takes seriously the collaborative juvenile texts of these families as formative exercises in their careers. By conducting in-depth readings of these seminal works, we see how these writers viewed each other – both as co-authors and siblings – as well as how they responded to social impacts on their relationships. To verify these interpretations, this thesis parallels the textual readings of the collaborative interactions with primary materials, such as, the families’ written correspondence, journal entries and autobiographical pieces. Furthermore, to observe how these siblings interacted on the page, this analysis principally 1 Charlotte Brontë (Currer Bell), Villette (New York: Harper Brothers Publishers, 1853), p.366. 2 RICHARDSON addresses the raw imagination of the manuscript, including previously unpublished redactions and marginalia. Consequently, it is shown that collaborative literature, from juvenilia to the printed recollections of the surviving sibling, may be interpreted as life-writings, and that these are the crucial foundations for the Brontë and Rossetti family legacies. The title Weaponised Imagination is derived from French philosopher Jules de Gaultier’s declaration that imagination ‘is the only weapon in the war against reality’.2 There are few artistic families who embody this stance as thoroughly as the Brontës and Rossettis; making these families ideal subjects of a linear text-based study of collaboration. The members of both families were prolific early writers, completing ambitious projects together in their childhoods, so this study will demonstrate how the siblings were empowered by both their creativity and co- authorship from an early age. However, their imaginations were not always utilised to engage in ‘war’ – unless on the fictional battlefields of their imaginary childhood kingdoms. The Brontës, for instance, famously forged their fictional childhood kingdoms of Angria and Gondal together, collectively known as ‘The Glasstown Confederacy’, sharing characters and locations whilst