Rossetti Context Flashcards
What was the literacy status of women in Victorian times?
Many women could still not read, so worked in the home as either servants, mothers or housewives.
When were women over 30 able to vote?
1918
What do the bible and Rossetti have in common?
They both contradict each other.
Rossetti: NTYJ vs. Augusta Webster rejection
Bible: ‘Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord’. Vs Eve
A symbol of Rossetti’s religious mania and coordination with God.
Why did contemporary society view Rossetti as a threat?
Societal gender roles at the time. If a woman did not fit the prescribed pattern of a girl-like, innocent angel- she was often viewed a dangerous threat.
Additionally, it was looked down upon for women to write about death, was viewed as a topic out of their reach.
Rossetti’s voluntary work
In 1860, she volunteered for the ‘fallen women’ at the St. Mary Magdalene House.
In what way was Rossetti’s assistance in redeeming these ‘fallen women’ justified (In a Religious Sense)
According to Christian principles of forgiveness, these women deserve the chance to be redeemed as Jesus emphasised this importance.
Define ‘Soul Sleep’
The body dies, the soul remains in a state of unconsciousness.
Waiting for Jesus to be resurrected
Death is one step closer to God, religious mania
‘Silent land’, ‘twilight’ (WIADMD)
Define Romanticism
Ability to express emotion
Promotion of emphasis on inspiration
Artistic, literacy, musical and intellectual movement
Originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century
Stressed strong emotion as a source of the aesthetic experience
Who were the Pre-Raphelites?
Collection of Victorian poets, artists, painters, illustrators and designers with similar beliefs about art.
Rossetti and her brother (Dante) involved
When was the Pre-Raphelites founded?
1848
Name a founder of the Pre-Raphelites
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Rossetti’s brother)
What was Rossetti’s relationship with the Pre-Raphelites?
She was never a formal member. Dante often referred to her as a ‘double sisterhood’.
She published poems on behalf of the group
More of an observer rather than a participant
Rossetti’s marriage status
Never married.
Rejected multiple marriages for religious reasons for religious reasons: a poet for him being agnostic
How is her religious mania shown in the pattern of her poetry?
Each poem in general contradicts eachother which suggests her religious mania and contrasting views on religion and life (females).
What was the ‘Goblin Market’ originally?
For the first hundred years after it was written, “Goblin Market” was read almost exclusively as a children’s poem about the importance of sisterhood and sisterly heroism.
The contextual origin to ‘No, Thankyou, John’
Said to be based on John Brett (Pre-Raphelite Painter)
Based on real issue she had with this suitor - wrote in “Letters of Christina Rossetti” by William Michael.
What did John Brett do when Rossetti rejected him?
1858: stopped working on a portrait of her (Violet Hunt)
What was Rossetti’s sister?
Catholic nun differs from their own religious beliefs
How would Rossetti’s sister’s religious choice have affected Rossetti? And how would it have influenced her poetry?
Goes against her own Trachtarian beliefs… losing her sister just like Lizzie was losing hers…
But, still, sisters at the end of the day and it stays that way
Where does the phrase ‘Angel in the House’ come from?
Coventry Patmore’s immensely popular poem, in which he holds his angel-wife up as a model for all women. It was published in 1854
ROSSETTI OPPOSES THIS IDEA THROUGH BECOMING A NEW WOMAN HERSELF
Rossetti’s early education
Rossetti was educated at home by her mother and father, who had her study religious works, classics, fairy tales and novels.
Rossetti’s family struggles
In the 1840s, her family faced severe financial difficulties due to the deterioration of her father’s physical and mental health.
HER MOTHER WAS STRONG AND TOOK CARE OF EVERYONE
Rossetti’s complete “marriage” history
In her late teens, Rossetti became engaged to the painter James Collinson, the first of three suitors. The engagement was broken in 1850 when he reverted to Catholicism.
Later she became involved with the linguist Charles Cayley, but declined to marry him, also for religious reasons (he was agnostic).
The third offer came from the painter John Brett, whom she also refused. (‘No Thankyou John’)?
When did depression hit Rossetti?
In 1849 she became seriously ill again, suffering from depression
How did the amount of Christian worshippers change during Rossetti’s lifetime?
By 1851, 60% of the population attended Christian worship regularly
… and by 1901 this decreased to 30%.
Why did Augusta Webster write to Rossetti in the late 1870’s?
To ask for her support in a campaign to give women the right to vote. Rossetti declined.
This means she is contradictory.
She said: “Does it not appear as if the Bible was based upon an understood unalterable distinction between men and women?”
