Aurora Leigh: Analysis of Major Characters
"Aurora Leigh: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex relationships and themes within Elizabeth Barrett Browning's narrative poem, "Aurora Leigh." The central character, Aurora, is a determined woman who challenges societal norms by pursuing her career as a poet over traditional roles of marriage and submission. Despite her struggles with loneliness and societal expectations, she finds strength in her friendships, particularly with Marian Erle, who represents the plight of women victimized by circumstance. Romney Leigh, her cousin, begins as a paternal figure devoted to social reform but faces transformation as he grapples with his feelings for Aurora and his misguided attempts to help Marian. Lady Waldmar serves as a foil to Aurora, embodying the manipulative aspects of the upper class that thwart genuine connections. Other characters, such as Lord Howe and Sir Blaise Delorme, illustrate various social attitudes of the time, contributing to the overarching critique of gender roles and societal constraints. Through these character dynamics, the poem highlights themes of identity, artistic integrity, and the journey toward self-fulfillment for women in a male-dominated society.
Aurora Leigh: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Elizabeth Barrett Browning
First published: 1856
Genre: Poetry and novel (verse novel)
Locale: Italy and England
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: Mid-nineteenth century
Aurora Leigh, a heroic woman who dares to defy contemporary and traditional attitudes toward women, female writers in particular. Bravely, she rejects the security of Romney's proposed “bequest” and offer of marriage to live alone in London, pursuing her career as a poet on very limited funds. She asserts that women can be artists and accepts the loneliness of a single life rather than surrender into the role of a submissive wife. She befriends Marian and offers to take her to Italy as her companion and “sister.” She accurately evaluates Lady Waldmar's evil character and berates her for her villainy, but she is strangely imperceptive of Romney's real feelings and his hints about his blindness. He tells her that she never really knew him if she could really believe he would marry Lady Waldmar. Her quest in search of her identity is triumphantly rewarded when a chastened Romney agrees to marriage on Aurora's terms, a partnership in poetry and social reform.
Romney Leigh, Aurora's cousin, who first appears as a paternal figure as heir of the Leigh estate and as a brother figure to his teenage cousin. His social conscience causes him to dedicate his life to social reform, following some of the typical theorists of the day. Aurora tries unsuccessfully to convince him that reform must come from within the individual. After Aurora refuses to marry him (because his proposal apparently was made without love), he generously offers to marry Marian Erle and thus rescue one poor seamstress from poverty. His generosity is rejected, thwarted by the schemes of Lady Waldmar. After a mob burns his ancestral home, the now blinded Romney arrives in Italy for his last quest as knight-errant, marriage to the socially rejected Marian. Through the efforts of Aurora and Marian, he happily acknowledges Aurora's “superiority” as poet and inspiration for social reform, thus breaking with traditional views on marriageandtheroleofwomen.
Marian Erle, an idealized victim of society and circumstance. She escapes from abusive parents—her mother had intended to “sell” her to the local squire—and eventually is rescued by Romney from a life of destitution. Although socially “inferior,” she agrees to marry him so that she can be his servant and assistant. When she is raped in a Paris brothel, she loses her reputation but insists that because she was an unwilling participant in this sexual act, she retains her purity. She intends to devote her life to rearing the child born as a result of the rape and accepts Aurora's offer of a home with dignity and gratitude. She refuses Romney's gallantry in trying to rescue her again, insisting that she never loved him but had only wanted to repay his generosity by her submission to his life and work. Marian is no longer a victim; with Aurora's help, she emerges as a serene, integrated woman.
Lady Waldmar, a selfish, manipulative, coldhearted woman who represents the worst of the members of the upper class. She ruins Romney's plan to marry Marian by convincing Marian that Romney would be degraded by this alliance. She offers Marian a new start in Australia, but either deliberately or through negligence she causes Marian to be taken to a Paris brothel and raped. Although she denies that this had been her intention, her conduct toward Marian is criminal. She is ostentatious in flaunting her beauty to attract men, presenting an almost bare bosom accented by a heavy rope of pearls at Lord Howe's home. She is not amoral, however, because she accepts the loss of Romney as “punishment” for her treatment of Marian. She writes to Aurora to express her hatred for the winner in the contest for Romney, insisting that she might have become a better woman had she married him. She is further punished by being “erased” from the consciousness of the man she had loved and admired and by being doomed to an empty social life without him.
Lord Howe, an example of the “better” part of the aristocracy, in that he has a social conscience and is particularly kind to Aurora, saving her from the riot created by the mob at Marian's aborted wedding. He is, however, ineffectual; although he is gracious and liberal, he “floats” on various social theories and “could never be anything complete.” He entrusts an important letter for Aurora, explaining Romney's predicament after the mob burns Leigh Hall, to Sir Blaise Delorme, who snubs Aurora in Florence and fails to deliver the important news. He is well intentioned but not dependable.
Sir Blaise Delorme, an example of a Roman Catholic gentleman. He disapproves of Lady Waldmar's exhibition of herself and remarks that wives should be chosen for their virtues and not for display. He also seems to disapprove of Aurora in her alliance with Marian, because he deliberately snubs her in Florence, acknowledging her with only half a bow. He proves untrustworthy as Howe's emissary. His neglect causes Aurora considerable pain as she envisions Romney married to the unworthy Lady Waldmar.
Vincent Carrington, a supportive fellow artist and friend who remains loyal to Aurora throughout her difficulties. He can understand her commitment and discuss art with her. He marries one of Aurora's “disciples,” Kate Ward, who has become a “feminist” because of her admiration for Aurora. Carrington asks for news of Aurora and sends her news of the success of her latest book. He admires her independence and commitment.