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A review by rubygranger
Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
4.0
I did very much enjoy this -- especially the first two books. Aurora Leigh grows into such a strong, enlivened character. Barrett Browning shows that she is not just intellectually equal, but intellectually superior to the men in her life, and her moral/philosophical beliefs (which are kind of Stoic?) provide much food for thought. A great proto-feminist novel.
This is an Epic Poem, but the plot is far from the kind of thing you find in Homer and Milton. It's a bildungsroman, following the progression of Aurora Leigh as she becomes a writer. This is a world where women are supposed to create art only for their husbands (as she is taught by her aunt in the first book), and so this in itself is a huge mark of resistance. The events documented are fairly domestic but I think the Epic Poem form makes them more important. It positions female experience as something to be respected.
This is an Epic Poem, but the plot is far from the kind of thing you find in Homer and Milton. It's a bildungsroman, following the progression of Aurora Leigh as she becomes a writer. This is a world where women are supposed to create art only for their husbands (as she is taught by her aunt in the first book), and so this in itself is a huge mark of resistance. The events documented are fairly domestic but I think the Epic Poem form makes them more important. It positions female experience as something to be respected.