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A review by lynneelue
Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
2.0
This is epic poetry in narrative, which Elizabeth Barrett Browning attempted to give attention to in the Victorian novel-interested audience, and it was very successful. It also nicely gave details about the current culture, focusing for most of the book on life in the mid-nineteenth century. This follows the narrator, Aurora Leigh, from birth to age thirty, from her childhood in Italy to her move to "frosty" England, and back to Italy, from her denied proposal with Romney Leigh to her life with Marian Erle and Marian's baby to her accepted proposal with Romney Leigh. I did not enjoy reading this, because, frankly, I found it boring. Consistently, over 600 lines would pass that could be summarized in a short sentence. In order to get through the book without being so overcome with boredom, I broke my reading time down so I only read 600 lines at a time. It often became philosophical, for instance, about the art of poetry, and I had patience only to skim it. Barrett Browning's lines can certainly be beautiful in their attentive detail; I just don't appreciate it enough. I recognized some of her style included repeating/rephrasing the same line, which was interesting.
I did, however, like the independence and strength of Aurora Leigh. She wants to become a poet, and when faced with the possibility of becoming a wife, she declines it, because she thinks it will ruin her chances of becoming a poet/putting in the time to create poetry. I think she was correct there: 1) Romney Leigh was not mature enough when he first proposes that he would expect her to fulfill wifely duties, and she would not have time to write; 2) he did not believe in marriage for love, whereas she would have wanted that; and 3) he did not consider her poet-aspirations valid because of her gender. So, only in the end, when he fully recognizes the success and value of her poetic aspirations and states his love for her can he be a healthy match for her. As one phrase in the book states, "I am Aurora Leigh": I love the assertive strength of Aurora's character.
I also really appreciated the treatment of Marian Erle's illegitimate child. Aurora discovers the context of the child's existence and does not blame Marian for it. She considers her pure still, not Marian's fault, and takes her in. She does not judge Marian but treats her as a very caring friend would. Housing Marian was so extremely kind, and it enabled Marian and the child to grow in a loving environment rather than a hate-filled and judgmental one as would be common in the period. So I also really liked that.
I did, however, like the independence and strength of Aurora Leigh. She wants to become a poet, and when faced with the possibility of becoming a wife, she declines it, because she thinks it will ruin her chances of becoming a poet/putting in the time to create poetry. I think she was correct there: 1) Romney Leigh was not mature enough when he first proposes that he would expect her to fulfill wifely duties, and she would not have time to write; 2) he did not believe in marriage for love, whereas she would have wanted that; and 3) he did not consider her poet-aspirations valid because of her gender. So, only in the end, when he fully recognizes the success and value of her poetic aspirations and states his love for her can he be a healthy match for her. As one phrase in the book states, "I am Aurora Leigh": I love the assertive strength of Aurora's character.
I also really appreciated the treatment of Marian Erle's illegitimate child. Aurora discovers the context of the child's existence and does not blame Marian for it. She considers her pure still, not Marian's fault, and takes her in. She does not judge Marian but treats her as a very caring friend would. Housing Marian was so extremely kind, and it enabled Marian and the child to grow in a loving environment rather than a hate-filled and judgmental one as would be common in the period. So I also really liked that.