‘Maude Clare’ by
Christina Rossetti
A brief summary of the story:
Thomas, who is clearly an aristocratic individual, marries a
woman of similar status called Nell. This is a marriage which Thomas’ mother clearly
approves of and is pleased with. However, Maude Clare, who is not of the same social
status as the others, attends the wedding and implies that there was once a
relationship between Thomas and herself, whilst offering wedding ‘gifts’ that
represent the relationship that they had. Nell is happy to accept these ‘gifts’,
as she is happy that she was the one that he married and pledges to “love him
till he loves me best”.
What point is Rossetti making about the Victorian class
system in this poem?
Rossetti challenges the Victorian class system from the very
beginning of ‘Maude Clare’, “Maude Clare was like a queen”. Rossetti immediately creates the impression
that Maude Clare is the one with the authority as the status of a “queen”, is a
stark contrast to that of a “village maid”, which is how Rossetti describes
Nell. Despite the fact that Maude Clare is very separate from Thomas and Nell,
and doesn’t really fit into their world, which is shown by the use of the
pronouns, “them” and “she” which immediately separates her from them, Rossetti
still suggests that Maude possesses a certain authority that Nell simply does
not. Rossetti uses the imagery of a stereotypical class system, by using the
words “queen” and “village maid”, to challenge the Victorian class system as
she applies the role of “queen” to Maude Clare instead of Nell.
Rossetti makes the mother of Thomas the first to speak, as
being the eldest and being an aristocratic member of society, she would have
had great power and would have been one of the people who approved the
marriage. It would therefore be expected that Thomas or Nell would be the next
to speak, but instead it is Maude Clare. Maude Clare would have been the lowest
in the class system out of all of the individuals in this poem, yet
surprisingly she speaks the most. Rossetti could be highlighting how powerless
Maude is despite her powerful words. However, Rossetti could also be implying
that despite Maude’s poor social standing, she has the most power in the poem,
as she dominates the poem with her speech and renders Thomas without words, “he
faltered in his place”. This shows how much power Maude Clare has over him as
she is still able to make him “falter” despite the fact that she is far below
him in the class system.
Nell is the last to speak. Perhaps this is representative of
the fact that Nell was the one who got to marry Thomas and therefore has the
last word to represent her victory. However, I think that this could also be
representative of how, despite her social class, Nell does not have the power
that Maude Clare has as Thomas does not love her the way that he loves Maude
Clare. Maude Clare also possesses the
natural superiority that Nell does not, “though you’re taller by the head, much
more wise and much more fair”. According to Darwin’s theory of ‘Survival of the
fittest’, Maude should have been the one to marry Thomas , and Nell is even
aware of how “much more” naturally superior Maude Clare is and the use of the
word “though” suggests that Nell knows that in other circumstances Maude Clare
would have gotten to marry Thomas. However, the Victorian class system takes none
of this into account. Perhaps Rossetti is suggesting that the class system at
the time is unnatural?
Furthermore, Nell’s speech reflects the image that Rossetti
creates of a “village maid”, as Nell is happy to take up the ‘scraps’ that
Maude Clare offers, “what you spurn I’ll wear”. The words “spurn” connotes the image of
rubbish or not wanted things and the use of the words “I’ll wear” suggests that Nell has no concerns or doubts
about having what Maude is finished with which suggests that she lacks the pride
that Maude Clare has and displays when she says, “I wash my hands thereof”. This
line shows that Maude Clare will not beg
but simply accepts that she cannot marry Thomas and offers Nell the “paltry
love” that she knows will let Nell down too. Therefore, despite her low position
in the Victorian class system, Maude Clare has a sense of superiority that Nell
lacks and despite the power that Thomas’ mother has over him, she cannot stop
Thomas from loving Maude Clare due to Maude Clare’s natural superiority.
Christina Rossetti – Context
Working
Opportunities
Christina Rossetti
lived and wrote in mid to late nineteenth century England, when women were
limited as to what they could do. Although they did not exist in complete
separate spheres to men, as many working class women had to work to support
their families, their occupational opportunities were limited and it wasn’t
until the end of the nineteenth century that new occupational opportunities
became available to women such as shop assistants and typists. Having said
this, women were expected to give up their jobs after getting married and this
reflects the belief at the time that women were ‘motherly’ figures. The
suffragette movement during this time saw an increase in the number of women
protesting for a change in womens rights through writing and campaigns.[1]
Male Perceptions of
Women’s Poetry
Critics were known
to have separate expectations for male poets and women poets and this was shown
in a critic’s review of Rossetti’s poetry, “there is not much thinking in them,
not much high or deep feeling….they are melodious and sweet”. The critic
suggests that Rossetti’s poetry is more “quaint” than meaningful and this sets
her aside from many male poets. Rossetti’s own brother was also known to
challenge Rossetti’s ability, “came into her head and her hand obeyed the
dictation”. He suggests that she is inspired simply by chance and implies that
she does not put much thought into her poems like a serious poet would. Despite
saying this, not all critics were known to disregard her poetry and she did
have many admirers, an example being Alernon Charles Swinburne, who was also a
poet.[2]
Eductaion and
Childhood
At the time of Rossetti’s
childhood it was not compulsory for women to go to school in order to receive an
education as this was only introduced in 1870, however, Rossetti’s parents both
believed that it was important for women to learn reading and writing skills,
having both of her parents been educated themselves. Rossetti, therefore, was a
writer from an early age. Rossetti looked upon her childhood as not only a
joyous period, but also a sad one as she noted that childhood is the time when
you become aware of death. During this historical period death would have been
a harsh reality for many children, as a lack of sanitation and understanding of
disease causing micro-organisms would have meant that deaths in the family
would have been frequent. Much of Rossetti’s poetry focuses on death.[3]
Religious views and
her views on the role of women
After a female poet
wrote to Christina asking her to support the campaign for women’s right to
vote, Rossetti refused, stating that the Bible showed an “unalterable
distinction between men and women”.
However, she has her speaker compare the life of a wife to the life of a
slave which shows that she was aware of the disadvantages of women at the time.
[4] The women in Rossetti’s family were High Church Anglicans and Rossetti
herself was very religious. She was diagnosed at the time as having ‘religious
mania’ as a teenager after having suffered a nervous breakdown. [5]
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