ArtiFact #22: Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s ”Aurora Leigh” | Jessica Schneider, Alex Sheremet, Ezekiel Yu

ArtiFact: Books, Art, Culture

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 – 1861) was one of the best poets of the 19th century, yet remains little known today and even less read. At a time when feminist literary criticism (among other relevant lenses) is ascendant, how did Barrett Browning go from a much-admired writer to one that is neglected in favor of her literary inferiors? In ArtiFact #22, Jessica Schneider, Ezekiel Yu, and Alex Sheremet tackle her classic novel-in-verse, Aurora Leigh, uncovering depths and dimensions to a work she considered containing her very best poetry.
You may also watch this discussion on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTYi0UMives
Timestamps:
0:18 – Introduction to Elizabeth Barrett Browning & Aurora Leigh – art vs. politics, other -isms; John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” vs. Aurora Leigh; Book 1’s introductory stanza; Christian theology vs. Old Testament myths
16:00 – Book 1; poetic compression; Aurora’s relationship with her parents & how this is conveyed; EBB’s feminist & anti-feminist strains; introducing Romney Leigh as an inverted Victorian trope; contrasts with Jane Eyre; Browning’s prescient critique of liberalism + liberal men; the Victor Erice (El Sur) + Aurora Leigh connection
36:38 – Book 2; Aurora Leigh’s youthful “hubris” & imperfect heroine trope; the understated humor in Aurora Leigh; Zeke pushes back against a Deist reading of the text; uses of Greek/Roman mythology in Aurora Leigh; Virginia Woolf’s (envious) attacks on Browning & EBB’s deep classical education; Browning’s unique spin on feminism; Aurora Leigh angrily rejects Romney Leigh’s marriage proposal
56:45 – Book 3; Aurora Leigh becomes a writer in London, but EBB turns her into an artistic failure; fame vs. genuine achievement & how EBB rejects simply ‘imitating the men’; Aurora Leigh’s thoughts of Romney do not recede; more critiques of faux liberalism via Marian, Romney’s new fiancée; introducing Lady Waldemar as villain; the text’s complex relationship with love and grief
01:14:32 – Book 4; Marian continues her story & meeting of Romney; Aurora Leigh casts doubt on their love as conflating mere charity with love; Aurora Leigh starts to develop feelings for Romney, but why?; EBB’s inversions of ‘goodness’; the material world vs. spiritual underpinnings
01:30:00 – Book 5; one of the philosophically richest books of the text; Aurora Leigh’s “distrust” of Golden Age thinking & how to extract value from the present day; back to Book 4- Marian does not show up to her wedding with Romney, and what this means; the use of women in instrumentalizing men’s identities; more humor from Elizabeth Barrett Browning; Aurora Leigh’s controversial use of “demeaning” language for lower classes
01:47:30 – Book 6; the France/England dichotomy as philosophically rich, but also a literary device; Aurora meets Marian again in France, but rushes to judgment about Marian’s child in the same way others had judged Aurora in the past; a powerful ending
01:57:30 – Book 7; Marian explains she was raped; Aurora writes a letter to Lady Waldemar expressing her rage, inverting some of the tropes of Victorian ‘banter’ in Book 3; painter Vincent Carrington & others praise Aurora’s manuscript, but (yet another) beautiful ending to the book reveals her own ambivalence; the idea that high art has some ethical imperatives
02:23:00 – Books 8 + 9; Aurora confronts Romney about Lady Waldemar, learns that they are not getting married; Waldemar writes an angry letter back to Aurora, absolving herself of the worst accusation; Aurora becomes the romantic aggressor, almost demanding Romney marry her; Romney/Aurora both seem to have grown up; the “blindness” trope- does Elizabeth Barrett Browning indulge in a cliché?; George Eliot & other critics of “Aurora Leigh”
ArtiFact thumbnail © Joel Parrish: https://poeticimport.com
Read Jessica Schneider’s essay on Aurora Leigh: https://www.automachination.com/low-to-the-ground-elizabeth-barrett-browning-aurora-leigh
Read Ezekiel Yu’s essay on Aurora Leigh: https://www.automachination.com/this-verse-in-fire-forever-elizabeth-barrett-browning-aurora-leigh
Read Alex’s (archived) essays: https://alexsheremet.com

Tags: #AuroraLeigh, #ElizabethBarrettBrowning, #ArtiFactPodcast