Ibsen & Rossetti AO3 + AO5

How many marriage proposals did Rossetti reject?

Three

Who was the first man to propose to Rossetti, and why did their relationship fail?

Collinson proposed to Rossetti when she was 17. He was a painter and member of the Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood. Collinson changed his faith in preparation for marriage with Rossetti, however his conscience forced him to return to his Roman Catholic beliefs and their relationship ended.

Who was Rossetti's second romantic interest?

In her thirties, Rossetti fell in love with Cayley, who was a linguist and poetry translator. Despite them both loving each other, Rossetti felt that she could not get married to Cayley due to his lack of firm religious faith- he was agnostic. They did, however, remain good friends.

Who was the third person to propose to Rossetti?

Brett was, like Collinson, a member of the Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood. It is believed that her poem "No thank you, John" is based on their conversation, in which Rossetti plainly repeats her lack of romantic interest with him. At the end of the poem, she requests friendship instead, which is a gesture not only of agency, but also an assertion of equality.

Contagious Diseases Act- Year

1864

Contagious Diseases Act- Explain

This allowed police officers to arrest any woman they suspected to be a prostitute. They were then permitted to give that woman an examination to prevent the spread of STDs. Those with sexual diseases were then taken to a hospital to be "cleaned" for three months.

Married Women's Property Act- Year

1882

Married Women's Property Act- Explain

Prior to this act, women could not own property, vote or have access to contraceptives.

Anti-suffrage Petition- Year

1889

Anti-suffrage Petition- Explain

Rossetti signed this petitioned as she did not believe that women should go to university and she saw women as politically uniformed, and therefore undeserving of the right to vote.

What was the convent?

A religious community for women, both Protestant and Catholic women used to attend. It was the closest thing that Victorian women had to female solidarity. The day-to-day activities of the Convent were controlled by its members. It was through this organisation that women's issues, like prostitution, unwed mothers and the education of women were addressed.

Where is the convent mentioned in Rossetti's work?

At the end of Goblin Market, Rossetti describes how the girls became mothers with children of their own, without mentioning any men. This could be a reference to the hierarchy within the convent, which was like a mother-daughter relationship.

What did some unwed mothers do with their children?

Some gave them away to the Foundling Hospital- a home for deserted young children.
Others, in desperation, committed infanticide.

When did Rossetti's father die?

When she was 21- may have contributed to her feelings about mortality. He died from sepsis (blood poisoning)

Explain the Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood and hair.

Hair was often a key feature of Pre-Raphelite paintings, in particular ginger and red hair. Within nineteenth-century culture, hair was often exchanged as tokens of love, or kept as mementoes of the dead.

What happened to Dante in later life?

Dante, Rossetti's brother, deteriorated mentally in later life. He became increasingly paranoid that people were out to ruin his reputation and started to become delusional, such as by hearing voices.

Explain Dante's addiction issues.

Dante suffered from insomnia and so tried to combat this using alcohol and choral, a type of drug. This addiction grew and eventually he attempted suicide by taking an overdose of laudanum.

What happened to Rossetti at age 14?

At 14, Rossetti experienced something described as an "extreme nervous breakdown" where she had extreme mood swings and bouts of depression, accompanied with physical symptoms, like heart palpitations, shortness of breath and dizziness. Some doctors privately labelled her condition as "religious mania" as she saw herself as unworthy of Christ's sacrifice and experienced a lot of guilt.

What disease almost killed Rossetti in her 40s?

In her 40s, Rossetti suffered from Graves Disease, which almost killed her. It also ruined her appearance by making her eyes bulge out and made it difficult for her to swallow, as it is an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid gland, which is in the neck.

How did illness impact her perspective?

From a young age, both doctors and Rossetti's family did not think that she would have a long life, which could explain her poetic preoccupation with death and the afterlife.

What did Rossetti die from?

Breast cancer

Give some examples of how Goblin Market is feminist

- Economic inequality between the goblins and the vulnerable young woman. They have the ability to economically bargain with her and request an alternative payment from her- her hair. She hands herself over to them and sacrifices her body in the exchange.

- Sexual domination over the women in the story. You could view Laura as a prostitute as she trades her body and loses her virginity to the men. Laura's physical deterioration could be likened to syphilis.

- Laura's illness could also be symbolic of the metaphorical death of prostitutes during Rossetti's time period, who were socially ostracised.

- The goblins are the only men in the poem and are morally corrupt, evil and inhumane creatures that sexually assault the vulnerable. At the end, Rossetti celebrates female solidarity without men.

How many years did Rossetti work at St. Mary's?

11

Touche

Goblin Market
"Goblin Market's deeper root is sexual frustration"

Williams

Round Tower
"A very conventional pairing"

McGann

Goblin Market
"Christianity is a conscious part of the work"

Palazzo

Goblin Market
"Laura's fall is a fall from sisterhood"

Avery (x3)

"Enclosed or confined psychologically, physically or both"
"So wearing was the oppression of women that annihilation was preferable"
"A clear critique of masculine dominance"

Downey

"Conflicted spiritual journey"
"Love for God eclipsed any mortal love"

Wright

"A motif for female sexuality and repression"

Ledger

"Part of Nora desires to comply with patriarchal social arrangements"
"Rank symbolises the degeneration of the family"

Worral

"Torvald is as much of a victim as Nora"

Duncan

"Nora puts love above legality"

Cron

"Nora's actions are a way of reinforcing an individuals right - regardless of gender - to protect themselves"

Rufus

"His love is only a form of possessing her and exploiting her completely"

Ibsen

"A woman cannot be herself in contemporary society, it is an exclusively male society"

Teale

"Beneath the facade of male power lies a fragility, a sense of crisis or collapse"

Coventry Patmore

Wrote "The Angel in the House"

Aristotle's anagnorisis

Defined as the "transition from ignorance to understanding"

Is A Doll's House a feminist or humanist play?

You could see the play as humanist as Helmer and Nora are forced to see the truth and have to re-construct their identities following Nora's dramatic departure.

However, Nora's progression from childlike, naïve and dependent to self-aware and strong-willed is, in its essence, feminist. By stating that she has duties higher than those "of a wife and mother" - "duties to herself" - Nora liberates herself from the patriarchal institution of marriage.

The loan

In 19th century Norway, it was illegal for a woman to take out a loan without a man acting as a guarantor.

In England, up to what year could a woman be refused a loan without a male guarantor?

1980

How did Germany receive the play?

The lead actress of the German production of the play, who played Nora, was outraged by the ending as she believed that she would never do such a thing. Ibsen was therefore forced to change the ending by his German agent, however, he referred to the altered ending as a "barbaric outrage."

How did Ibsen describe the changed version of the ending?

Barbaric outrage

What was "bourgeois respectability?"

The idea that families within the upper-middle class should have: financial success without debt, upward social mobility, good moral judgement, and a strong, secure patriarchal marriage.

Where was the play banned & why?

It was banned in China and the UK, and an alternative ending was written for German audiences.
It was banned because it rejected conventional feminine behaviour- many felt that Nora leaving her children behind was unnatural. It also intensely critiques marriage and gender roles and challenges male domination.

Describe the religious aspect of the angel in the house.

The ideal Victorian woman was also expected to be a good Christian and to pray regularly, and, for many women, religion was a source of comfort and release. Indeed, it is only when Torvald's dominance is undermined when he refers to religious morals in desperation, when he asks "your religion?"
Patmore's poem is mainly written from the husband's perspective, contributing to the idea that the female voice is silenced.

What popular manual for married women referred to sex as a "sacrifice" and an "ordeal"?

"The child: its origin and development"

What is the new woman?

The new woman was an early term for feminist, used in the nineteenth century to describe a woman who defies convention and pushes against the limits placed on her. Ibsen's contemporaries started to associate his writing with this term, as they felt that, by openly critiquing female oppression, Ibsen was a feminist playwright.

Ibsen, however, never said that he was feminist, instead he claimed to be a humanist writer who was simply observing what he saw in society. He once said that he didn't understand what women's rights were.

What feminist organisation invited Ibsen to do a speech?

Norwegian Women's Rights League

What was the original Norweigan title for the play & why is this relevant?

The original title of the play in Norwegian means a "small cosy home" rather than a house for dolls, which may have helped Victorian audiences to place themselves in Nora's situation and realise their marriage situations.

In what ways could the play be seen as a realist drama?

- The character's flaws are explicit
- He addresses issues within society that all members experience, societal problems such as money, law and women's rights
- There is no romanticised "happy ending"
- Nora's dramatic exit is in keeping with her emotions throughout the play

Who inspired Ibsen to write the play?

8 years before the play was written, Ibsen met a Norwegian woman called Laura Peterson who had taken out a loan without her husbands permission, to save his life.
When her husband found out, he accused her of being an unfit wife and mother and had her sent to a mental asylum, and her children were taken out of her care.