Christina Rossetti
Our Mothers, lovely women pitiful
Meaning:
This short sonnet poem was written as part of Rossetti’s devotional prose ‘The
face of the deep’. She uses this text proceeding carefully through the book of
Revelation, verse by verse, examining Saint John’s text. She does not create an
intentional timeline of the Apocalypse but rather provides notes of wisdom and
encouragement for Christians hoping to redeem the time until Christ’s return.
‘Our Mothers, lovely women pitiful’ is a poem in which Rossetti explores the
expansive concept of motherhood and sisterhood, perhaps female solidarity as a
whole. And yet there is a sombre tone to the poem as if the speaker is regretful
about the actions and impact of women within society. The poet also touches on
the recurring theme of the transition from heaven to earth, creating this contrast
between humanity and the godliness found in the afterlife.
It could be determined that Rossetti’s writing of this poem is contextual of her
own experiences up until this point in her life, particularly as she had lost both
her sister Maria (1876) followed by her mother (1886). It could be that Rossetti is
writing about the solidarity of women given that she has lost both her closest
female influences; two people she would look forward to seeing once she passes
on to heaven. And yet the bittersweet tone which puts emphasis on the
ineffectuality of women in Victorian society in which women were expected to
occupy the private sphere, depending on men and remaining mostly within the
home. It could be that Rossetti is making a critical comment about Victorian
attitudes towards women, which forced many of her female predecessors to
have fewer opportunities than herself.
And yet we know that Rossetti was not a feminist as this disagreed with her
Tractarian views, so perhaps this is not a feminist comment but rather an ode to
the Christian women who have come before her, thanking these women who
provided her with a religious following.
Structure/ Form:
To some extent the poem follows the form of the Petrarchan sonnet, being that it
consists of one stanza divided into an Octave and a Sestet; the Octave usually
presents a problem which is solved by the Sestet. The poem follows some
conventions of the Petrarchan sonnet as it is indeed split into the Octave and
Sestet. It could be argued that the first half of the sonnet does present a
problem, perhaps that of female history, whilst in the second half of the stanza
we see the change in tone shift slightly as the speaker appears to think of these
women looking back on earth from a better place in heaven, where they have
found ultimate happiness. The poem does follow the form of the traditional
Petrarchan sonnet split directly into octave and sestet with the Volta found on
Our Mothers, lovely women pitiful
Meaning:
This short sonnet poem was written as part of Rossetti’s devotional prose ‘The
face of the deep’. She uses this text proceeding carefully through the book of
Revelation, verse by verse, examining Saint John’s text. She does not create an
intentional timeline of the Apocalypse but rather provides notes of wisdom and
encouragement for Christians hoping to redeem the time until Christ’s return.
‘Our Mothers, lovely women pitiful’ is a poem in which Rossetti explores the
expansive concept of motherhood and sisterhood, perhaps female solidarity as a
whole. And yet there is a sombre tone to the poem as if the speaker is regretful
about the actions and impact of women within society. The poet also touches on
the recurring theme of the transition from heaven to earth, creating this contrast
between humanity and the godliness found in the afterlife.
It could be determined that Rossetti’s writing of this poem is contextual of her
own experiences up until this point in her life, particularly as she had lost both
her sister Maria (1876) followed by her mother (1886). It could be that Rossetti is
writing about the solidarity of women given that she has lost both her closest
female influences; two people she would look forward to seeing once she passes
on to heaven. And yet the bittersweet tone which puts emphasis on the
ineffectuality of women in Victorian society in which women were expected to
occupy the private sphere, depending on men and remaining mostly within the
home. It could be that Rossetti is making a critical comment about Victorian
attitudes towards women, which forced many of her female predecessors to
have fewer opportunities than herself.
And yet we know that Rossetti was not a feminist as this disagreed with her
Tractarian views, so perhaps this is not a feminist comment but rather an ode to
the Christian women who have come before her, thanking these women who
provided her with a religious following.
Structure/ Form:
To some extent the poem follows the form of the Petrarchan sonnet, being that it
consists of one stanza divided into an Octave and a Sestet; the Octave usually
presents a problem which is solved by the Sestet. The poem follows some
conventions of the Petrarchan sonnet as it is indeed split into the Octave and
Sestet. It could be argued that the first half of the sonnet does present a
problem, perhaps that of female history, whilst in the second half of the stanza
we see the change in tone shift slightly as the speaker appears to think of these
women looking back on earth from a better place in heaven, where they have
found ultimate happiness. The poem does follow the form of the traditional
Petrarchan sonnet split directly into octave and sestet with the Volta found on
