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Book 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Aurora Leigh, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Marriage, Equality, and Social Class
Feminism and Women’s Roles
Art and Truth
Justice, Art, and Love
Summary
Analysis
Time passes and Aurora gets to be 20 years old, although she still doesn’t feel complete as either a woman or an artist. She tries to reassure herself that many poets weren’t fully appreciated until after their deaths. One day while Aurora is out walking with Romney, she makes a wreath out of ivy to wear on her head. Romney isn’t amused and makes Aurora feel foolish. He hands her a book of poetry that he found down by the stream, which he noted has Greek written in feminine handwriting in the margins. He says the books seems to be full of witchcraft, so it must belong to Aurora.
Some of the poets Aurora mentioned reading earlier, including John Keats and Lord Byron, increased in fame and critical reputation after their deaths. The ivy wreath that Aurora puts on her head is a traditional symbol of poets that goes back to ancient times. Aurora’s decision to put the wreath on herself may be premature, given how early she is in her poetic career, but it's also a sincere sign of how her own poetic work connects her to the poets of the past. The image is also important because poetry in Aurora’s time was predominantly (although not exclusively) published by men, making Aurora’s choice to crown herself a bold one.
Themes
Becoming a little less serious, Romney says that Aurora seems too busy being “a witch, a poet, a scholar, and the rest” to also be a woman. Aurora replies that by necessity all poets are men or women. She takes the wreath off her head but swings it about playfully as they walk. Romney doesn’t notice she still has the wreath at first, but when he sees it, he tells her it’s time to take life more seriously. He says that life for humans is no longer like it was in the Garden of Eden, and now people have to work for a living, having no time for idle thoughts.
Like his aunt, Romney believes that being a woman means fulfilling specific roles and duties in society. By contrast, Aurora believes that a woman can be anything, including a poet, suggesting that she does not believe in the same rigid gender roles. Aurora’s decision to take the wreath off her head could suggest a willingness to repress part of herself for Romney’s approval. Still, her playful swinging of the wreath by her side reflects how she hasn’t abandoned her poetic dreams, just pushed them out of sight, reflecting the growing split between her external and internal lives.
Themes
Romney accuses Aurora and women in general of being irrational and cold-hearted, weeping over one sick child, but ignoring wider suffering. For this reason and others, he believes she’ll never be a poet, saying that she pretends to be an artist in the same way that a child pretends to fight with a sword. He talks dismissively about how people like to honor female writers as an excuse to talk in self-congratulatory ways about the countries that produce these women writers.
Although Aurora portrays herself as naïve and still growing as a poet at this age, in this passage, it is Romney who comes across as even more immature. While Romney insults women for weeping over one sick child but ignoring wider suffering, by the end of the novel, he’ll realize that learning to care for one person on a personal level can be even more important than pursuing abstract ideals of justice.
Themes
Aurora interrupts Romney. She says she knows her own limitations but would rather “pursue a frivolous trade by serious means than a sublime art frivolously.” Romney agrees that Aurora’s goals may be noble, but he talks about how the earth is corrupt, and how although previous generations claimed to be civilizing the world, they built civilization on “dead man’s bones,” making the result doomed to fail.
Aurora’s awareness of her own limitations as a poet suggests growing maturity, as she begins to learn how her work differs from that of her idols. Although Romney continues to be condescending in his words to Aurora, he does bring up some points that Aurora can agree with—like the idea that “civilization” is not always a good thing, leading to the current repressed state of English society.
Themes
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Aurora asks if Romney believes in God, and he says he does, but he sympathizes more with humanity than with God. He takes no comfort in the possibility of the afterlife, just as an extinct mastodon would take no comfort knowing that elephants still roam the earth. Romney’s soul feels heavy when he thinks of how much humanity has suffered, and he doesn’t think Aurora understands.
Aurora is a Christian, and the poem itself is full of Christian themes, including drawing a connection between nature’s beauty and God’s presence. This means that Romney’s rejection of God is a further sign of his arrogance. While his goal of helping humanity has some basis in Christian ideas, his focus on earthly suffering and the material world (rather than the soul and the afterlife) suggests that his version of Christianity is short-sighted.
Themes
Aurora replies by saying she knows she is less experienced than Romney and that women in general seem younger than men of the same age. But she argues that a child can still say amen to a prayer made by a bishop, and she still believes she can understand the things Romney is saying to her, wanting to hear more. Romney surprises her by saying that what he really wants is for Aurora to marry him.
Aurora’s feeling that women are younger than men of the same age reflects how English society has infantilized women, giving them less power and autonomy than men in the same circumstances. Aurora uses a religious example to show how young and inexperienced people can still contribute something valuable in God’s eyes, suggesting that despite women’s lower place in English society, they are just as important to God.
Themes
Aurora complains that if she’s really as weak as Romney describes her, then it’s inconsistent for him to also believe that she’d make a good wife. Romney says his words aren’t contradictory, and his criticisms of her have nothing to do with his belief in her good qualities. He believes women aren’t suited to art but are very well suited to “duty.” Aurora says Romney doesn’t really want a full woman as his wife, just a “helpmate” to aid him in achieving his own causes. She rejects his proposal.
This passage shows how even when confronted with his own contradictions and hypocrisy, Romney maintains that he’s right. Being confronted only causes Romney to become more extreme in his belief that women have a specific, limited role to play in society. In turn, Aurora becomes more pointed in her criticism of Romney, showing how he only sees her as an extension of himself and his own life goals rather than as a full person with her own ideas. Aurora’s rejection of Romney shows that in a marriage decision, she cares about things beyond just wealth (which Romney has), instead looking for a deeper connection.
Themes
Romney is disappointed and in a state of disbelief at first when Aurora rejects him. He says she still has the wrong idea and that he’ll die without her love. But Aurora replies that Romney only sees women as a supplement to men, not as people with their own lives. She admits that she may not be ready yet to compose great works of poetry, but she believes there’s something noble in the aspiration to create something great. She loves art and doesn’t care if Romney approves or not.
Romney’s inability to accept Aurora’s rejection further shows how he has deluded himself. Rejecting Romney helps Aurora to become more confident in her decision to pursue poetry. In a novel where many characters consider securing a favorable marriage to be the most important goal in life, Aurora’s decision to focus on her artistic goals is radical and demonstrates, radically for the time, that women can do things independently of men.
Themes
Later, Aurora will wonder what would’ve happened if she’d accepted Romney’s proposal. Even at the time, she does admire some things about him, but looking back, she still doesn’t regret any of her words to him, feeling certain that she and Romney don’t love each other. After the failed proposal, Romney and Aurora finish their walk and make it back to Leigh Hall. Aurora’s aunt invites them in, but Romney informs Aurora’s aunt that Aurora has “dismissed” him from the property, and so he leaves. Her aunt thinks it was rude for Aurora to send him away, not knowing the reason, so Aurora explains his proposal.
Although Aurora sounded confident in her rejection of Romney in the previous sections, this passage shows how, in fact, she is more conflicted. Her thoughts now about not loving Romney take on a different meaning later in the story and perhaps reflect how even in spite of her discovery of poetry, she is still repressed at this point in the story and uncomfortable with romantic feelings. This once again shows how Aurora’s internal life is more complicated than her external life. Romney continues not to see this internal side of Aurora, taking her rejection as absolute.
Themes
Aurora says to her aunt that Romney spoke to her condescendingly during his proposal and didn’t seem to actually care about her. Her aunt accuses her of having too-high standards, believing that Romney is more than suitable for Aurora. She explains to Aurora that even though Aurora is her father’s sole descendant, because Aurora isn’t male, her family’s money will actually go to Romney, leaving Aurora broke. Marrying Romney is the only way to keep the money. Vane Leigh, Romney’s father, had been planning on Romney and Aurora’s wedding since practically their births. Her aunt admits that Romney is a little idealistic with unrealistic ideas about how to improve the world, but she says this is only a minor flaw.
Like many characters in the novel, Aurora’s aunt thinks of marriage in unromantic, practical terms. For her, it makes perfect sense for Aurora to marry Romney because otherwise Aurora will lose the family money. Furthermore, the marriage helps to fulfill tradition by carrying out the wishes of Romney’s father. These reasons for marriage may make logical sense, but they have nothing to do with personal love, which Aurora—and the novel as a whole—argues is the essential element of any lasting partnership. Interestingly, even Aurora’s aunt can see the flaws in her favorite relative, Romney, suggesting that she prioritizes different things than Aurora does.
Themes
Aurora insists that she’s glad she rejected Romney, and her aunt accuses her of having a fever. Aurora tries to pacify her aunt, saying she believes God led her to reject Romney this morning and that it’s for the best. Her aunt tells Aurora she’s being foolish—she herself feels certain that Aurora loves Romney based on how she acts when he’s around. Although Aurora blushes at this, she feels she doesn’t do so out of love.
Although Aurora is generally both a sympathetic and a reliable narrator, this passage raises the question of whether or not she is being honest about her feelings toward Romney. Aurora’s aunt, who lives alone in an isolated old house, may not be the best authority on love, but Aurora’s blushing in response to the question of whether she loves Romney raises the possibility that perhaps she does love him and is still afraid to confront her feelings.
Themes
After her conversation with her aunt, Aurora grows sad, thinking of how her friendship with Romney has now come to an end. She figures that since she has rejected the help of people like Romney, she must learn to help herself. Later that day, Aurora receives a note from Romney where he apologizes if he spoke harshly earlier. In the note, he repeats his marriage offer. Aurora writes back a note replying that she isn’t angry with Romney, but she still doesn’t love him.
Just as Aurora seems to be softening her feelings toward Romney, Romney reveals that he learned nothing by trying the same proposal again. Aurora’s decision to be independent can be interpreted as a feminist message, as Aurora shows that she doesn’t need a man in her life to be subservient to. But it is also a sign of her continued repression and unwillingness to let other people into her life at this point.
Themes
The next few weeks pass quietly. Romney doesn’t visit Leigh Hall, and Aurora’s aunt doesn’t scold her. Six weeks after Romney’s proposal, Aurora is shocked one day to see her aunt sitting totally still in her usual chair, dead, holding an unopened letter, the contents of which no longer seem to matter.
In death, Aurora’s aunt looks much the same way she did in life, paused in the middle of the everyday activity of opening a letter. This reflects how even when she was still alive, Aurora’s aunt lived a lonely, isolated life that was a little bit like death.
Themes
Aurora sees Romney for the first time since his proposal at her aunt’s funeral, and the meeting is cordial but awkward. At the reading of the will, Aurora learns that she’s inherited all her aunt’s money. It’s not much, but more than she ever expected to inherit. Romney offers to also pay her an income, given that he has inherited Romney’s father’s fortune, which is considerably greater than the aunt’s. He believes it’s only the honorable thing for him to do.
The fact that Aurora doesn’t inherit her father’s money hints at the gender discrimination baked into English culture, making it more difficult for women like Aurora to have enough money to live, in turn making it harder for them to be independent. Although Romney offers to try to offset this injustice, he still does so in a paternalistic way to show off his own goodness, rather than for Aurora’s sake alone.
Themes
Aurora turns down any money from Romney. She learns that in fact, the money that her aunt left her in her will was a gift from Romney, as a way to make it so the aunt was technically in possession of the money, leaving something for Aurora. Aurora asks when this transaction occurred, and Romney admits it was the day before the aunt’s death. Aurora says she thinks this is the same letter she saw in her aunt’s hand when she died—her aunt never actually read it. Aurora produces the letter and tears it up. Romney is shocked. After a few moments of silence, he asks Aurora what she’ll do now.
Although Aurora needs money, her decision not to accept it from Romney shows that she doesn’t want to be dependent on him. She tears up the letter in order to make it so she can’t change her mind in the future. This dramatic gesture is a way for Aurora to demonstrate her confidence that she is strong enough to survive on her own without Romney’s help or pity. Romney’s attempts to help Aurora, while misguided and perhaps self-righteous, nevertheless hint at his realization of the ways in which society marginalizes women.
Themes
Aurora tells Romney she’ll move to London. She wants to be a writer and either succeed or fail on her own terms. He wishes her the best, then says he supposes he will have to busy himself with his own work, which includes social causes like helping at orphanages. Aurora can tell he doesn’t approve of her decision and is still judging her. They part, and several years pass.
As Book 2 ends, Aurora and Romney go off in different, seemingly opposite directions to find satisfaction in life. On the surface, Aurora’s decision to pursue art and personal growth may seem like the opposite of Romney’s goal to improve society on a larger scale. But ultimately, both Aurora and Romney have a similar experience of thinking they can find fulfillment in life without personal love, only to realize later that it’s something they need in their lives.
Themes
