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Book 3
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
Marian continues telling Aurora about how she worked as a seamstress for about a year until the next time she saw Romney. A fellow seamstress named Lucy got sick, and Marian took it upon herself to try to nurse Lucy back to health, sitting by her bed and losing her own seamstress job. Lucy slowly faded away and eventually died. When a man came to collect the corpse, Marian realized suddenly that it was Romney. She silently vowed not to be parted from him again. She hoped Romney wouldn’t be angry at her for leaving behind the job he arranged for her, but he started coming by often to visit.
The death of Lucy shows again how difficult life was for the lower classes in England at this time. Marian’s decision to sacrifice her own job to help Lucy, in spite of how little Marian herself has, shows how Marian is a good and generous person. Marian’s intense devotion to Romney could be a sign that, unlike Lady Waldemar, she loves Romney on a deeper level, but it could also be a sign that Marian just wants to be a “helpmate” partner to Romney, in the type of unequal relationship that Aurora rejected.
Themes
One day, Romney told Marian that he believes all people are equal and that class is a false idea to keep people apart. He felt that in spite of their class differences, Marian should be his wife. When Aurora interrupts to ask if Romney loves Marian, she says that he loves everything, which includes her. Aurora considers this and wonders to herself if what Romney feels for Marian really is love.
Marian’s answer that Romney loves everything equally, not just her, is very revealing about his character. It suggests that Romney does not in fact have strong romantic feelings toward Marian and that maybe Marian can even sense this. And so, the question for Aurora becomes whether this type of affection is enough or whether Aurora should try to intervene in Romney’s upcoming marriage.
Themes
Marian tells Aurora she feels more fit to be Romney’s “handmaid” than his wife, but she’s determined to do her best. Just then, Romney himself enters, surprised to see Aurora. She explains that Lady Waldemar sent her. The two of them speak amiably, but with a tension that Aurora notices. She tells Romney that she understands why he wants to marry Marian and wishes him well. Romney promises to live with his new wife as proudly as if she came from royalty.
Marian’s feelings of unworthiness to be Romney’s wife further show the inequality in their relationship. Romney’s claims that he wants to live with his new wife proudly also have an ambiguous meaning. While he seems to be saying that he is proud of Marian, his wording could also unintentionally suggest that he is proud of himself for choosing Marian, once again showing how his charity efforts are also about making himself look good.
Themes
As Aurora leaves, Romney follows her. He says the area is dangerous and that he should walk with her for a while. They walk quietly, with Aurora still unable to decide how she feels about Romney and why he makes her uncomfortable even though she doesn’t hate him. He takes her to her door and says goodnight.
Romney and Aurora’s walk in this passage hints that even as Romney is about to marry Marian, Aurora and Romney may still have feelings for each other. This walk recalls Aurora’s days living back at Leigh Hall and shows that as much as Aurora tries to reinvent herself in London, she still remains drawn to the past, particularly Romney.
Themes
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A month passes. Aurora feels that her visit has helped justify Romney and Marian’s match, while offering no help to Lady Waldemar, as least as far as Aurora can tell. Eventually the day of the wedding comes. The whole event is full of poor and sick people that Romney knows from his charity work. Aurora is moved by pity and filled with unease by these people, thinking the wedding feels more like a funeral. Aurora talks with the bridesmaids, who keep thinking they see Marian arriving, but it’s not her.
The poor people at Romney’s wedding give it a depressing mood, but in many ways, this seems to be a status symbol for Romney, who uses the wedding as an excuse to show off his own generosity. The fact that these people are the guests at Romney’s wedding and not friends or family suggests that he has given himself over fully to his charity work, neglecting his personal relationships.
Themes
Aurora asks Romney’s aristocratic but radical friend, Lord Howe, what’s going on with the delay. He isn’t sure but thinks that maybe Marian has lost her mind, just like Romney already has. Aurora can tell Lord Howe doesn’t approve of Marian. Lord Howe admits this and says that Romney only likes to play at love, like an actor. All of a sudden, there’s a murmur among the wedding crowd.
Lord Howe is sociable but has a mischievous streak, as shown by his willingness to gossip with Aurora about Romney and Marian’s flaws. Lord Howe claims to have radical politics but still clearly looks down on Marian for being lower class, showing how he isn’t serious about living out his ideals.
Themes
Romney reads a letter on the altar and gasps. He says there will be no marriage, so everyone should go home. But many in the wedding crowd don’t believe his story. They believe Romney has tricked and taken advantage of Marian because she’s poor, so they start to attack Romney. Aurora is so shocked by all this that she passes out.
Romney wanted to look righteous and charitable at his wedding, but instead, the guests turn on him and accuse him of being selfish. While the guests accuse Romney of something he didn’t do, there is arguably something false at the core of the wedding, which was not based on mutual love.
Themes
Aurora wakes up and learns that Lord Howe helped get her out of the crowd. A couple hours later, Lord Howe brings Aurora the letter that Marian sent to Romney to be delivered at the wedding. It wishes Romney goodbye, saying that Marian isn’t good enough for him. For days after reading the letter, Aurora tries to make sense of it and how Marian seems to love Romney but resists marrying him.
Romney wanted to find a woman to marry who was beneath him, but instead, he found a woman who felt so far beneath him that she refused to marry him. This irony further shows why in spite of his supposedly charitable ideals, Romney takes the wrong approach to marriage and seemingly doesn’t know how to form connections with people on a personal level.
Themes
Romney searches for Marian, who has gone missing, for days, then weeks, with no luck. Aurora hints that it’s possible Lady Waldemar intervened in some way to convince Marian to send that letter, but Romney doesn’t want to hear it, saying that Lady Waldemar herself has been sick with worry ever since Marian disappeared. Romney admits that when he and Aurora argued so many years ago, she may have had a point: Aurora’s decision to chase her dream as a poet in London has ruined no one else’s life, while Romney’s decision to do charity work hasn’t changed much and may have even had unintended negative consequences for people like Marian.
Romney’s decision to trust Lady Waldemar, who is clearly selfish and manipulative, shows once again how Romney uses bad judgment in personal relationships. Still, Romney also shows growth as a character as he admits that he judged Aurora too harshly all those years ago. The public embarrassment of his failed marriage forces Romney to reconsider his actions and realize that, while the goal of improving the world may be noble, there are flaws in Romney’s approach to it.
Themes
Aurora tries to reassure Romney, saying that with the charity work he does, he is like the first nail holding together wood, which doesn’t realize how important it is. Romney accepts the encouragement and in turn encourages Aurora to keep trying to make great art. They part ways, and Aurora has more respect for Romney than she did before.
This conversation between Aurora and Romney, which leaves each of them feeling more positive about the other, shows how each has grown as a character. Both of them have failed in their big youthful ambitions (for Aurora to become a poet and for Romney to change the world), but these failures haven’t discouraged them and have helped them each to learn something about themselves.
Themes
