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Book 4
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. Alone in her chamber, Aurora muses about art and how she doesn’t feel she’s succeeded in making anything great yet, but she’s not afraid to fail. She writes a book-length pastoral poem but feels that it is only a superficially pretty work. Aurora believes it’s still possible to write epic poetry, even though critics say this art form has died out. Though critics might think it’s ridiculous to write heroic poetry about the present, Aurora figures that every age probably seemed commonplace to the people living through it. In fact, Aurora believes it’s a poet’s responsibility to represent their own age.
Aurora’s interest in pastoral poetry (which is about nature) shows how she continues to carry around her memories of the Italian countryside, even as that part of her life becomes more distant in the past. Aurora’s belief that it’s possible to write epic poetry in the present could reflect the intentions of Aurora Leigh itself—the poem takes place in more or less the time period it was written but has an epic length and style that recalls earlier eras.
Themes
Aurora believes that a truly great poet, like any truly great artist, can’t simply write with the goal of receiving praise. True art should do something to represent “the common man.” Aurora is frustrated at how her own work seemingly fails to do this, and she wonders if past writers felt similar doubts. The work of trying to improve is solitary. Aurora feels that people should be satisfied with searching for God’s truth but understands why so much of poetry is about searching for human love.
Once again, while Aurora Leigh is not an exact stand-in for Elizabeth Barrett Browning, many of Aurora’s artistic goals in this passage reflect the goals of Aurora Leigh as a whole. In this passage, Aurora writes of her belief that poems can express truth in a way that’s more important than gaining approval from critics. Critics, after all, are human, and both Aurora and Barrett Browning write about religious themes, which transcend humanity.
Themes
Aurora wonders who loves her, and she thinks of how much she misses her mother and father. She then begins to think of Romney, whom she hasn’t seen now for two years. She hears that he’s transformed Leigh Hall into a place to take care of the poor.
Although Aurora continues to resist the idea that she might love Romney, her thought process here (going from people who might love her to Romney) suggests that she still loves him in spite of how she sometimes resists the idea.
Themes
Aurora goes to a party at Lord Howe’s, where he and his wife are gracious hosts, but something about the whole evening depresses Aurora. Lord Howe likes to speak at length on topics like justice and equality. Lady Waldemar is there, looking beautiful as usual. Aurora overhears a German student at the party gossiping that Romney is about to marry Lady Waldemar. Sir Blaise replies to the German student that it seems Romney has decided to pick someone from the opposite end of the social spectrum to Marian.
Lord Howe’s party is a glimpse of the urban upper class, a group that Aurora has only met incidentally so far. Although Lord Howe is a gracious host, his approach to issues of justice is even more hypocritical than Romney’s—Lord Howe just likes to talk about these issues at parties without taking action. The fact that Aurora first hears of Romney’s potential marriage through Sir Blaise and the German student gossiping shows how important reputation and social status is in this group, with people’s personal decisions like marriage becoming the subject of party conversation for others.
Themes
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Sir Blaise and the young German student argue about the purpose of marriage. The student argues that a man like Romney would reject Venus herself if she didn’t share his same principles, so this means that if he’s marrying the beautiful Lady Waldemar, he must have done something to convert her to his righteous ideas. Sir Blaise finds this unlikely, believing that Romney prefers Lady Waldemar for superficial reasons in spite of himself.
Both Sir Blaise and the German student take a relatively superficial and male-centered view of marriage. Each tries to evaluate Lady Waldemar based on how easily Romney can make her fit with his ideals. They don’t consider Lady Waldemar’s perspective and seem to view even Romney as not having much agency, beholden to either his own principles or to Lady Waldemar’s beauty.
Themes
Lord Howe approaches Aurora, saying he’s been watching her for a while and she looks both calm and sad. He assures her that by talking to her, he’s doing her a favor by preventing some boring guests at the party from coming to find her. He teases her by telling of a gentleman named John Eglinton whom he’s heard has an interest in Aurora. In fact, Lord Howe has a letter from John to Aurora. Aurora protests before even opening the letter that she doesn’t feel she’s ready to love anyone at the moment.
Lord Howe continues to demonstrate that he doesn’t take life seriously, as he teases Aurora and casually insults his other party guests. While Lord Howe’s lack of seriousness can make him a charming host, it is also why he fails to live out his ambitious political ideals. The casual way that Lord Howe offers Aurora a letter from John Eglinton suggests that Lord Howe has no particular interest in what Aurora does with the letter and is simply interested in seeing what happens, reflecting the shallowness of life for the English upper class.
Themes
Lord Howe advises Aurora to at least read John Eglinton’s letter. He says that compromise is necessary in life. Currently, Aurora works hard just to be poor, but if she married, she might have more time to devote to artistic work. But Aurora sees her virtue as being just as important as art—she will not compromise on anything that involves her soul, like marriage.
Like many characters in the novel, Lord Howe has a pragmatic view of marriage that focuses primarily on economic and social status. Unlike Lady Waldemar, he isn’t manipulative and is simply suggesting that it would be pragmatic for Aurora to marry someone who can provide for her while she writes poetry.
Themes
Aurora gets up to leave Lord Howe, but he follows her. The two of them run into Lady Waldemar, who says she’s been waiting for a chance to talk to Aurora all evening. She tells Aurora that she suspects Aurora had a soft spot for Marian, with a poet’s sense of romance, but Lady Waldemar reassures Aurora that Romney never actually loved Marian. Aurora just listens until eventually Lord Howe interrupts, saying that Aurora is tired and must leave.
Lady Waldemar does all the talking in this conversation, not even letting Aurora say anything, showing again how Lady Waldemar doesn’t listen to what others want. Although Lady Waldemar claims to have a true romance with Romney, her actions betray her and reveal that she hasn’t changed her self-absorbed ways.
Themes
When Aurora is back home in her chamber, she wonders why it bothers her so much to see Romney about to marry Lady Waldemar. She knows it’s logical that Romney should want a wife. Still, it saddens her to think of how quickly he has seemingly forgotten both her and Marian now that Lady Waldemar is around. Aurora supposes that Lady Waldemar is a good match for Romney if he’s incapable of love, but if he is capable of love, then she thinks he doesn’t truly love Lady Waldemar.
Aurora’s thoughts continue to suggest that she loves Romney but is unwilling to admit it, even to herself. Aurora is also invested in Romney’s fate because it relates to her own beliefs about romantic love and marriage. If Romney marries Lady Waldemar, the sensible choice in terms of money and status, it suggests that love is not enough to overcome other social pressures, and as a poet, Aurora wants to believe in love.
Themes
Aurora writes a short letter to Lady Waldemar, saying that although she didn’t get to say it in person, she wants to congratulate Lady Waldemar on her engagement to Romney. Aurora second-guesses the letter, not wanting Lady Waldemar to actually reply to it, so she adds a post-script saying that Lady Waldemar shouldn’t reply because Aurora is soon leaving England.
Aurora’s letter to Lady Waldemar shows how Aurora continues to be conflicted. On the one hand, Aurora doesn’t like Lady Waldemar, but on the other, a part of Aurora still wants to be accepted socially. The thought and second-guessing that Aurora puts into the letter shows how seriously she takes her writing, even in relatively small matters like a short letter.
Themes
Aurora has decided she must go back to her old home country of Italy, which she feels has been calling out to her all her life. She fears that she can only sell the manuscript of her long poem for a small amount of money, and the money won’t be available for a while, so she’ll have to also sell some of her father’s books to finance the trip. Aurora feels that the combination of being home and Italy’s rich literary history will help her with her own artistic endeavors.
Aurora’s return to Italy is her attempt to leave behind the repressed culture of England, something that the sensible but seemingly passionless marriage of Lady Waldemar and Romney represents to her. Fittingly, even after his death, Aurora’s father helps her stay connected to her past in Italy, as she sells some of his books to pay for the trip.
Themes
