Hello and welcome to the second of February’s posts on poets; this time we look at the life of Christina Rossetti, who is regarded as “…one of the Victorian age’s finest poets.”
( “Portrait of Christina Rossetti; head and shoulders, turned slightly to left, hair drawn up into a plaited chignon.” From;File:Christina Rossetti 3.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)
Christina was born on the 5th of December, 1830, she was the youngest of four children born to Italian poet and political exile Gabriele Rossetti, and his wife Frances Polidori. The couple who married in 1826, resided in London where from 1831 Gabriele worked as the chair of Italian at the newly opened King’s College. Christina and her siblings received their early education from their mother, who had been “…trained as a governess and was committed to cultivating intellectual excellence in her family.” A goal she achieved as all four of her children became successful in the world of art, literature, and poetry. Her biographers describe her childhood as being “…by and large a happy,” as grew up surrounded by “…affectionate parental care and the creative companionship of older siblings.” As a child Christina had a fiery temper that she worked hard to control by adulthood, in a letter to her niece she wrote;
“You must not imagine, my dear girl, that your Aunt was always the calm and sedate person you now behold. I, too, had a very passionate temper; but I learnt to control it. On one occasion, being rebuked by my dear Mother for some fault, I seized upon a pair of scissors, and ripped up my arm to vent my wrath. I have learnt since to control my feelings—and no doubt you will!”
By contrast as an adult Christina was described as being “…overscrupulous and excessively restrained.”
From a young age Christina’s work was influenced by multiple sources including the many Italian scholars, artists and revolutionaries who visited her childhood home, and the religious works, classics, fairy tales and novels read to her by her parents. After Christina’s death her brother William wrote a detailed biography of his sister’s life and works, in it he recalled that Christina “…composed her first verse, ‘Cecilia never went to school / Without her gladiator,’ before she was old enough to write.” And, that her first poem was titled “To my Mother on her Birthday,” and written when she was eleven years old. Christina regularly wrote poetry for the family newsletter, “The Hodge-Podge or Weekly Efforts,” which allowed her to experiment with different writing styles.
In the 1840s the Rossetti’s converted from the Evangelical to an Anglo-Catholic faith. Her faith was an important part of Christina’s life and this is reflected in her work, with over half of her catalogue of work being devotional. Her childhood was not without troubles, in 1843 her father became ill and was unable to teach which caused a financial strain. Her mother returned to work as a governess to support the family, with Maria and William working, and Dante Gabriel studying it fell to Christina to remain at home caring for her father. In 1845, Christina fell ill, the cause of her illness was and remains a mystery with one doctor diagnosing a heart condition whilst another claimed she was “…suffering from a kind of religious mania.” Even today biographers can not agree on the cause of her illness with theories ranging from heart trouble, to her symptoms being psychosomatic. Jan Marsh has another theory and suggests there “…may have been an attempt at paternal incest,” and cites “…Christina’s recurring bouts of depression, her lifelong sense of sinfulness, nightmarish poems about a crocodile devouring his kin,…and the recurring motif of an unnameable secret,” as indicators of suppressed sexual trauma.
By the time she was sixteen Christina was regarded as the poet in the family, and in 1847 her grandfather had a collection of her poems titled ‘Verses’ privately printed. The collection was dedicated to her mother and “….received well by the family and friends who read it.” Despite being a teenager, themes of “…mortality, inconstancy, and corruptibility figure prominently.” Christina’s first taste of public recognition came the following year when two of her poems, “Death’s Chill Between” and “Heart’s Chill Between,” were published in the prestigious literary periodical The Athenaeum.
In 1848 Christina became romantically involved with the painter James Collinson who proposed twice; first she refused because James had converted to Roman Catholicism in response he returned to the Church of England, and proposed for a second time, this time Christina agreed, however, the engagement fell apart in the Spring of 1850 when Collinson reverted to Catholicism. Biographers question if Christina had real feelings for James who they consider “…an unlikely suitor.” This was not her only romantic attachment in 1862 Christina began a romance with Charles Bagot Cayley, who was a student of her fathers, however, Christina also rejected his proposal. According to William her rejection was “…on grounds of religious faith.” A third proposal of marriage came from the painter John Brett, once more, Christina declined.
With her fathers health failing to improve, the family’s financial situation continued to worsen, in an attempt to help Christina and her mother ran a small day school in Frome, from March 1853 to February 1854. This was the only time Christina lived outside of London, upon their return the family moved to Albany Street. Gabriele Rossetti died on 26th of April 1854, after the death of her father Christina and her mother moved into her brother William’s house.
(Portrait of Christina Rossetti by Dante Gabriel Rossetti – From:File:Christina Rossetti 2.jpg – Wikimedia Commons)
There are those who depict Christina “…as shrinking from worldly concerns,” which seems uncharitable as she was active in humanitarian work from 1854 when she took over district visiting, which provided assistance to the sick and poor of the parish from her aunt who had joined Florence Nightingale’s nurses. Furthermore, in early 1859, Christina began volunteering with the St. Mary Magdalene Penitentiary in Highgate, which was a charitable institution for the “…reclamation of fallen women.” As an associate she was known as Sister Christina and wore a habit like black uniform with a veil. When on duty she would stay at the penitentiary normally this would be for a two week period. By 1859 her work at Highgate was influencing her work as themes of “…illicit love, betrayal, and illegitimacy,” began to appear in her poems reflecting “…the Victorian concern about prostitution as a social evil.”
In the 1860s Christina corresponded with other female artists, such as Jean Ingelow and Dora Greenwell as well as members of the Portfolio Society, an informal group organised by Barbara Bodichon. She published some of her work in the feminist periodicals The English Woman’s Journal and Victoria Magazine. Between 1864 and 1865 Christina suffered a “respiratory complaint,” whilst convalescing in Hastings she began working on her The Prince’s Progress and Other Poems which was published in 1866. In 1870 Christina’s health once more declined and she was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease, although by 1872 she had recovered, the illness left her appearance altered, her heart weakened and her with the constant fear of a relapse. Following her illness Christina published the first of six volumes of devotional prose; Annus Domini: A Prayer for Each Day of the Year, Founded on a Text of Holy Scripture. In 1876. Christina and her mother left William’s house and moved to Torrington Square, with her aunts. In November of that year, Maria died from cancer.
Biographers describe middle-aged Christina as “…narrowly conservative, reclusive, and overly pious.” Her faith was certainly very very important to her, and she developed a habit of “…stooping to pick up stray pieces of paper on the street lest they have the Lord’s name printed on them.” From 1876, she worshipped at Christ Church, Woburn Square and a fellow member of the congregation recalled;
“…towards the close of her life Christina always sat in the very front pew in church. She remained until the very last before leaving the building, and it was evident from her demeanour that even then she strove to avoid ordinary conversation, evidently feeling that it would disturb her mood of mind.”
Christina was never a social butterfly and preferred to remain in her intimate circle of family and friends, and often felt self-conscious of her fame. Despite her reclusive nature she became more politically outspoken as she aged, speaking out against slavery, imperialism, military aggression, testing on animals, the Suffragist movement and petitioned for legislation to protect children from prostitution and sexual exploitation. She would be approached by aspiring writers who would send her their work leaving her “…torn between kindness and honesty regarding the merit of the work.”
In 1882 Christina lost her brother Dante Gabriel, followed by her mother in 1886, her aunt Charlotte in 1890, and her Aunt Eliza in 1893. The last of her six devotional studies, The Face of the Deep: A Devotional Commentary on the Apocalypse, published in 1892, this like her first work was dedicated to her mother but this time the dedication read: “…for the first time to her beloved, revered, cherished memory.” In 1892 Christina was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy which was carried out in her own home, tragically the cancer returned the following year and Christina died on the 29th of December, 1894. She was buried on New Year’s Day 1895 in the family grave on the west side of Highgate Cemetery.
Chrisitna was a successful poet in her lifetime and her appeal continues with modern audiences, of all her works it is perhaps the Goblin Market, published in 1862 that modern audiences know; in it is one of my favourite quotes which feels a fitting way to end this post because sisters whether kin or adopted make life better.
“For there is no friend like a sister
In calm or stormy weather;
To cheer one on the tedious way,
To fetch one if one goes astray,
To lift one if one totters down,
To strengthen whilst one stands.”
Written by Gemma Apps.
Sources:
Goblin Market and Other Poems – By Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti: A Literary Biography by Jan Marsh
Christina Rossetti 2.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
Christina Rossetti 3.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
Sagas of She 
