‘NO, THANK YOU, JOHN’ INITIAL ASSESSMENT

In the poem ‘No, Thank you, John’, Christina Rossetti uses a persona to challenge the patriarchal views held by society in the Victorian times – the time this poem was written. The speaker begins by telling ‘John’ that it wasn’t her fault he “made her his toast”. This suggests that the character the poem is addressed to has lied, and told everyone he was in a relationship with the speaker. The word “made” projects that the speaker was forced into this and had no say, making them seem weak. However, Rossetti juxtaposes this view by portraying an assertive view throughout the rest of the poem from the speaker. In the following stanza, the speaker declares her pity for John, by saying “pity on you”, making her seem more powerful than him. This challenges the patriarchal society that existed at the time the poem was written, and shows an unusual female dominance over men. The assertive tone used by the persona is also unusual, as women were expected to fit into society’s ideas of being ladylike and feminine. Women living in the Victorian era were also expected to obey their husbands and respect other men, as they were more powerful than them. This expectation was held until the women’s suffrage became a national movement in 1872. Masculine-like assertiveness is progressed as the speaker continues addressing John throughout the poem, stating that she would “rather answer ‘no’ to fifty Johns, than answer ‘yes’” to him. Using humour as a defence mechanism, the speaker is perhaps mocking John’s attempt to give her affection. This highlights the power the persona has, which contrasts to the idea that she was “made” to be in a relationship with John. Having this juxtaposition makes the audience even more aware of her power and dominance over John, despite how society expected women to behave.

Rossetti also uses a persona in this poem to relate love and relationships to a battle or war. By using the word “treaty”, the speaker makes it known that she wants peace between her and John. As a “treaty” is used to declare peace after battle, the poet immediately links the speaker’s relationship with John to a battle. This may link to the context of the poem, as this poem was written around the same time as the woman’s suffrage movement, a battle for rights. In saying this, the speaker may be ‘battling’ against John’s affection, as because she is a woman she evidently is less powerful than him and has to fight for her rejection to be heard. The speaker’s assertiveness also relates to a soldiers tone of voice. “Rise above” almost commands John to get over the speaker, as a soldier may be commanded to battle, or to follow orders. This may imply that the speaker wants John to fight against his affection for her as at the time the poem was written, men were seen as the more strong and powerful sex, and were expected to be less emotive as women. The use of caesura emphasises the command, as it halts the rhythm of the poem and therefore makes the command stand out. This is almost as if the calm is disrupted and a slight aggression is released from the speaker, making her seem more commanding and powerful, similarly to a high-ranking soldier.

Christina Rossetti also breaks the rhythm in the poem when the speaker mocks John. At the beginning of the fourth stanza, the speaker says “I have no heart?”, perhaps sarcastically questioning one of John’s insults towards her. This question breaks the speaker’s rhythm in the poem, implying that she is amazed at his critism. The speaker also mocks John when she says he is “mad to take offense” at her rejection, and tells him “use your common sense”. Again, projecting her assertiveness, the speaker mockingly treats John as if he’s a child as opposed to her lover. This links to the idea that Rossetti uses the speaker to declare her negativity towards the patriarchal society of the time, and implies that she thinks male dominance over females is comical.

MAUDE CLARE

PLOT:

The poem is about a woman named Maude Clare, who was romantically involved with a man named Lord Thomas, despite being of a lower class. The story in the poem begins when Maude Clare follows Lord Thomas and a woman named Nell into a church on their wedding day. However, Lord Thomas is unable to marry Maude Clare, although they love each other, because of their difference in classes. Lord Thomas’s mother is also featured at the beginning of the play, reinforcing the idea that he is expected to marry someone of the same class as him, no matter whether he loves them or not.

CHARACTERS:

Maude Clare:

·         Naturally poetic and authorative, makes her seem more powerful despite her class.

·         Speaks the most in the poem, highlights that she is of a lower class so her words have less effect, and needs to speak more.

·         Uses gift ritual at weddings ironically, her gifts have no materialistic value to people of a higher class; her memories are the most valuable thing to her, as she is of a poor class.

Nell:

·         Speaks last in the poem, has the final say – which may suggest that class is more powerful than love.

·         Juxtaposition – ‘and what you leave I’ll take’, beggar like, picking up the scraps, like lower class citizens.

·         Takes Maude Clare’s most valuable possession – her memories with her lover, which highlights that higher classes get the best in society, from lower classes.

·         (relating to above point) this may relate to money and material wealth, the higher classes take from lower classes, because of their status.

Mother:

·         Is the first person to actually speak, highlights that her influence is most powerful – she is the most powerful person out of all of the characters.

·         ‘Had just your tale to tell’ – she was in the same situation, persuading her son to marry this woman for their reputation, rather than for his happiness.

·         ‘With smiles, almost with tears’ – quite unusual as she’s more happy that her son is marrying someone for wealth and status, not for his feelings for them. This highlights that people of a higher class may care more about wealth and status than romance and affection.

‘WHAT POINT DO YOU THINK ROSSETTI IS MAKING ABOUT THE VICTORIAN CLASS SYSTEM?’

I think that Rossetti uses each of the characters to represent the importance of class and wealth in the Victorian times. She uses this story to project to her audience that society at the time the poem was written cared more about possession and status than they do love and happiness. She uses the character ‘Lady Nell’ to show that although the lower class character ‘Maude Clare’ has her husband’s heart, she doesn’t have the status and high class that Nell does, so is unable to be with him. Rossetti also shows the heavy influence that parents had on people of high classes, as the character of the Lord’s mother is shown to be the most powerful in the poem. This character is the first to speak, which highlights her authorative influence from the start of the poem. Although she doesn’t say much, especially in comparison to Maude Clare, she is clearly more influential over Lord Thomas as he listens to her advice to marry Nell, and is not persuaded to go back to Maude Clare at all. Relating to context, men born into higher classes in Victorian times were expected to carry on the family name with another woman of a high class. It would have been frowned upon for the character of Lord Thomas to marry Maude Clare, because of her lower social class.

Christina Rossetti: Context

LIFE, RELIGION AND EDUCATION:

Christina Rossetti was born in December 1830 into an artist family. Her father, Gabriel Rossetti, was a poet and political exile whilst her brothers were members of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood (a group of artists founded in 1848). Although she was linked to this group, Christina was not a member of it. Rossetti was educated by her parents at home. Italian writers, such as Dante Alighieri and Petrarch heavily influenced her later work. During the 1840s, Christina’s father became ill and never physically recovered. Because of this, she had a nervous breakdown at the age of 14, where bouts of depression and similar illnesses followed. Whilst this was happening, she, her mother and her sister became interested in the Anglo-Catholic movement that developed in the Church of England. Christina was romantically involved with three suitors. In her late teens, Rossetti became engaged to a painter called James Collinson. He was also one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The engagement was broken in 1850 when he reverted to Catholicism. Later she became involved with a linguist called Charles Cayley, but declined to marry him, also for religious reasons. The third offer came from the painter John Brett, who she also refused. Rossetti’s first poems were written in 1842 and printed in the private press of her grandfather. In 1850, under the pseudonym Ellen Alleyne, she contributed seven poems to the Pre-Raphaelite journal The Germ, which had been founded by her brother William Michael and his friends. Rossetti’s best-known work, Goblin Market and Other Poems, was published in 1862. The collection established Rossetti as a significant voice in Victorian poetry. The Prince’s Progress and Other Poems, appeared in 1866 followed by Sing-Song, a collection of verse for children, in 1872.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN AT THE TIME AND ROSSETTI’S VIEWS ON THIS:

The women’s suffrage became a national movement in 1872, where women decided to fight for the right to vote. It was not until 1918 that women who were over the age of 30 were granted the vote and not until 1928 that they were granted the right to vote on the same terms as men. The poet Augusta Webster wrote to Rossetti in the late 1870s asking for her support in a campaign she was involved with, which aimed to give women the right to vote. Rossetti refused this as she believed men and women were created by God as fundamentally different creatures. Because of their fundamental differences, Rossetti believed that men and women should have different responsibilities and rights. Rossetti was aware of the of the pressure society put on women to conform to expected standards, however, her awareness was only acute. In her poem, The Lowest Room, she contrasts the life of a Victorian woman confined to working on some embroidery at home, with the life of classical heroes. At one point, she has her speaker compare the life of a wife to the life of a slave. This comparison was common along women writers, as the English law still withheld any legal status from married women. During the Christina’s lifetime, if a woman did not fit societies idea that women should be girl-like and innocent angel, they were often seen as being a dangerous threat. By combining confidence and fairness, many of her poems challenge this idea, to present a much more balanced picture of womanhood. Rossetti was concerned with the welfare of women who wanted to come out of prostitution. During the 1860's, she worked as a volunteer in a home for women deemed as ‘fallen' by Victorian society. Rossetti recognised that, according to the Christian principle of forgiveness, these women did not and should not be deemed outcasts for the rest of their lives. Instead, she sought to change commonplace and stereotyped assumptions. Throughout her poetry, she uses the figure of Mary Magdalene to highlight the fact that women who have once been prostitutes can undergo a complete change.