Ophelia, J E Millais, 1952.
Next we shall consider an element of Elizabeth's life which is often neglected : her poetry.
Her poetry, though sublime, is haunted by frequent references to death, rejection and unfaithful love. In 'Dead Love', C 1855-1857, she wrote;
"And love was born to an early death,
And is so seldom true."
In 'A Year And A Day', C 1857, she wrote;
"There to die all empty of love,
Like beaten corn of grain,"
This reflects her fears that Dante would reject her in favour of a younger model, and the anxiety which she felt in their relationship. This is understandable for several reasons. They were married, with out the presence of friends or family, and with only strangers as witnesses, and he was reluctant to introduce her to his family. In their relationship, she served primarily as student to his theories and model for his art: a blank slate and a form to be projected upon . Despite being his wife, and even after her death, she was rarely depicted as herself, but instead as some tragic archetype or character from legend. Although the Pre-Raphaelites were not intentionally cruel to her, they were at best thoughtless and at worse dehumanising, and this must have influenced her state of mind,
Infamously, Dante exhumed her body on the fifth of October 1868 to retrieve a book of his poetry which he had buried with her. This implies , at the least, a great deal of disrespect.
Her poetry suggests a preoccupation with death, or predictions of her own death. In 'At Last' (1862), she appears to write about her unborn son, with whom she was pregnant in the year that she died:
"Tell him I died of my great love,
And my dying heart was gay. "
The morbid tone of her writing is hardly surprising considering the poor health and depression which she suffered. The exact nature of her illness can't now be known for sure, due to the state of health care at the time and the secrecy surrounding her death (suicide being against church doctrine and scandalous). She is thought to have suffered from one or a combination of the following; tuberculosis, intestinal disorders, opioid addiction and anorexia. It is know that she was prescribed laudanum after the miscarriage of her stillborn daughter, but she may have used it from an earlier date. An eating disorder, intestinal disorder or loss of appetite from use of opiodes would explain her constant poor health, and her pale, slender appearance.
Sadly, it was this ghostly , ethereal appearance which Dante and the other Pre-Raphaelites found so appealing. In every painting she looks pale, malnurished and miserable, which is most likly how she often looked. Elizabeth looked like the perfect dying Ophelia, the archetypal tragic heroine. Her illness, and the dignity with which she struggled against it, made her the perfect model to project tragic ideals onto.
Which takes us back to the points made at the beginning of this essay.
What would it be like to be considered more beautiful, and as a model more valuable, in poor health than in good health? To be more attractive because one was depressed?
If one lives only to create and inspire beautiful art, and one is considered the most beautiful when was is dying, then perhaps we can see why Elizabeth Rossetti had to die.
Infamously, Dante exhumed her body on the fifth of October 1868 to retrieve a book of his poetry which he had buried with her. This implies , at the least, a great deal of disrespect.
Her poetry suggests a preoccupation with death, or predictions of her own death. In 'At Last' (1862), she appears to write about her unborn son, with whom she was pregnant in the year that she died:
"Tell him I died of my great love,
And my dying heart was gay. "
The morbid tone of her writing is hardly surprising considering the poor health and depression which she suffered. The exact nature of her illness can't now be known for sure, due to the state of health care at the time and the secrecy surrounding her death (suicide being against church doctrine and scandalous). She is thought to have suffered from one or a combination of the following; tuberculosis, intestinal disorders, opioid addiction and anorexia. It is know that she was prescribed laudanum after the miscarriage of her stillborn daughter, but she may have used it from an earlier date. An eating disorder, intestinal disorder or loss of appetite from use of opiodes would explain her constant poor health, and her pale, slender appearance.
Sadly, it was this ghostly , ethereal appearance which Dante and the other Pre-Raphaelites found so appealing. In every painting she looks pale, malnurished and miserable, which is most likly how she often looked. Elizabeth looked like the perfect dying Ophelia, the archetypal tragic heroine. Her illness, and the dignity with which she struggled against it, made her the perfect model to project tragic ideals onto.
Which takes us back to the points made at the beginning of this essay.
What would it be like to be considered more beautiful, and as a model more valuable, in poor health than in good health? To be more attractive because one was depressed?
If one lives only to create and inspire beautiful art, and one is considered the most beautiful when was is dying, then perhaps we can see why Elizabeth Rossetti had to die.
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