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Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Books 3 & 4

Elizabeth Barrett Browning: "You know how ladies are like windmills?"

Aurora Leigh! EBB's novel in verse. This week we read Books 3 & 4, which involve Aurora making her name as a poet, talking about how great London is to inspire one, and also some gay stuff and Aurora's cousin Romney Leigh almost marries Marian Erle, A Poor Person, but then she says never mind.

If we're going to pick a gay person in this book, I pick Marian. SURE, you can say "But she seems too into Romney." I also really wanted to marry a dude who I could help with his Great Life's Work. But guess what? I then turned out to be super gay.

Marian says

“I’d rather far be trodden by his foot,

Than lie in a great queen’s bosom.”

And it's like, um, no one MENTIONED a great queen's bosom, Marian. That was all you. But sure, now that we're on the topic of ladies and their bosoms etc, what's up with—

Marian: I'M NOT GAY ladies just kiss me all the time I don't even ask them to.



Marian has had a very hard life and now has to deal with all these ladies being into this guy who kind of insinuated himself into her life (in a non-creepy way), so now they keep popping up and talking to her about Romney and also being like "oh you think he loves you? Cool cool cool. No, I just — what? No, everything's fine. He probably totally does."

So then Marian doesn't show up on their wedding day and maybe runs off with a lady? But obviously this is still Not Gay.

ALSO what's up with EBB describing the poor people in the church basically like total animals? I read she was very supportive of the poor etc, but this is kinda shitty.

WHAT A VERY INTERESTING BOOK.

Ere you came
She kissed me mouth to mouth: I felt her soul
Dip through her serious lips in holy fire.



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Comments

  1. RedNovember 14, 2017 at 8:17 PM

    Thank you for doing this readalong and making sure to make it gay. Unearth the gay? Cos it was there all along? Anyway, I hope Marian gets those great queen bosom she's definitely NOT looking for.

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