Riassunto
Trama e riassunto di Aurora Leigh
A chi è rivolto
You will love this if you enjoy a strong heroine, a story told in the first person, and big talk about art, work and love, in a poem that moves like a novel.
Che cos’è questo libro
What happens when a young woman decides to live by her pen, and the man who loves her says a woman cannot be a poet? Aurora Leigh is a long poem in nine books by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, told by Aurora herself. It follows her from an Italian childhood to an English aunt's house and on to London and Paris. It gives you a story of love, work and rescue. It begins with Aurora choosing to tell her own story.
In questo riassunto
- 1A girl between Italy and EnglandFree
- 2An aunt who tries to shape her
- 3A cousin who offers marriage and a cause
- 4Freedom, loss and a gift refused
- 5A poet's life in London
- 6Marian Erle, the seamstress
- 7A wedding day that fails
- 8Italy, and a face on a Paris quay
- 9What the poem is really about
Punto chiave 1 di 9
A girl between Italy and England
Aurora Leigh tells her own story. Her mother is a Florentine who dies when Aurora is four, and her English father takes her to live in the Tuscan mountains.
For nine years he teaches her from his books, and old Assunta tends the fire. Aurora stares at a painted portrait of her mother and fills it with her own fears and dreams.
A stranger carries her off to England. The child who has known mountains, grief and love now has to learn who she is in a cold, strange country.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Aurora Leigh
- The narrator and aspiring poet, born in Italy, resists her cousin Romney's expectations and seeks an independent artistic life.
- Romney Leigh
- Aurora's cousin and heir to Leigh Hall, he devotes himself to social reform and helping the poor.
- Marian Erle
- A gentle seamstress from an impoverished, violent family, she becomes closely connected with Romney and Aurora.
- Lady Waldemar
- A wealthy society woman attracted to Romney, she approaches Aurora with charm and an interest in his affairs.
- Aurora's aunt
- Her father's unmarried sister raises Aurora in England, imposing conventional expectations of feminine conduct and suitable marriage.
- Aurora's father
- An English scholar living in Florence, he introduces his daughter Aurora to books and intellectual life.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 90,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 6 h
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 10 other languages
Questions about Aurora Leigh
What is Aurora Leigh about?
It tells the life of Aurora, a poet born to an Italian mother and an English father. She refuses her cousin Romney's proposal, makes her way as a writer, and meets Marian Erle, whose fate links her to Romney again.
Is Aurora Leigh a novel or a poem?
It is both. It is a long poem in blank verse, in nine books, with scenes, dialogue and a plot like a novel. Aurora tells the story herself, looking back over her life.
Who is Marian Erle?
She is a poor girl from Malvern Hill, who works as a London seamstress. Romney rescues her from hardship and wants to marry her, and Aurora welcomes her as a cousin.
Is Aurora Leigh a true story?
It is fiction, told through Aurora's memories of her childhood, her family and her work. Its themes are drawn from its author's world: art, social reform and the place of women in her time.
What is the main message of Aurora Leigh?
Art and love need each other, and so do the spiritual and the natural. Work for the world must be done with love for real people, and a woman may be both artist and lover.