Analysis of Books 1-2 of Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Of writing many books there is no end;

And I who have written much in prose and verse

For others’ uses, will write now for mine,–

Will write my story for my better self

As when you paint your portrait for a friend,

Who keeps it in a drawer and looks at it

Long after he has ceased to love you, just

To hold together what he was and is.

(I.1-8)

The opening lines to E.B.B’s poem-novel addresses the reader and is where she states her purpose for the work. First, she (E.B.B. and the protagonist, Aurora Leigh) says that she is writing for herself. She writes for own personal use: “[I] will write for mine” (line 3) and for her “better self” (line 4), for her self-improvement or construction. Later however, she compares her work to a gift to a former lover. Furthermore, it is for his self-construction as it is for hers, saying that it is “to hold together what he was and is” (line 8). It sounds contradictory. Who is she writing for?

As she initially said, the book is primarily for her; the portrait that she compares her work with is of her self, a self-portrait, which she paints herself, but as it is a published piece, it is a public piece. The end result is something that is seen and experienced by others. She paints the portrait for herself, but will end up giving it away. As an author-poet, it is in her personal interests and goals to make herself public by being published. A painter who wants to be acclaimed as a painter does not paint only for himself. They will take enough pride to paint themselves, but they will not keep it to themselves. By writing her fictional autobiography, E.B.B. is displaying that she is taking pride in herself as a writer-poet, by displaying herself to the rest of the world.

As readers, we are the recipients of her written self-portrait, just as the former lover is the keeper of the painted version. It is possible to read a tone of bitterness and vindictiveness in the last two lines, as she might be saying that although he might not love her anymore, she still holds importance in his life, because it is she who holds him together. The rest of the poem, however, does not continue that tone, or that theme of ill-ended love. No longer being loved after a time still holds true though. There will come a time when her reading audience will no longer love her. As much as we do not want to, we will come to stop thinking about Aurora Leigh. We might pick up another book, or we might forget entirely, but whatever end or however long, our experience with the book will last. At certain points in our life, we will come to remember it. We will no longer be in “love” with her, that is, reading her work, engaging with her never-fading voice, but the “drawer” that we keep her portrait in will be our minds. She is telling us beforehand that reading her book will influence us greatly, and help us in our self-construction as it did for her. The process and publication of the book were for her personal uses, but for our lasting gain.

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