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Valeria Tinkler-Villani
Leiden University

'The Allegorist, the Scientist and the Poet: from Gabriele Rossetti and Charles Lyell to Christina Rossetti'

Rather than pursue a thesis, I intend, in this paper, to set out a number of facts, texts, and inferences drawn from these in order to explore a crucial tension in English literature in the mid nineteenth century that was created by the acceptance or rejection of scientific methods, ideological allegory, and religion or devotion. The case of the Rossettis offers a suitable angle from which to observe this tension. Gabriele Rossetti brought a particular legacy with him and passed this on to his children. The Rossetti siblings will fully integrate this into the English culture of their time. A comparison of the transmission from one generation to the other in the case of the Rossettis will be compared to a similar transmission in relation to the Lyell family. This comparison forms the first half of the paper; in the second I look at developments in the work of the children, in particular Dante Gabriel and Christina.

Gabriele's work on Dante is politically and ideologically motivated, subjective, totally based on allegory and an allegorical reading of his subject. This was acceptable to an English culture in which science, religion and literature were merged into one, and the scientist, or naturalist, was a dilettante, very often a clergyman. A good example of the dilettante is Charles Lyell, the naturalist and translator of Dante's poems. It is not surprising that Lyell supported Gabriele Rossetti's work. I will look at his translations of Dante and also his essay on Rossetti's work. Here it already becomes clear that Lyell has moved to a rejection of the latter, not so much on account of its ideas as on account of its methods. Sir Charles Lyell's opposition to his father's protégé will also be shown, on the basis of some of his letters, to originate in an opposition to allegory.

The second-generation Rossettis inherit, with the language and readings of Dante, much of their father's culture. They are vocal in rejecting his methods - while still expressing dutiful respect - and are fully at home in the English climate of their time, when scientific observation, recording of detail and historical facts become paramount. Beatrice, to give a small example, is seen fully in the light of her factual existence; it is her biographical relevance to the historical figure of Dante that requires study. However, the poise, tone and voice in the work of both Dante Gabriel and Christina are animated by a balance-finding exercise, where figural thinking and detailed observation are both essential. Dante Gabriel walks in his father's footsteps, and he also takes up his father's feud. In Christina's work, religion, poetry and careful observation merge into one again.