Discovering the Self through Solidarity in Christina Rossettis Devotional Verses

Abstract

This essay is dedicated to close reading a few of Christina Rossettis religious verses, which occupy the major part of her oeuvre, yet were neglected or criticized as lesser poetry. Through this reading I argue that, unlike the critical censure of being obedient and uninteresting, Rossettis religious poems display a voice full of remarkable ardor and disquieting self-recognition. As an active response to the doubt of the age, Rossetti seriously deals with the problem of faith. Boldly expressing her resistance and discontentment, she struggles with the theme of sympathy: God feeling with people, vice versa, and people feeling with people. Her religious works should be viewed as an ongoing process of constructing the solidarity between herself and God, and moreover, among people. In this process, however, the self is not sacrificed, but rather newly recognized and even celebrated. Through form and content, Rossettis religious verses explore the value of reciprocity in the relationship between God and people. Thus in Rossettis poems, solidarity ironically works as a means to discovering and strengthening the self.