Maude Clare by Christina Rossetti

Plot of Maude Clare

·         The man (Lord Thomas) and Maude Clare had a romantic relationship, they are in love

·         Due to different social class, Thomas must marry Nell who is of the same upper class

·         So Thomas and Maude Clare cannot marry each other even though they love each other

 

Nell

• Nell loves Thomas and is proud and triumphant to be married to him
• Her character is of upper class, and this is affirmed by her way of dealing with Maude Clare: she shows off that she "won", that she gets everything that she wants (Thomas)
• Although she is quite childish in the way she confronts Maude Clare, she is also very brave for choosing to marry Thomas despite him loving someone else; although it could also be evidence for her caring about status over love.

 

Order the characters speak in

The mother is the first character to speak in the poem, this indicates her high status and power, that she has the first say above any of the other characters. This is significant to consider when analysing the order in which the other characters talk. Case in point, the next character to talk is in fact Maude Clare. Maude Clare has the lowest status of all four characters, yet not only is she second to speak she also possesses five out of the twelve stanzas. This alludes the reader to believe that Maude Clare has the upperhand in this poem, she manages to manipulate Thomas, reducing him to no more than one stanza, only able to say her name: "Maude Clare". On the other hand, this could be Rossetti's way of exposing the class system present during the Victorian era, that no matter how much Maude Clare had to say, her voice would not be heard - she had little to no influence. Last to speak is Nell. By speaking last Rossetti has given Nell the last word, which is an important part of any poem. Therefore, Rossetti is telling the reader through Nell's words that although there is true love between Maude Clare and Thomas, she has won - the class system has won. Alternatively, Rossetti may have put Nell last to show that she has the least power (in this situation) of all, that she is left trying to wrap things up between Maude Clare and Thomas.

 

Nell and Maude Clare

"Maude Clare" by Christina Rossetti is the poet's way of exposing the faults in the Victorian class system. Straight away in the first stanza she challenges class roles, comparing Nell (an upper class lady) to a "village maid", and Maude Clare (a woman of a much lower class) to a "queen". The descriptions that she has given these two characters accentuate Rossetti's belief that your class does not always equate to how you actually are.

As I previously mentioned, Maude Clare has a much bigger and more powerful role in the poem in comparison to Nell, and this could be due to the fact that Maude Clare holds more power and influence where Thomas is concerned; because he loves her, not Nell. Moreover, the stanza's in which Nell does speak show not only an air of triumphance, but also a desperation: "And what you leave, I'll take". straight away, the first line that Nell speaks lives up to Rossetti's description of her at the beginning of the poem: a "village maid". It's almost as if Maude Clare is the lady, and she's leaving her left overs (Thomas) with Nell, leaving the worst parts with her, as Maude Clare has already stolen the best part: Thomas's heart.

The desperation subtley continues until the end of the poem, it is clear Nell knows that Thomas is in love with Maude Clare, but she still grasps on to all that she can "For he's my lord". She may have lost him romantically, but she still has him for status and for title. A final thing to notice is in the two stanza's that Nell's character speaks, she ends both with "Maude Clare". The repitition could be an indication of her nervousness, she keeps faltering at the last moment and falling victim to Maude Clare's name, just as Thomas did before her. Structurally, Rossetti may have done this with intention to imply that Maude Clare cannot be forgotten, her name will always linger in not only Thomas's but also Nell's mind.