Maude Clare 16/09/15

Maude Clare

Plot:

In the poem, Lord Thomas represents higher class masculinity, Lady Nell represents higher class femininity and Maude Clare represents the lower class. Thomas marries Nell but he describes her as "a village maid" compared to Maude Clare who he said "was like a queen". Thomas and Maude Clare are in love but Thomas cannot marry her as he is expected to marry someone from the upper class, like Nell. Maude Clare marches into the church and describes how she and Thomas are in love but Nell tells her that she has Thomas and will keep him- not Maude Clare.

Character Study:

Maude Clare is deeply in love with Thomas and she walks proudly into the church where he is marrying Nell. Her tone is bittersweet and reminiscent when talking about the memories she and Thomas share; they are obviously happy memories but she is sad because her class is preventing her from true happiness. The reminiscent tone implies a finality as which shows Maude Clare knows they can never be together so she is giving Thomas up. Maude Clare is a very dominant character as she ensures she gets her opinion across and isn't afraid to stand up for herself.

Rossetti's Point About Class System:

The theme of the poem is heartbreak because two people who love each other are unable to get married. The blame for this falls on the Victorian class system which Rossetti symbolises the inequality of. Her character Maude Clare is controversial to a stereotypical lower class girl. This is because she is a very dominating character as she stops a higher class wedding (which would have been an important event) just to get her point across. Rossetti is showing that lower class people have opinions which are just as important as the higher class' and their voices should be heard too. Furthermore, Rossetti shows Maude Clare is a very powerful character as her words make Lord Thomas stutter and therefore powerless which is ironic as Lord Thomas is higher class so he should have all the power.
The way Rossetti represents Maude Clare and Nell is controversial too. In the first stanza, Nell is described as "a village maid" even though she is higher class and Maude Clare is described as "a queen" even though she has the least power out of the two. Rossetti has switched their roles in society to show that everyone is equal despite their classes. Nell describes Maude Clare as "taller" and "much more fair" which shows even though in society lower class people have the least power, Maude Clare is naturally more powerful. Therefore, from Darwin's theory, Maude Clare should have the most mates as she's the strongest but as this doesn't happen, Rossetti is showing that the Victorian class system is unnatural.