Friday 5th December - Love Sonnets

 Well, here we are at the end of our first week of Blogvent, and I'm off to London tomorrow so I better sort something out for that too.  In the meantime, here is today's offering...

Love Sonnets (1894) Marie Spartali Stillman

I actually had the choice of a couple of Stillmans for this Blogvent, but we'll start with Love Sonnets.  We have a romantic young lady reading her love sonnets while clutching what I am assuming are marigolds.  They are often read as being symbols of purity and divinity so we can guess she is reading some lovely poems rather than anything naughty. There is also the implication that marigolds bloom on the first day of the month so I wonder if our lass is in love for the first time. Also, as always, I am wondering about the black jacket (with those very lovely buttoned sleeves) so I was wondering if she has been widowed or had a bereavement and this is her first love afterwards.

Cloister Lilies (1891)

I'm not sure if Marie Stillman was going through a phase of women-reading-while-clutching-flowers but here is another one. This time our lass is reading a far more religious text, as signified by the lilies clutched in her had.  I really love the amber beads looped round her other wrist. 

Beatrice (1895)

I've always felt that Marie Stillman's female subjects in this vein are the children of Rossetti's 1860 Venetian period, and the inclusion of Beatrice in her subjects underlines this. However, different from Rossetti, Beatrice is the main character here, not seen through the eyes of Dante, but a woman on her own, having a moment with her book.  She is not dying poetically with a poppy, nor lying in state being kissed by Love, nor ignoring Dante on a bridge. She is thinking about something she has read, her finger tracing the passage that has captivated her. In fact, all three of our readers are reading texts that are absorbing them, giving them pause for thought and possibly in the case of Love Sonnets and Beatrice the thoughts aren't all joyful. Our women are turning to books, to knowledge, to solve their problems, answer their questions, and give them guidance in times of need.

Brewing the Love Philtre (c.1870)

For Marie Stillman, books provide the answers to questions, giving women the independence to get on with their lives. Whether it is choosing a new love, capturing a new love or being led into or away from temptation, there is a book to help.  So our maidens, be they saintly, witchy or very human, are free to make their own decisions without the need to ask a man. Not all of these decisions are going to be correct (I mean, honestly, I'm not sure love potions are ever a sustainable option) but they are theirs to make and take the consequences.

See you tomorrow.