Sister Maude by Christina Rosetti

What’s the Point?

• A dramatic monologue in the voice of a wounded woman who feels that her sister told tales on her resulting in the death of her curly-haired lover.
• The speaker in the dramatic monologue comes across as a little crazy and I think that the reader is being invited to read between the lines and to find the speaker a bit disturbed.
• The voice is angry and malicious, and slightly obsessive. Maybe Sister Maude is a nasty piece of work but you can't help but feel that the speaker is enjoying her role as angry victim.

Where’s my Evidence?

• But sister Maude, oh sister Maude,/ Bide you with death and sin.
• Cold he lies, as cold as stone,/With his clotted curls about his face: 
• my sister Maude,/Who lurked to spy and peer.

How do I Analyse this?

Form: Dramatic monologue. In the tradition of dramatic monologues you have to read between the lines to actually understand what’s going on. Clearly the speaker of this poem is very angry and she repeats "sister Maude" throughout the poem so that it begins to sound like a hissing insult. The word "sister" should suggest closeness but in this poem it is used to emphasise anger and betrayal, Rosetti worked in a community of "fallen women" who  called each other "sisters" and had plenty of opportunity to witness backstabbing and rivalries between the sisterhood - how women who should stand together can tear each other down.

Imagery: There is the imagery of the death of the lover (emphasised through alliteration: "comliest corpse" and "clotted curls") and there is something about the juxtaposition of love and death that is quite unpleasant and adds to the sense that the speaker is a little unhinged. The imagery of death is continued in stanzas 3, 4 and 5 with all the talk of souls and "My father may sleep in Paradise". The speaker doesn't just want Sister Maude to suffer in this life but she wants her suffering for all eternity. This actually makes the speaker sound very vindictive: it's not for her to be dealing out punishments for the afterlife.

Structure: The poem opens with a rhetorical question which sets the accusing tone but also serves to cast doubt over the speaker's assertions. The use of a question suggests that maybe Sister Maude isn't actually guilty of everything she is being accused of and this creates some doubt in the reader's mind about how reliable the speaker is.

The regular rhyme and rhythm in this poem makes the speaker sound angry and naive. There is a nursery-rhyme lilt to this poem, a sing-song malice reminiscent of children's taunts in the playground. 

The use of repetition and sibilance throughout further emphasise this childish angry tone. The last line in the fourth stanza is too short and again makes the speaker sound like she is not quite in control of what she is saying.

What is the Reader supposed to feel?

I personally find the speaker of this poem incredibly annoying. I think that is Rosetti's intention. Her whiny repetition, the obsessive tone this creates, combine to make me feel much more sympathy for Sister Maude than I do for the speaker. It is of course, possible that Sister Maude is not entirely blameless (then again, who is?) but the speaker's self-righteous tone is very alienating. I also think that the lines: "Though I had never been born at all/ He'd never had looked at you." really gives away what's going on here: she's jealous and possessive. Rather than mourning the death of this man she claims to love, she is fixated on venting her rage at Sister Maude.

How can I Link this to what the writer is saying?

So why did Rosetti write this poem? What is she saying? It's a really odd poem and it's taken me ages to get a handle on it.

To understand what's going on, I think you need to know that Rosetti worked in a community for fallen women which attempted to rehabilitate prostitutes and women who had engaged in sexual activity outside marriage. She became fascinated by female sexuality and relationships (not necessarily sexual) between women. This experience inspired her most famous work: Goblin Market.

I think this is a poem about sexual jealousy and how vile women can be to each other when they start fighting over men. The speaker of this poem is not really a conventional, meek Victorian virgin - she's fierce and angry about the betrayal by Sister Maude. I think Rosetti is telling us something about how relationships between women can sour and lead to obsessive anger. The key to this poem is the sense of betrayal: sisters should support each other but rivalries over men can cause a breaking down of the sacred bond of sisterhood. Perhaps this poem is a warning to women: prioritise your sisterly relationships over lovers!

How can I Link this to another poem?

The Farmer's Bride - another dramatic monologue and these poems both focus on female sexuality and madness.

Brother - another poem about sibling rivalry

Nettles- another poem about conflict in family relationships

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