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Book 8
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Aurora Leigh, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Marriage, Equality, and Social Class
Feminism and Women’s Roles
Art and Truth
Justice, Art, and Love
Summary
Analysis
In her letter, Lady Waldemar writes to Aurora that she hopes Romney has successfully delivered her letter to Aurora. She says that she’s never loved Aurora and believes that Aurora wrote a very ungracious letter to her earlier. Lady Waldemar writes that she learned Romney never really loved her when he got sick and she cared for him at his bedside for two weeks, only for him to hallucinate that Marian was taking care of him. At one point, Lady Waldemar read Aurora’s book and found parts of it interesting but feels that it is doomed because women are fundamentally less suited for poetry than men.
Many characters in the novel grow and have chances to redeem themselves, but Lady Waldemar’s letter suggests that she is still more or less her old self. One thing she’s learned, from being near Romney during his illness, is that he didn’t really love her, but she only reaches this conclusion resentfully. Furthermore, she still holds on to other beliefs, like the idea that women are naturally less good at poetry.
Themes
Lady Waldemar writes that she gave up on Romney and received Aurora’s letter soon after. She admits that she sent Marian away with her maid, but says that the maid was someone she trusted highly and thought would take good care of Marian. Although things didn’t turn out well for Marian, Lady Waldemar insists that that was never her intention and that Aurora’s accusations against Lady Waldemar are unfair. Lady Waldemar bitterly wishes Aurora well, saying she hopes Romney marries Marian, since that seems to be so clearly what Aurora wants.
It's possible that Lady Waldemar’s words in her letter are true and she really did have no intention of harming Marian. Still, even if so, Lady Waldemar’s letter is still noteworthy for how she doesn’t apologize or take responsibility for what happened to Marian, instead blaming it all on a maid. Her refusal to acknowledge her past flaws and misdeeds makes her different from Aurora and Romney, who grow as characters.
Themes
Aurora is stunned by Lady Waldemar’s letter and its accusatory tone. Romney explains to her that it seems to him that in God’s eyes he’s married to Marian, and so he should also take her child as his own. Marian herself is nearby and responds in shock. She asks if what Romney says is true, and he repeats his offer to take her in and also care for her child. They turn to Aurora for an opinion.
Romney’s offer to take Marian as his wife comes more seriously the second time, as he has grown and matured, gaining a better understanding of what marriage to Marian would mean. Nevertheless, he makes the offer as a way of keeping his word, rather than out of love for Marian, showing how in spite of all he’s learned, he still sometimes puts love at a lower priority than his broader ideals.
Themes
Aurora hesitates at first, then says that if it’s in her power, she freely gives Marian to Romney, believing he’s more than strong enough to be her husband. She says that a union would honor both of them. Marian is so overwhelmed she begins to weep. She says first that she is grateful and finds it a great honor to receive this offer from a man like Romney. But she says that she has to refuse because she doesn’t truly love Romney. She isn’t sure if maybe she did once love him or if she only worshipped him back then. She wanted to serve Romney, not be his equal in love.
Similar to Romney, Aurora shows good intentions in this passage, but as she herself once said earlier, good intentions for writers don’t always lead to good books. In this case, Aurora tries to do something charitable, but she still denies her own feelings for Romney, making her gracious manner a little dishonest. Marian, who has already taught Aurora about how to let other people into her life, does so once again in this passage by declaring that it isn’t enough to marry someone just because you admire them—there has to be mutual love.
Themes
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Marian continues, saying that as much as she’d love to find a father for her child, she will survive without one and needs to be true to herself. She hopes instead that Romney finds a noble wife who is his equal. She adds that she has long suspected Romney actually loves Aurora. With that, Marian leaves.
Marian’s decision to survive with her child and no husband shows how she has grown as a character. Initially, she was powerless, whether at the hands of people like her parents or Lady Waldemar. Now, however, she has learned how to take responsibility not just for herself but for her child as well. This passage shows how in spite of the challenges women face, they are often resilient due to the struggles they’ve survived.
Themes
Romney and Aurora talk awkwardly. Romney admits that while he has tried to move on, he still loves Aurora and would happily accept her if she ever changed her mind. He also admits that his long period of illness was more severe than Lady Waldemar’s letter hinted: he is in fact now blind due to it. He lost hope during this period of his illness, but now he says he is beginning to hope again. Aurora interrupts his speech to say that he hasn’t given her a chance to say that, in fact, she loves him. Romney takes this for pity at first, but Aurora insists that she’s sincere and that he must now listen to what she has to say.
Romney’s blindness symbolizes how even when he still had his vision, there were many important things he didn’t see. He was blind, for example, to how Lady Waldemar was out to trick him into marriage, at least initially. The fact that Romney has better clarity about his life after losing his sight reflects how in general the poem is more concerned with the characters’ souls than their physical bodies.
Themes
Aurora says that while Romney was right to admit to his past wrongs, Aurora made mistakes in the past, too. She was trying to be a perfect artist, in spite of the fact that humans are naturally imperfect. She believes that, as important as art is, love is more important. She says that if Romney would take her love now, she’d be very happy—she says she’s always loved him, even when she didn’t admit it to anyone.
Aurora’s declaration that personal love is more important than art is perhaps her most important realization in the novel. It does not, however, negate her poetic work—crucially, she has this revelation only after her work has become successful, and Romney’s better understanding of Aurora was only possible because he read her book. The novel suggests that personal relationships don’t have to compete with art but instead are a necessary foundation in an artist’s life.
Themes
Romney’s reply to Aurora is so dear to her that she hesitates even to write the words down for others to see. Instead of recounting his exact words, she describes the angelic way he spoke and the profound effect it had on her. She paraphrases him, saying that he admitted to loving her when they first met. He also made bold declarations and promises to always be faithful to her.
Aurora may be a poet but words fail her for part of this passage, as she struggles to write down Romney’s declaration of love to her. This once again shows the limits of art and suggests that there is something about personal love and relationships that art can’t fully capture.
Themes
Aurora marvels at what a beautiful night it is and embraces Romney after he’s done speaking. The two of them agree to try to do God’s work together—not just the type of charity work Romney was doing before but also the work of love and a relationship. Aurora believes that love will make the work of trying to improve the world easier and vice versa. Aurora takes Romney’s hand in hers and begins describing the landscape around him that he can no longer see for himself.
The final passage of the novel shows how Aurora and Romney have managed to put aside their differences to build a relationship based on mutual understanding. Aurora again turns to her religious faith, contrasting Romney’s earlier self-righteous charity work with a more sincere type of charity that starts with love and personal relationship instead of big ideals. The final image of Aurora describing the landscape to Romney shows how the two of them complement each other, with Aurora helping Romney to see the things he no longer can.
Themes
