The poem Maude Clare is all about love being constricted by the Victorian class system which is represented through a married aristocratic couple called Lady Nell and Lord Thomas. A seemingly perfect relationship from class system point of view however, they are quite the opposite. Additionally, a lower class woman; Maude Clare loves Lord Thomas and we can only suggest that the feelings are mutual due to his lack of speech in the poem. Maude Clare respectfully fights for her relationship with Lord Thomas even though she is fully aware that someone from her class would never have a chance with an aristocrat, especially a married one. Thomas' mother supports the loveless marriage and even refers to her own passionless marriage to persuade Thomas that he is doing the right thing in his position.
What point do you think Rossetti is making about the Victorian class system in this poem?
Rossetti is trying to break away from male dominance of the Victorian times throughout ‘Maude Clare’ and her other poems. Particularly in this poem however, Rossetti uses the theme of social hierarchy using three strong female characters and only one ‘fickle man. Rossetti uses the character of an aristocrat called ‘Lord Thomas’ but portrays him as a feeble man as he only has a few lines of speech in the poem where he cannot speak anything apart from ‘Lady’ and ‘Maude Clare’. This is a complete change from the social norm of the Victorian era. In addition, Rossetti further alliterates this theme using Maude Clare’s character, which is portrayed to be a lower class citizen but is described as a ‘Queen’. Maude Clare’s character speaks for nearly half of the poem which represents a role change in society over the powerful aristocrats whom she is standing up against. Rossetti’s style of poems represent feminism in a very male dominant world but Rossetti ensures that her writing is never too controversial, hence why the aristocratic ‘Lady Nell’ gets the last say in the poem over the whole situation.
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