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Rewriting Christina Rossetti : cross-gendered sibling rivalry, fraternal intervention and the counter-poetics of dissidence
Bibliography: pages 355-372.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of English Language and Literature
2016
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| _version_ | 1867613224628649984 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Moffett, Helen |
| author_browse | Moffett, Helen |
| author_facet | Moffett, Helen |
| author_sort | Moffett, Helen |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Bibliography: pages 355-372. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/21974 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:44.899Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Department of English Language and Literature |
| publisherStr | Department of English Language and Literature |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/21974 Rewriting Christina Rossetti : cross-gendered sibling rivalry, fraternal intervention and the counter-poetics of dissidence Moffett, Helen English Language and Literature Bibliography: pages 355-372. Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Michael Rossetti, paying especial attention to unravelling the received tradition that as an artist, Rossetti was indebted to Dante Gabriel's patronage. Instead, I argue that she negotiated her career as a poet against a covertly competitive backdrop of sibling rivalry, in which Dante Gabriel made strenuous efforts to direct and control her creative work. This thesis also examines and challenges the myths that William Michael set in motion as his sister's initial editor and biographer, and which still inform our perception of her as a poet and as a sister. I also investigate her standing regarding the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a relation which is more problematic than is generally believed, maintaining that she was excluded from equal membership within this glamorous circle while simultaneously strategically important to them, both as a poet and a model. Clearly, the various misrepresentations of Rossetti's life and works are gendered. I employ the tools of feminist literary practice and new historicism in order to reveal the extent to which the treatment of Rossetti both by her brothers and various critics, has reflected patriarchal pressures and strictures. Primary manuscripts, some unpublished, or published in censored versions, are scrutinised and pieced together in an attempt to present a more accurate view of both Rossetti's relationships with the men in her life, and her own sense of herself as a poet. Close attention is also paid to the singularity of her personal history, which was underscored by her strong sense of poetic vocation. This attempt to rework the traditional picture of Christina Rossetti provides significant new perspectives on and readings of her canon, and her brother's. I trace patterns in her poetry which are related to her struggle for creative agency in the face of fraternal intervention, and propose a model of dialogic interrogation for re-reading significant texts. I conclude that a comparative study of intertextuality between the Rossettis contributes vitally to the further understanding of both poets. 2016-09-28T19:03:19Z 2016-09-28T19:03:19Z 1993 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21974 eng application/pdf Department of English Language and Literature Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | English Language and Literature Moffett, Helen Rewriting Christina Rossetti : cross-gendered sibling rivalry, fraternal intervention and the counter-poetics of dissidence |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | Rewriting Christina Rossetti : cross-gendered sibling rivalry, fraternal intervention and the counter-poetics of dissidence |
| title_full | Rewriting Christina Rossetti : cross-gendered sibling rivalry, fraternal intervention and the counter-poetics of dissidence |
| title_fullStr | Rewriting Christina Rossetti : cross-gendered sibling rivalry, fraternal intervention and the counter-poetics of dissidence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rewriting Christina Rossetti : cross-gendered sibling rivalry, fraternal intervention and the counter-poetics of dissidence |
| title_short | Rewriting Christina Rossetti : cross-gendered sibling rivalry, fraternal intervention and the counter-poetics of dissidence |
| title_sort | rewriting christina rossetti cross gendered sibling rivalry fraternal intervention and the counter poetics of dissidence |
| topic | English Language and Literature |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21974 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT moffetthelen rewritingchristinarossetticrossgenderedsiblingrivalryfraternalinterventionandthecounterpoeticsofdissidence |