When reading "Properzia Rossi," the author is clear that she has loved and lost the love of the subject of her poem. However, the unrequited love does not just reflect the feelings of the author, but also represents a larger idea of femininity within its points. Beginning with somewhat of an outcry regarding all of the qualities that the author has that should ensure her happiness and presence of a husband, but she finds herself alone and thinking death may offer some relief to finding a lover. The idea of having a lover or the love of the poem's subject is certain to offer a fulfilled life for the speaker, "Tell me no more, no more/ Of my soul's lofty gifts! Are they not vain/ To quench its haunting search happiness?" (29 1-3). The woman admits she has such gifts as we learn later to be her artistry, along with other talents and personality traits, but this is not enough for her to feel happy with her life. Although this poem is almost 200 years old, its representation of femininity is still believed today - a woman is no woman alone. As the poem continues, there are an abundance of examples as to why the female subject of the poem cannot possibly live a life alone or without a companion of some sort.
Continuing to read the poem, the reader sees that the author is creating this sculpture to somehow express her grievance of a lack of love, and is having trouble getting through the art form despite her talents, because she has no sense of belonging and the man she has loved will not accept this love or reciprocate it. Speaking to just the sculpture itself, the author further establishes her priority for her companion as she is trying to finish her work, "I cannot make thee! Oh! I might have given/ Birth to creations of far nobler thought,/ I might have kindled. with the fire of heaven,/Things not of such as die! But I have been/ Too much alone; a heart whereon to lean." (31 65-70). Yet again, the talent of the author and artist is mentioned and her great accomplishments are obvious, but she cannot separate herself from this problem of love and need for a man. Allowing this supposedly amazing woman to lose herself in a problem of love or loneliness establishes a message that a woman of this time period not only needs a man at her side to ensure her social class and future due to society's expectations, but perhaps for her own sense of security and longing. There are still many modern ideals we hold that say you must have someone in this life to truly be happy or accepted into society, granted these ideas affect both genders, but there is a clear expectation that women need men more than men need women. By writing this poem, the author has made the reader accept that you can be the most talented sculptor in the world, but if you do not have a man to show for this, you have nothing in society's eyes and your own.
Reading this poem really reminded me of the show How I Met Your Mother, which has the same type of story-line, but with a male character needing a wife in order to be happy. The main character, Ted Mosby, is an amazing architect with all sorts of his own accomplishments to take up his time and friends to enjoy seeing, but he cannot get past the lack of a lover in his life and is always on the hunt. Ted also has a spread out unrequited love in the last part of the show with Robin, a woman he has loved since the moment he met, and when she finally shuts him down he appears to be just as broken as the author, which you can view here. My apologies for the bad quality, there were no better clips!
Questions:
1) Are there other ways that femininity is shown through the poem? Is my interpretation too far one way, and could the actual love and yearning the author expresses be a good way to show more feminine power?
2) Does this poem's picture of women fit with the other poem's representations? Why or why not?
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