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Summary ‘A helpmeet for him’ Christina Rossetti Notes
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Notes containing analysis and summary of ‘A helpmeet for him’ by Christina Rossetti.
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Christina RossettiA helpmeet for him
Meaning:
In this poem Rossetti summarises the perception of women within Victorian
society, particularly in relation to the male perception of women. She suggests
the way that women appear submissive and seem to exist only for the pleasure
of men in the first stanza, however she then suggests the hidden strength of
Victorian females and hints at their true power.
Looking at interpretations of this poem’s meaning, Rossetti was not traditionally
a feminist, and in fact was opposed to feminism as she believed that many of the
values opposed those of her religious beliefs, so this is not a feminist poem but
does portray females in an overwhelmingly positive light. In this sense, there is a
suggestion that the feminism portrayed in this poem may have been done so
ironically; perhaps Rossetti is actually generating ironic social satire in order to
critique feminism.
Contextually speaking, ‘A helpmeet for him’ was written during the women’s
suffrage movement which was prominent in the 1880’s and was commissioned
by the Anglican Church as a counter to the movement. The poem itself however
does not impose the inferiority of masculinity above femininity and instead
appears to aspire to the sort of sexual equality that Rossetti believed women
would suffer in the afterlife, after suffering inequality on earth. Her expressions
of the injustice of the double standards she observed in her contemporary
society in her poetry, contradict what could be expected of a purely traditionalist
fundamentalist.
Other factors influence the notion of this poem being either feminist or anti-
feminist critique:
Rossetti signed the Mary Ward 1888 anti-suffrage petition
She helped in the rehabilitation of ‘Fallen women’ in the St Mary
Magdalene Penitentiary
In her commentary ‘The Face of the Deep’, Rossetti appeared to promote
the concept of the ‘separate spheres’ of gender and its socio-psychological
implications, but also promote the ideal of equilibrium, and balance
between the equal forces of man and woman.
Form/Structure:
This poem’s from is known as a roundel, containing 11 lines in three stanzas,
with stanzas 1 and 3 identically patterned.
This could be interpreted as showing the complementary nature of man and
woman or, in another way, could suggest the strength of underlying female
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