Rossetti, Christina

Definition

One of the major Victorian poets, Christina Rossetti, was also a gifted theologian, authoring substantial devotional works. Portrayed by the end of the nineteenth century as a sweet but melancholy recluse, she has in recent decades been reevaluated for her subtle artistry, social and gender criticism, theological complexity, and – as stressed here – environmentalism.

Introduction

Born to an Italian émigré revolutionary and a mother whose own father had immigrated from Italy, Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 Dec. 1830–29 Dec. 1894) grew up in a London home full of international visitors and wide culture. Like her mother, Frances Mary Lavinia, and older sister, Maria Francesca Rossetti, she was a devout member of the Church of England. Her brother, Dante Gabriel, would by 1848 become the leading figure of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, an artistic movement to which Christina and her other brother, William Michael, were early contributors. William Michael was a critic of art and...