Context - Our Mothers

• Rossetti’s 'Our Mothers' draws heavily on the Victorian elegiac tradition, which often fused personal grief with Christian hope - In this poem, the speaker remembers women of the past - mothers and sisters - as spiritual role models, presenting death not as an end but a transition to a holier realm - Like many Victorian elegies, the poem turns sorrow into instruction, suggesting that earthly suffering is a necessary part of spiritual refinement - The act of remembrance becomes sacred, and mourning is softened by the belief in divine redemption and the eternal presence of the dead in Paradise
• Rossetti’s 'Our Mothers' is saturated with religious undertones shaped by Rossetti’s alignment with Tractarian (or Oxford Movement) beliefs, which emphasized ritual, self-denial, and the visible church - The repeated encouragement to “learn,” “work,” “walk,” “hope,” and “fear” as the women did highlights the value of humility, spiritual discipline, and enduring faith - There is a quiet reverence for the Christian virtues of patience and trust in divine providence, particularly when “walking by faith, not by sight” - This reinforces the idea that Christian suffering, even when painful or unclear, leads to eternal reward and unity with God
• Rossetti presents the figures of "Our Mothers" and "Our Sisters" as paragons of moral purity and grace, aligning with Victorian ideals of womanhood that celebrated domesticity, piety, and self-sacrifice - The poem reinforces the concept of the “angel in the house,” portraying women as gentle guides whose lives and deaths embody virtue - However, Rossetti’s tone - subtle and reflective - also invites contemplation on the weight of such expectations - These women, though celebrated, are remembered for enduring rather than resisting, suggesting both admiration for and the possible cost of their idealised roles
• In 19th-century Britain, death was a common and culturally visible aspect of life, shaped by frequent encounters with loss and an elaborate mourning culture - Rossetti's poem 'Our Mothers' captures this ethos, blending grief with spiritual continuity - The line “whether or not you bear to look on me” suggests a poignant self-awareness of the speaker’s perceived inadequacy, common in Victorian introspection about moral worthiness - The “happy eyes” whose tears “are wiped away” reflect Revelation 21:4, reinforcing the Christian promise of peace after death - This context deepens the poem’s consolatory tone, suggesting that earthly sorrow is temporary and redeemed by divine mercy
• 'Our Mothers' by Christina Rossetti employs the extended metaphor of spiritual inheritance, portraying the departed women - mothers and sisters - not simply as lost loved ones, but as guiding lights whose virtues transcend death - Their lives are framed as a kind of moral scripture, a legacy of endurance, humility, and steadfast faith that continues to instruct the living - The speaker is urged to "learn," "work," and "hope" as these women once did, suggesting that their memory functions as a sacred blueprint for Christian living - This metaphor reinforces the poem's devotional tone, positioning the women as both mourned figures and eternal moral beacons whose influence persists beyond the grave