Context - An Apple Gathering

• In Victorian society, a woman’s virtue and marital status often defined her social worth - The poem’s narrator is metaphorically punished for prioritizing romantic or sensual fulfilment (wearing blossoms rather than gathering apples, a traditional symbol of fertility or productivity) - Her empty basket upon return, and her neighbours’ scorn, can be read as a commentary on societal expectations that women must conform to domestic roles and marriage - The narrator’s "loitering" may suggest passive resistance against these norms, yet she is socially ostracized for it
• The poem 'An Apple Gathering' aligns with the moral allegory typical of Rossetti’s other work, such as Goblin Market - The apple becomes a symbol not only of temptation (evoking Eve) but of potential sexual fall or missed opportunity - The contrast between the narrator and women like Gertrude, who has help carrying her basket (implying male support or a conventional relationship), highlights how society rewarded women who conformed and punished those who transgressed or remained single - The poem, then, reflects Rossetti’s concern with sin, redemption, and the consequences of romantic idealism
• As part of the Pre-Raphaelite circle, Rossetti often imbued natural imagery with emotional depth - The apple tree and pink blossoms evoke not just sensuality but ephemeral beauty - suggesting the fleeting nature of youth and love - The flowers worn in the narrator’s hair suggest vanity or romantic dreaming, while the barren tree she returns to underscores the loss that follows self-indulgent or idealistic pursuits - The Pre-Raphaelite obsession with decay and lost innocence is evident in the shift from floral adornment to fruitless return
• Christina Rossetti’s own experiences with failed relationships deeply inform the emotional tone of 'An Apple Gathering ' - Her broken engagement to James Collinson, a fellow member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, ended due to religious differences - Rossetti’s devout Anglo-Catholicism clashed with his conversion to Catholicism - Later, she also declined marriage proposals from Charles Cayley, a linguist and friend, due again to religious incompatibility - These personal sacrifices are echoed in the poem’s themes of romantic loss, regret, and spiritual steadfastness - The narrator’s mourning of a lost connection and isolation from society may reflect Rossetti’s own emotional reckonings, as she chose principle over passion, resigning herself to a life of celibacy and poetic contemplation
• 'An Apple-Gathering' by Rossetti uses the extended metaphor of fruit gathering to symbolise emotional and romantic fulfilment, with the apples representing opportunities for love, fertility, and societal acceptance - The narrator’s failure to collect apples becomes emblematic of missed chances and the social consequences of non-conformity, especially for women in a patriarchal Victorian context - As others pass by with their baskets full - suggesting conventional success in love and domesticity - the speaker’s empty-handed return underscores her alienation and inner desolation - This metaphor not only critiques the rigid expectations placed on women but also reflects Rossetti’s personal conflict between earthly love and spiritual devotion