Review: Aurora Leigh

This very long poem revolves around the creation of a woman poet in the Victorian period and does include a central love story, but by the time I got to the romantic climax I was so overwhelmingly tired of it all that I didn't even get a little thrill, whereas a good angsty romance usually leaves me writhing on the floor, grinning like an idiot. Also, AL is a devout Christian, and there is a lot of stuff about god taking care of things, etc., which I, as an atheist, find excruciating. There are a lot of interesting things that can be said (and have been said, at least by me, in class) about the hypocrisy of presenting Al as a progressive woman from within the context of a religious system that oppresses women as a matter of principle (love, honour, and obey, anyone?). If this had not been a course requirement, I don't think I would have bothered finishing it.