Christina Georgina Rossetti

Maude Clare

Repetition as frame

This opening stanza repeats at line 49. Rossetti brackets the entire narrative with identical language, signaling that we're seeing the same moment from different angles—before and after Maude Clare's intervention.

Out of the church she followed them
With a lofty step and mien:

Repetition as frame

This opening stanza repeats at line 49. Rossetti brackets the entire narrative with identical language, signaling that we're seeing the same moment from different angles—before and after Maude Clare's intervention.

Repetition as frame

This opening stanza repeats at line 49. Rossetti brackets the entire narrative with identical language, signaling that we're seeing the same moment from different angles—before and after Maude Clare's intervention.

His bride was like a village maid,
Maude Clare was like a queen.

Repetition as frame

This opening stanza repeats at line 49. Rossetti brackets the entire narrative with identical language, signaling that we're seeing the same moment from different angles—before and after Maude Clare's intervention.

"Son Thomas," his lady mother said,
With smiles, almost with tears:
"May Nell and you but live as true
As we have done for years;
"Your father thirty years ago
Had just your tale to tell;
But he was not so pale as you,
Nor I so pale as Nell."

Paleness as emotional marker

Three characters are described as pale in quick succession (lines 15-16). This isn't delicate beauty—it's physical evidence of emotional crisis: Thomas from guilt, Nell from wounded pride, and his mother from recognizing history repeating.

My lord was pale with inward strife,
And Nell was pale with pride;

Paleness as emotional marker

Three characters are described as pale in quick succession (lines 15-16). This isn't delicate beauty—it's physical evidence of emotional crisis: Thomas from guilt, Nell from wounded pride, and his mother from recognizing history repeating.

Paleness as emotional marker

Three characters are described as pale in quick succession (lines 15-16). This isn't delicate beauty—it's physical evidence of emotional crisis: Thomas from guilt, Nell from wounded pride, and his mother from recognizing history repeating.

My lord gazed long on pale Maude Clare
Or ever he kissed the bride.
"Lo, I have brought my gift, my lord,
Have brought my gift," she said:
"To bless the hearth, to bless the board,
To bless the marriage-bed.
"Here's my half of the golden chain
You wore about your neck,
That day we waded ancle-deep
For lilies in the beck:
"Here's my half of the faded leaves
We plucked from budding bough,
With feet amongst the lily leaves,—

Cyclical imagery

The lilies 'budding now' mirrors the moment 'we plucked from budding bough.' By referencing the same flowers in different seasons, Maude emphasizes that time has passed but the pattern hasn't changed—he's still drawn to her.

The lilies are budding now."
He strove to match her scorn with scorn,
He faltered in his place:

Speech disruption as breakdown

Thomas repeats her name three times with dashes between, then hides his face. This fragmentation—the opposite of fluent speech—shows emotional collapse. He cannot perform the role of satisfied bridegroom.

"Lady," he said,—"Maude Clare," he said,—
"Maude Clare:"—and hid his face.

Speech disruption as breakdown

Thomas repeats her name three times with dashes between, then hides his face. This fragmentation—the opposite of fluent speech—shows emotional collapse. He cannot perform the role of satisfied bridegroom.

Maude's power move

Maude shifts from addressing Thomas to addressing Nell directly. By giving Nell the 'gift' of Thomas's divided heart, she forces Nell to consciously choose a compromised marriage—and Nell accepts it anyway.

She turn'd to Nell: "My Lady Nell,
I have a gift for you;

Maude's power move

Maude shifts from addressing Thomas to addressing Nell directly. By giving Nell the 'gift' of Thomas's divided heart, she forces Nell to consciously choose a compromised marriage—and Nell accepts it anyway.

Though, were it fruit, the bloom were gone,
Or, were it flowers, the dew.
"Take my share of a fickle heart,
Mine of a paltry love:
Take it or leave it as you will,
I wash my hands thereof."
"And what you leave," said Nell, "I'll take,
And what you spurn, I'll wear;
For he's my lord for better and worse,
And him I love, Maude Clare.
"Yea, though you're taller by the head,

Nell's counterargument

Nell doesn't deny Maude's superiority ('taller by the head, / More wise, and much more fair'). Instead she redefines the competition: her victory isn't being the best woman, it's being the one he chooses long-term.

More wise, and much more fair;
I'll love him till he loves me best,
Me best of all, Maude Clare."
Out of the church she followed them

Repetition as frame

This opening stanza repeats at line 49. Rossetti brackets the entire narrative with identical language, signaling that we're seeing the same moment from different angles—before and after Maude Clare's intervention.

Repetition as frame

This opening stanza repeats at line 49. Rossetti brackets the entire narrative with identical language, signaling that we're seeing the same moment from different angles—before and after Maude Clare's intervention.

With a lofty step and mien:
His bride was like a village maid,

Repetition as frame

This opening stanza repeats at line 49. Rossetti brackets the entire narrative with identical language, signaling that we're seeing the same moment from different angles—before and after Maude Clare's intervention.

Repetition as frame

This opening stanza repeats at line 49. Rossetti brackets the entire narrative with identical language, signaling that we're seeing the same moment from different angles—before and after Maude Clare's intervention.

Maude Clare was like a queen.
"Son Thomas," his lady mother said,
With smiles, almost with tears:
"May Nell and you but live as true
As we have done for years;
"Your father thirty years ago
Had just your tale to tell;
But he was not so pale as you,
Nor I so pale as Nell."
My lord was pale with inward strife,

Paleness as emotional marker

Three characters are described as pale in quick succession (lines 15-16). This isn't delicate beauty—it's physical evidence of emotional crisis: Thomas from guilt, Nell from wounded pride, and his mother from recognizing history repeating.

Paleness as emotional marker

Three characters are described as pale in quick succession (lines 15-16). This isn't delicate beauty—it's physical evidence of emotional crisis: Thomas from guilt, Nell from wounded pride, and his mother from recognizing history repeating.

And Nell was pale with pride;
My lord gazed long on pale Maude Clare

Paleness as emotional marker

Three characters are described as pale in quick succession (lines 15-16). This isn't delicate beauty—it's physical evidence of emotional crisis: Thomas from guilt, Nell from wounded pride, and his mother from recognizing history repeating.

Or ever he kissed the bride.
"Lo, I have brought my gift, my lord,
Have brought my gift," she said:
"To bless the hearth, to bless the board,
To bless the marriage-bed.
"Here's my half of the golden chain
You wore about your neck,
That day we waded ancle-deep
For lilies in the beck:
"Here's my half of the faded leaves
We plucked from budding bough,

Cyclical imagery

The lilies 'budding now' mirrors the moment 'we plucked from budding bough.' By referencing the same flowers in different seasons, Maude emphasizes that time has passed but the pattern hasn't changed—he's still drawn to her.

With feet amongst the lily leaves,—
The lilies are budding now."
He strove to match her scorn with scorn,
He faltered in his place:
"Lady," he said,—"Maude Clare," he said,—

Speech disruption as breakdown

Thomas repeats her name three times with dashes between, then hides his face. This fragmentation—the opposite of fluent speech—shows emotional collapse. He cannot perform the role of satisfied bridegroom.

Speech disruption as breakdown

Thomas repeats her name three times with dashes between, then hides his face. This fragmentation—the opposite of fluent speech—shows emotional collapse. He cannot perform the role of satisfied bridegroom.

"Maude Clare:"—and hid his face.
She turn'd to Nell: "My Lady Nell,

Maude's power move

Maude shifts from addressing Thomas to addressing Nell directly. By giving Nell the 'gift' of Thomas's divided heart, she forces Nell to consciously choose a compromised marriage—and Nell accepts it anyway.

Maude's power move

Maude shifts from addressing Thomas to addressing Nell directly. By giving Nell the 'gift' of Thomas's divided heart, she forces Nell to consciously choose a compromised marriage—and Nell accepts it anyway.

I have a gift for you;
Though, were it fruit, the bloom were gone,
Or, were it flowers, the dew.
"Take my share of a fickle heart,
Mine of a paltry love:
Take it or leave it as you will,
I wash my hands thereof."
"And what you leave," said Nell, "I'll take,
And what you spurn, I'll wear;
For he's my lord for better and worse,
And him I love, Maude Clare.
"Yea, though you're taller by the head,
More wise, and much more fair;

Nell's counterargument

Nell doesn't deny Maude's superiority ('taller by the head, / More wise, and much more fair'). Instead she redefines the competition: her victory isn't being the best woman, it's being the one he chooses long-term.

I'll love him till he loves me best,
Me best of all, Maude Clare."
Source

Reading Notes

The Gift as Weapon

Maude Clare doesn't crash the wedding to stop it—she comes to give 'gifts.' But these aren't congratulations. The golden chain and faded leaves are trophies of a previous relationship, physical proof that Thomas belonged to her first. By presenting them at the wedding feast, Maude forces Thomas to acknowledge their shared past in front of his bride and family. The gifts are hostages: she's claiming ownership of his history.

What makes this strategy brilliant is that Maude never explicitly demands anything. She doesn't ask Thomas to leave Nell or confess his feelings. Instead, she hands the evidence to Nell and walks away, letting the objects do the talking. Nell must now wear a crown knowing it came from another woman's hands. This is why the poem's repeated emphasis on paleness matters—everyone recognizes the emotional violence happening, even as it unfolds politely.

Why Nell Wins (and What It Costs)

Nell's final speech is often read as triumphant, but [CONTEXT: Rossetti was writing in the 1850s, when married women had no legal identity separate from their husbands]. Nell's victory is choosing to love a man who doesn't fully love her back—and she does so consciously. She admits Maude is 'taller by the head, / More wise, and much more fair,' then says she'll love him anyway, 'till he loves me best.' That 'till' is crucial: it's not a statement of fact but a condition she's imposing on herself, a long-term project of winning affection through loyalty.

The poem's symmetry—opening and closing with identical stanzas—suggests nothing has actually been resolved. Maude leaves with her 'lofty step and mien,' still queenly, still superior. Nell gets the marriage license but not the heart. Rossetti refuses to make this a simple victory. By repeating the frame, she implies this scene will happen again: the same moment, the same emotional mathematics, the same three pale faces. Nell's acceptance of a divided heart is both her strength and her trap.