The Eternal Tug of War:
Sexual Conflict in D. G. Rossetti’s Poetry and Painting
Kuo-jung Chen*
Abstract
This paper attempts to explore the theme of sexual conflict in Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s double work of art—his painting (drawing) and its corresponding poetry. Though Rossetti’s idea of the autonomy of painting may be inconsistent with his advocacy of the “supreme perfection” achieved by the close resemblance between painting and poetry, the sexual conflict manifested in these two art forms are nonetheless enhanced by the juxtaposition of their heterogeneity and the reinforcement of their homogeneity. Rossetti’s preoccupation with beautiful women in his painting is rendered all the more prominent by an implication of sexual conflict with an absent or present male opponent, often specified in the corresponding poetry.  The male counterpart may be present in the actual physical struggle as in Found and Mary Magdalene at the Door of Simon the Pharisee. The sexual conflict may also be indicated without actual physical contact as in Cassandra. The male counterpart may not even appear on the canvas as in Lady Lilith and La Bella Mano, but he nevertheless figures more protuberantly in the corresponding poems. In Rossetti’s scenarios of tug of war between the sexes, the willpower of women almost always triumphs over that of men. If this kind of conquest is not clear-cut in the painting, the corresponding poetry often removes any doubt from the viewer-reader’s mind.

Keywords：D. G. Rossetti, double work of art (painting and poetry), sexual conflict