Properzia Rossi was a talented sculptor, poet, and musician. She was madly in love with a Roman Knight and tried desperately to gain his love and attention. After constant disappointment, she died of a broken heart.
"Tell me no more, no more of my soul's lofty gifts! Are they not vain to quench its haunting thirst for happiness? Have I not lov'd, and striven, and fail'd to bind one true heart unto me, whereon my own might find a resting-place, a home for all its burden of affections?" (p. 409)
Often in life, no matter how talented and happy a person seems on the outside, deep down it seems no amount of acclamations and acknowledgments are enough to ease the longing they feel inside. When we hear our favorite love song or read our favorite love poem, we subconsciously image the writer to have gotten their inspiration from their one true love. Properzia reminds me of women who will "by any means necessary" gain the affections of someone they deemed to be "the one". We judge these type of women and say they're desperate or crazy to not move on when the feelings aren't reciprocated. But as we know, when the heart and mind are in a tug-of-war, the heart usually wins.
"I depart, unknown, tho' fame goes with me; I must leave the earth unknown......Yet one more dream! from my deep spirit one victorious gleam ere I depart! for thee alone, for thee! May this last work, this farewell triumph be, thou, lov'd so vainly! I would leave enshrined something immortal of my heart and mind, that yet may speak to thee when I am gone? (p.409)
I originally thought of Properzia's death as a woman drowning in love sick sorrow until her heart couldn't take it anymore. But this verse of poem leads me to believe she planned her death and committed suicide. I can hear her saying, "It is better to have loved and lost, than to not have loved at all." Before she dies, she makes one last chance effort to win his affections. When that doesn't work, she leaves the sculpture with him, with the hopes of it being a constant reminder to him of her love. Because of her unrequited love for the Roman Knight, she feels as though she is a nobody in her life. My mom has a friend that is a highly esteemed nurse who sits on the Board of Directors at the hospital. Unlike Properzia, she has been married to at least 5 different men who she felt were "the one". Like Properzia, she went to great lengths to gain the love of these men; buying wardrobes, jewelry, cars and trips. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, she hasn't given up on finding her "Knight ".
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1 comment:
Sherri,
Good comments and observations on Hemans's poem, and effective selection and discussion of specific passages from the text. Interesting connections to your mother's friend's experience, too.
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