Comments on: Jane Morris: An Enigmatic Muse

By: Philip Murphy

Philip Murphy — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:03:08 +0000

I think history shows that Jane’s infidelity did not destroy Morris at all. Far from it; he appeared to engage himself totally in his work – travelling to Iceland to research Icelandic mythology – at the point when Rossetti arrived to live at Kelmscott, having taken on a joint tenancy with Morris.
Subsequently, Rossetti left Kelmscott – Morris having previously offered to withdraw his joint tenancy – and Morris continued what must be one of the most productive lives in modern times.
Jane Morris and Rossetti both appear unsatisfactory and self-centred individuals. Rossetti was self-obsessed throughout his life, being idolised by his family and appearing never to have moved on from being a spoilt child. Jane Morris was perhaps willingly ensnared in a marriage to a man she must have admired hugely but whom she never loved and thus was never attracted to, but a marriage which had raised her to a life of affluence, surrounded by brilliant talents, in which her own undoubted talents could flourish. She was fortunate that her passion for Rossetti was tolerated by Morris and allowed to run its course; but then perhaps that miserable face she showed to the world reflected the gloom her compromises had left her to grow old with.
Her apparent melancholia perhaps indicates her passion with Rossetti was not worth it!

By: Jean Etchepare

Jean Etchepare — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:39:54 +0000

I too loved the image of Rossetti’s Jane, that dark sensuous woman captivated me.
The torrid affair of Mrs.Morris and Rossetti destroyed William Morris. We shall never know the reasons for Jane’s infidelity, but Morris was tormented by it to the point of contemplating suicide. This chapter of her life has intrigued me for a long time, this”manage a trois” I find contradictory and confusing. How can a man who loves his wife dearly allows her sexual romps under his very nose and with his complete acquiescence?

By: Derek Allen

Derek Allen — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:18:02 +0000

Sounds like you have an agenda Lewis. Care to share?

By: Lewis Stonehouse

Lewis Stonehouse — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:28:17 +0000

Thanks to her marriage to William Morris, Jane Burden was given a comfortable middleclass life. Years later she repaid her husband trust and love by cuckolding him and making of him the laughing stock of Victorian London, not once, but twice; first with Morris’s closest friend, Gabriel Rossetti, and in middle age with Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, of all people.
The idealization of Jane by Rossetti was a sexual fantasy, and although she was unsophisticated, Rossetti portrayed her as wealthy, sexy, mysterious and an unobtainable muse. In reality, Jane was a calculating, cold, cheating wife, ungrateful and vain.

By: Derek Allen

Derek Allen — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:58:34 +0000

I will try and do as much as I can, but the information available through general records (censuses, birth records etc.) is not as good from the time of her birth in 1839 as it would have been ten years later. The connection is through her mother who was born Ann Maizey – my Great Great Grandmother was Elizabeth Maizey. When I find out more, I will post on here.

By: Stephanie Pina

Stephanie Pina — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:48:45 +0000

Derek, what a fascinating story! How interesting that you were drawn to her, only to find out that you are related! Will you be studying your family tree?

By: Derek Allen

Derek Allen — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:13:33 +0000

I loved the image of this beautiful woman so much that I downloaded it as my avatar on another, wholly unrelated website. Then I did some Googling and what I discovered knocked me for six. It appears that Jane and I are related through her mother. I still have to dig further to discover how closely, but as somebody pointed out, it all now smacks of incest…

By: Davis C. Peterson MD

Davis C. Peterson MD — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:48:41 +0000

It is interesting that with the exception of Liz Siddell, the pre raphaelite portraits often resemble each other to a greater degree than they do their models. There seems to be a common idealization. Along that line, any ideas yet on model or artist for Millais attributed work from James Julia Oct fine art auction? I’m counting on some sleuth to figure it out. I cannot seem to identify it, although the sensuous presentaion seems consistent with Rossetti moreso than Millais.

By: Luís César Nunes

Luís César Nunes — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:48:29 +0000

The difference between what both painters perceive was really on what kind of stuuf they took. I think Rossetti was addicted with absyntho. This explain the whole matter.

By: John

John — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:43:00 +0000

Men have always been known for their chivalry. If they are treated well by women, they get treated better in return. If women want to be taken good care of by their men, they need to respect and treat their men with dignity.