Aurora Leigh: Book 2 Summary & Analysis

Time passes and Aurora gets to be 20 years old, although she still doesn’t feel complete as either a woman or an artist. She tries to reassure herself that many poets weren’t fully appreciated until after their deaths. One day while Aurora is out walking with Romney, she makes a wreath out of ivy to wear on her head. Romney isn’t amused and makes Aurora feel foolish. He hands her a book of poetry that he found down by the stream, which he noted has Greek written in feminine handwriting in the margins. He says the books seems to be full of witchcraft, so it must belong to Aurora.

Becoming a little less serious, Romney says that Aurora seems too busy being “a witch, a poet, a scholar, and the rest” to also be a woman. Aurora replies that by necessity all poets are men or women. She takes the wreath off her head but swings it about playfully as they walk. Romney doesn’t notice she still has the wreath at first, but when he sees it, he tells her it’s time to take life more seriously. He says that life for humans is no longer like it was in the Garden of Eden, and now people have to work for a living, having no time for idle thoughts.

Romney accuses Aurora and women in general of being irrational and cold-hearted, weeping over one sick child, but ignoring wider suffering. For this reason and others, he believes she’ll never be a poet, saying that she pretends to be an artist in the same way that a child pretends to fight with a sword. He talks dismissively about how people like to honor female writers as an excuse to talk in self-congratulatory ways about the countries that produce these women writers.

Aurora interrupts Romney. She says she knows her own limitations but would rather “pursue a frivolous trade by serious means than a sublime art frivolously.” Romney agrees that Aurora’s goals may be noble, but he talks about how the earth is corrupt, and how although previous generations claimed to be civilizing the world, they built civilization on “dead man’s bones,” making the result doomed to fail.

Aurora asks if Romney believes in God, and he says he does, but he sympathizes more with humanity than with God. He takes no comfort in the possibility of the afterlife, just as an extinct mastodon would take no comfort knowing that elephants still roam the earth. Romney’s soul feels heavy when he thinks of how much humanity has suffered, and he doesn’t think Aurora understands.

Aurora replies by saying she knows she is less experienced than Romney and that women in general seem younger than men of the same age. But she argues that a child can still say amen to a prayer made by a bishop, and she still believes she can understand the things Romney is saying to her, wanting to hear more. Romney surprises her by saying that what he really wants is for Aurora to marry him.

Aurora complains that if she’s really as weak as Romney describes her, then it’s inconsistent for him to also believe that she’d make a good wife. Romney says his words aren’t contradictory, and his criticisms of her have nothing to do with his belief in her good qualities. He believes women aren’t suited to art but are very well suited to “duty.” Aurora says Romney doesn’t really want a full woman as his wife, just a “helpmate” to aid him in achieving his own causes. She rejects his proposal.

Romney is disappointed and in a state of disbelief at first when Aurora rejects him. He says she still has the wrong idea and that he’ll die without her love. But Aurora replies that Romney only sees women as a supplement to men, not as people with their own lives. She admits that she may not be ready yet to compose great works of poetry, but she believes there’s something noble in the aspiration to create something great. She loves art and doesn’t care if Romney approves or not.

Later, Aurora will wonder what would’ve happened if she’d accepted Romney’s proposal. Even at the time, she does admire some things about him, but looking back, she still doesn’t regret any of her words to him, feeling certain that she and Romney don’t love each other. After the failed proposal, Romney and Aurora finish their walk and make it back to Leigh Hall. Aurora’s aunt invites them in, but Romney informs Aurora’s aunt that Aurora has “dismissed” him from the property, and so he leaves. Her aunt thinks it was rude for Aurora to send him away, not knowing the reason, so Aurora explains his proposal.

Aurora says to her aunt that Romney spoke to her condescendingly during his proposal and didn’t seem to actually care about her. Her aunt accuses her of having too-high standards, believing that Romney is more than suitable for Aurora. She explains to Aurora that even though Aurora is her father’s sole descendant, because Aurora isn’t male, her family’s money will actually go to Romney, leaving Aurora broke. Marrying Romney is the only way to keep the money. Vane Leigh, Romney’s father, had been planning on Romney and Aurora’s wedding since practically their births. Her aunt admits that Romney is a little idealistic with unrealistic ideas about how to improve the world, but she says this is only a minor flaw.

Aurora insists that she’s glad she rejected Romney, and her aunt accuses her of having a fever. Aurora tries to pacify her aunt, saying she believes God led her to reject Romney this morning and that it’s for the best. Her aunt tells Aurora she’s being foolish—she herself feels certain that Aurora loves Romney based on how she acts when he’s around. Although Aurora blushes at this, she feels she doesn’t do so out of love.

After her conversation with her aunt, Aurora grows sad, thinking of how her friendship with Romney has now come to an end. She figures that since she has rejected the help of people like Romney, she must learn to help herself. Later that day, Aurora receives a note from Romney where he apologizes if he spoke harshly earlier. In the note, he repeats his marriage offer. Aurora writes back a note replying that she isn’t angry with Romney, but she still doesn’t love him.

The next few weeks pass quietly. Romney doesn’t visit Leigh Hall, and Aurora’s aunt doesn’t scold her. Six weeks after Romney’s proposal, Aurora is shocked one day to see her aunt sitting totally still in her usual chair, dead, holding an unopened letter, the contents of which no longer seem to matter.

Aurora sees Romney for the first time since his proposal at her aunt’s funeral, and the meeting is cordial but awkward. At the reading of the will, Aurora learns that she’s inherited all her aunt’s money. It’s not much, but more than she ever expected to inherit. Romney offers to also pay her an income, given that he has inherited Romney’s father’s fortune, which is considerably greater than the aunt’s. He believes it’s only the honorable thing for him to do.

Aurora turns down any money from Romney. She learns that in fact, the money that her aunt left her in her will was a gift from Romney, as a way to make it so the aunt was technically in possession of the money, leaving something for Aurora. Aurora asks when this transaction occurred, and Romney admits it was the day before the aunt’s death. Aurora says she thinks this is the same letter she saw in her aunt’s hand when she died—her aunt never actually read it. Aurora produces the letter and tears it up. Romney is shocked. After a few moments of silence, he asks Aurora what she’ll do now.

Aurora tells Romney she’ll move to London. She wants to be a writer and either succeed or fail on her own terms. He wishes her the best, then says he supposes he will have to busy himself with his own work, which includes social causes like helping at orphanages. Aurora can tell he doesn’t approve of her decision and is still judging her. They part, and several years pass.