If I remember correctly, Ricks dates "La Figlia" to November 1911, and I
think TSE met Emily Hale only in 1912 (I believe this is in Valerie Eliot's
chronology preceding the letters). And I believe Hayward tells of a statue
Eliot *hoped* to see in Rome but couldn't find. I was very intrigued by
Steve's (sorry I don't know last names) references to the Aeneid and to
Dante and they've added a fine additional resonance to the poem. I'd like
to just add that the image of abandonment here is really quite violent: "As
the soul leaves the body torn and bruised, / As the mind deserts the body it
has used..." One of the early signs of Eliot's severe discomfort with
sexual desire. Though I'm also intrigued by his alignment of the woman with
the body in this violation--very much overturning Victorian readings of
Woman as "angel in the house," that is, as pure spirit devoid of bodily
complications.

Brian Trehearne
Montreal

----- Original Message -----
From: Nancy Gish - Women's Studies <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 1:42 PM
Subject: Re: Thoughts on "La Figlia che Piange"


> I think that poem was written well before he married or even met
> Vivienne. But he already was having relations in which he was
> faithless, i.e. Emily Hale.
> Nancy
>
> On 24 Jan 2002, at 13:06, [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Steve,
> > Do you think Eliot felt this way about the fate of women in
> > relationships because of his guilt over his poor relationship with his
own
> > wife? Sue E.
>
>
>