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Acknowledgements
Severalcolleagueshavecontributedtothisbookwithanintellectual generosityforwhichIamextraordinarilygrateful.Manythankstothe serieseditor,TimothyLarsen,forhisenthusiasmandsupport;toTom PerridgeandKarenRaithatOxfordUniversityPressfortheirguidancewiththeproject;andtothebook’sanonymousreviewersand copy-editor,DorothyMcCarthy.Iamindebtedtoboththekindness andexceptionalscholarshipofthosewhoworkonRossetti,especially DianeD’Amico,AnthonyHarrison,LorraineJanzenKooistra,Lizzie Ludlow,JanMarsh,DinahRoe,andWilliamWhitla.Thanksalsoto thosewhoinvitedmetospeakonthisbook,andsharedwithmetheir ownperspectivesonRossetti:MatthewBradleyandLouisaYatesat Gladstone’sLibrary,Hawarden;LizzieLudlowandKirstyHarrisat AngliaRuskin’sNineteenth-CenturyStudiesresearchunit;Tessa WhitehouseattheQueenMaryCentreforReligionandLiteraturein English;Jan-MelissaSchrammattheNineteenth-CenturySeminar, UniversityofCambridge;RebeccaStylerattheMidlandsInterdisciplinaryVictorianStudiesSeminar;andmembersoftheVictorian Seminar,UniversityofOxford.
Forassistancewitharchivalresearch,thankstoMarkAitken,the MasterofStKatharine’s,London;NicolaAllenatWoburnAbbey; DianaCoulteratChurchCare;KateCourageattheUniversity ofWarwick;ColinHarrisattheBodleianLibraries,Universityof Oxford;AnnaJamesandBenjaminArnoldatPuseyHouse,Oxford; AlisonLeslieattheNationalLibraryofScotland;ClaireNicholasWalkerattheHumanitiesReferenceServiceattheBritishLibrary; LynReesattheCentralArchive,BritishMuseum;EmmaRobinson, ChairofFromeMuseum;AndrewWilsonattheTorringtonSquare Chaplaincy,UniversityofLondon;andMichaelWoodsattheBritish Library.ThanksalsotoColinCruiseandLizPrettejohnforhelping mesourceimages;LiesePerrinatResearchServices,Universityof Warwick;andthestaffatAllSaints,MargaretStreet,theBodleian UpperReadingRoom,andUniversityofWarwickLibrary.Iam alsogratefultoChrisFletcher,keeperofSpecialCollections,atthe
x Acknowledgements
BodleianLibraries,UniversityofOxford;ChelseaShriveratRare BooksandSpecialCollections,UniversityofBritishColumbiaLibrary; andCraigStathamattheNationalLibraryofScotlandforquotation andimagepermissions.
Manyconversationsandcorrespondenceshelpedmetothink aboutthisproject,forwhichthankstoIsobelArmstrong,Grover J.Askins,RichardCapobianco,JoCarruthers,GrahamDavidson, JaneDowson,MaureenFreely,PeterGalison,DanaGreene,John Holmes,EileenJohn,MarkKnight,SimonKövesi,PeterLarkin,Ayla Lepine,JeanneMarieMissud,RalphNorman,TraceyPotts, JonRoberts,MichaelRobson,ChristopherRowland,JasonRudy, MatthewRumbold,RobinSchofield,RyanService,JoanneShattock, JonathanSkinner,ElenaSpandri,JaneTreglown,CamilUngureanu, RhianWilliams,andSantiagoZabala.Finally,thankstotheLeverhulme TrustandtheUniversityofWarwickfortimetowritethisbook, andtofamilyandfriends,nonhumanandhuman,forencouragement andsupport.
1.WhatisCatholicisChristian:TractarianOrigins, 1830–184933
2.KinshipandCreation:AmongstthePre-Raphaelites, 1850
186270
3.PrettyBeastsandFlowers:ACompanionableFaith, 1863–1884107
4.GreenGraceandtheEndofTime,1885–1894159
Poetry,Ecology,Faith
InJuly1890,ChristinaRossettiwroteashort ‘Memorandaformy Executor’ inwhichsheoutlinedaseriesofinstructionstobefulfilled followingherdeath.Her firstrequestwasforwhatwouldnowbe calleda ‘ green ’ funeral: ‘Iwishtobeburiedinthenearestapproach convenienttoa perishable coffin ’ . 1 Perishablecoffinswereintroducedin thelatenineteenthcenturyaspartofawaveofenvironmentalthinking.Wickercoffins,inwhichthedeceasedwasshroudedinherbs and flowers,cateredtothosewho,likeRossetti,wishedtooptfora ‘natural’ burial.Therequestwasimportanttoher,oneofonlyafew detailsinherwillandlistedalongsideinstructionsthatherexecutor (herbrother,William)depositacopyofoneofherfather ’sbooksin theOxfordMovementarchiveinPuseyHouseLibrary,anddonate herringsto ‘aChurchOffertory’ . 2 Hermaterialbequestsconfirmher intentiontoberememberedasbothadevoutAnglo-Catholicandasa memberofauniversalCatholicChurchthatshebelievedembodied allChristians.Rossetti’sdesirethatherbodydisintegrateintothe earth,however,intimatesabeliefinthecyclicalinterdependenceof lifeuntilrestoredinthe ‘ new ’ creation,orNewJerusalem,attheend oftime.3 Herpracticalappealforabiodegradablecoffinalongsideher doctrinalbeliefindeathasrenewedliferevealsapoetwhowaskeento livecollectivelywithcreationbothinthislifeandthenext.Rossetti longedfortheSecondAdventandtheendofthistimebecauseit constitutedamaterialtransformationofacreationshesawscarredby theprioritiesofindustrialization,consumerism,imperialism,slavery, war,poverty,andtheexploitationofthenonhumanforhumangain. Suchunevenandunequalthinkingwouldnotbringontheapocalypse,sheargued,butblockitfromunfolding.Shebelievedthatthe
ChristinaRossetti
newcreationwastheoldtrans figuredthroughagracedandloving knowingandbeingfreeofjudgementandsin,andwasthusdependent onthelivedrealizationofcommunionandinterrelationshipinthis world.MuchofRossetti’slifeandworkwasdedicatedtopreparing herselfandherreadersforthetransitionintothenewcreationby endorsingawayoflivingharmoniouslywithotherhumansandnonhumans.Herwritingrevealedfaithastheabilitytorecognizeone’ s collectivebeingingracewithothersandGod,partofadivinebodyin whichtheChristianwasmovedintoanenvironmentalandethical relationshipwithcreationinwhichallthingsaregatheredthrough grace: ‘andallthemembersofthatonebody,beingmany,areonebody: soalsoisChrist’ (1Corinthians12.12).
ItissometimesasurprisetomodernreadersthatmanyVictorian proto-environmentalistswereChristian.Thisisinnosmallpartdueto amainstreamcriticalrefusaltoattendtothespecificsofthehistoryof Christianityandecology.SomeecocriticsevendeemChristianitythe ‘ cause ’ ofthemodernecologicalcrisis,andalignthemselveswithLynn White’smuch-quoted1967articlethatblamedaWesterndualistic thinkingfortheproductionofaworldviewthatwire-cutsthehuman fromnature.4 ButevenWhiteconcludedhisanalysiswithadiscussion ofthepatronsaintofecology,FrancisofAssisi,amajorinfluenceon Rossetti,asChapter3suggests,butcurrentlypopularwiththinkers likeMichaelHardt,AntonioNegri,andGiorgioAgambenforofferingaspiritualitythatcounterscapitalism,consumption,andpower.5
PopeFrancis’s2015encyclical ‘LaudatoSi’:OnCareforOurCommonHome’,isalsoresolutethathumanbeings ‘mustrespectthelaws ofnatureandthedelicateequilibriaexistingbetweenthecreatures ofthisworld’;whiletheEasternOrthodoxBartholomewrulesthat to ‘commitacrimeagainstthenaturalworldisasin’,to ‘destroythe biologicaldiversityofGod’screation’ and ‘degradetheintegrityof theEarthbycausingchangesinitsclimate’ or ‘contaminatethe Earth’swaters,itsland,air,anditslifewithpoisonoussubstances thesearesins’ . 6 Thesepronouncements,howevertimelytheyappear inatwenty-first-centurycontextofenvironmentalcrisis,emergedirectlyfromaChristiantraditioninwhichloveofcreationandone’ s neighbourhasalwaysbeenparamount.ToreadRossetti’sfaithas ecologicalisnotpresentist,then,buthistorical;herdedicationto Anglo-Catholicismwasoneinwhichshecommittedherselftoa
seriesofdoctrinalandmoralstatementsabouttheincorporationof nonhuman,human,anddivineinthe figureofChrist.Throughan affectionaterelationshiptothesea,woods,parks,stars,galaxies,and thecreaturesandlifeformsthatdwelledtherein,shedevelopedher Tractarianfaithintothefoundationforanecologicalspiritualityin whichallthingsareunitedinGod’slove.
ThisspirituallifeofRossettitracesanecologicallovecommandin herwriting poetry,prose,andletters fromherearlyinvolvement inTractarianism(Chapter1)andthePre-RaphaeliteBrotherhood (Chapter2),mid-lifecommitmenttoaChristianidentityshesaw embodiedinplantandanimallife(Chapter3),andthe ‘weakthinking’ ofherlateryearsinwhichsherelatedgracetotheapocalypse (Chapter4).Hercommandisnotimpulsiveorunmindful,butrather thesustainedfulfilmentofJesus’ssummonstoloveothers,andactand makedecisionsintheworldunderlove’sguidance.7 FollowingJohn Keble,sheconsideredpoetrytheidealexpressionofthisgentling, compassionatewayofbeing,alyricmodeinheritedfromRomantic poetry,butthattheTractarians ‘disciplinedandtamed’ intoareligiousandmoraltriggerforloveandsympathy.8 Shelaterarguedthat ‘hearing’ wastheonlysensecapableoftuningintothe ‘intangibleand invisible’,andthatbelieverswereideallypreparedforthereceptionof invisiblemessagesthroughartformslikepoetrythatencouragedclose attention.9 ForKebletoo,poetryobliquelyreservedreligioustruthsin aformthatallowedforthepersonalexpressionoffaithanddevotion, butthattempereditbydirectingtheimagination,reason,andaffectionstowardsGod.JohnHenryNewmandescribedthistruthasthe poeticreimaginingoftheworldaspartofadivinely ‘energized’ cosmos inwhichitwasaChristian ‘duty’ toseethings ‘takenintodivinefavour, stampedwithhisseal,andintrainingforfuturehappiness’ . 10 Drawing onKeble’sformaldiscipline,Rossettiwrotepoetryandacarefully measuredprosethatrevealedthenewcreationanditspromised ‘future happiness’ asoneavailableinthematerialpresenttothosewillingto entergracethroughkinshipwithothers.11
RossettibelievedthatkinshipwasthebasisonwhichearlyChristianityunfolded,anecotheologicalargumentshetracedbacktothe ChurchFathers.Tractarianism ’srevivaloftheFathersintroducedher toanondualistreadingofgraceandnature,humanandnonhuman, earthlyanddivine,whiletheirrenewalofAnglicanismaspartofa
universalCatholicChurchalsoclosedthedividebetweenCanterbury andRome.Thenon-binarystructureofthistheologywasalsodistinctlyTrinitarian,adoctrinethatproposedtheontologicalinseparabilityoftheFather,Son,andHolyGhost,and,likePaul’sdivine body,modelledaninterconnectednessinwhichallthingsareboth distinctandone.TheincarnationalnatureofGod’sbeinginJesuswas aconstantremindertoRossettithatallofcreationismadeofthe divineandsointerdependentwithitself.Rossetti’sJesuswasnotonly Godmade flesh,butGodmadeintoallthings,acompositeofmultiple species,beings,andsubstances.AJewishhumanfromNazareth entwinedwithGodandtheHolySpirit,Jesuswasalsoananimal (‘BeholdtheLambofGod!’ John1.36),aplant(‘Iamthevine’,John 15.5),agrain(‘Iamthebread’,John6.35),arock(‘thechiefcorner stone’,Ephesians2.20),alight(‘Iamthelightoftheworld’,John8.12) andwaterorwine(‘Ifanymanthirst,lethimcomeuntome,and drink’,John7.37).Therevelationofhisdivinityatthepointofhis baptism(Matthew3.17)wasalsogiventhroughtheappearanceofthe nonhumanintheformofadove.Atthesametime,Jesuswasthe embodimentofgrace(John1.17)and,astheChrist,thegiverofgrace toallthings(Ephesians4.7).12 Rossettibelievedin ‘prevenientgrace’ , thatwhichsustainslifefromitsinceptionwhileensuringitstransition intothe ‘newheaven ’ and ‘newearth’ describedbyJohninRevelation (21.1).13 Shealsobelievedthatnonhumanlifeformswerealways alreadygracedbecausetheylackthecapacityfordeliberatecruelty andsocompriseaperfectednaturethatservesasanexampleofhow tolive.Thehuman,bycontrast,whodoes ‘toil’ and ‘spin’ (Matthew6.28), entersintoandnourishesgracethroughgoodworksandthesacraments,andalsobymodellingherbehaviouronthenonhuman.There isthusapracticalitytoRossetti ’sdivinization(theosis)ofanimals andplants,onethatshebasedonherreadingoftheSermononthe MountandRevelation.Inthesetexts,sheargued,creationappearsas anentangledcommunityofthingsthatdonotinteractasseparate thingscomingtogether,butthatintra-actthroughcommunionwith thedivine.
TheecotheologicalreadingofcreationRossettidevelopedacross herwritingoffersachallengetothemoderncondemnationofChristianityasthenaturalizingforcebehindinequalitybetweenspecies.14 HerAnglo-Catholicimaginingofthecosmosasafabricofparticipation
andcommunalexperienceembodiedinChristmightappearto somereadersabstractifnotnaïve.Butherfaithfocusedheron thematerialrealitiesofnonhumansuffering,asitdidherpeers. Anglo-Catholicsweremoresympathetictoanimalrightsthantheir HighandLowChurchcounterparts,andbelievedthatbecauseGod wasrevealedanalogicallythroughnature,itwastheChristian’ s responsibilitytoengagewiththeworldasaninterconnectedand socialunion.TheexampleofJesus,Rossettiargued,wasalsoaclear antidotetoideologieslikecapitalism,imperialism,andinequality thathadthepotentialtounderminethepeacefulliving-togetherof species.Whilenocreatureorthingwasinherentlyorgenetically ‘bad ’ inherthinking,thestructuresandstrategiesinwhichthey lived beholdentowhatshecalled ‘thealmightydollar’—were. 15 In Jesus’soutrightrejectionofmoneyandbelongingsRossettisawa refusalofboththelogicofmodernityandthecommodificationof creationasaresourcetobeminedandsold.Shewelcomedthe apocalypseasthatwhichwould finallyarrivetodestroy,notthe earth,butthe ‘signsofthetimes’—materialism,consumption,greed, wealth,power,andcruelty thatthreatenedtodestroyit.16 Revelation thusannouncedthebeginningofanewandsharedperspectiveon realitynourishedbythenonhumanintheNewJerusalem.LikeWilliam Blake,RossettilocatedtheNewJerusaleminLondon,butshealso understooditsgeographyasonethatwouldencompass ‘allcities’ andallnatures,atrans figuredworldnewlyadornedwithplantand animallife.17
ThisbookinsiststhatRossettiwasapracticalandpolitical,aswell asaspiritualandecologicalwriterwhosevisionofaninterconnected creationwasnolessrealforbeingjoyfulandaffirmative.Criticshave overplayedRossetti’sgloomyside,oneenshrinedbyMichaelField’ s memorialsonnetinwhichtheyhearher ‘moanforease’ andretreat from ‘joyinearthandinthykind’ . 18 But,asRossettiplayfullynoted, shedidnotsuittheroleofmelancholymartyr,andwrotetoGabriel: ‘Ifonlymy figurewouldshrinksomewhat!forafatpoetessisincongruous,especiallywhenseatedbythegraveofburiedhope.’19 While Rossetti’spoetrydoesrevealawriteranxiousthatsheandherfellow humansmightbe ‘shutout’ ofgrace,anyostensibledisquietisfaithfullytransfiguredandredeemedbyhercarefullyreservedreferences totheBibleandtheFathers.Rossettinodoubtexperiencedperiods
ofdespairandillhealthfromherteenageyearsuntilherdeath,but toignoretheconstantoflovingfaithsheexpressedinthecreated worldanditstrees,plants,andanimalsistomisstheecological significanceofherworkanditsrootednessinthelocalitiesshetraversed.ContrarytocriticswhosuggestRossettiwasan ‘urbanite whoseloveofnature’ was ‘notrootedinspecificplaces ’,Isuggest thatherreadingofthenaturalworldrelatedtoparticularenvironmentsandspecies.20 Asthefrontispieceofthisbookshows,Rossetti’ s suburbanneighbourhoodinMaryleboneandlaterBloomsburycomprisedRegent’sParkandtheZoologicalGardens,ChristChurchon AlbanyStreet,andtheBritishMuseum.Manyofherallusionstothe naturalworldarefocusedonthe floraandfaunaofthetrees,parks, andgarden-linedstreetsofthisarea,butshealsorespondedtoother destinationstowhichshetravelled Somerset,SouthAyrshire,Lancashire,Staffordshire,Hastings,Brighton,Seaford,Birchington-on-Sea, aswellasFrance,Switzerland,Germany,andItaly.21 RossettienvisionedtheChristianassomeonewholovinglyrelatedtothespecificity ofherimmediatecommunityinitsorganic,inorganic,elemental,and spiritualdiversity.Asshewrotein TheFaceoftheDeep:ADevotional CommentaryontheApocalypse (1892), ‘WeknowonthehighestAuthority thatnotonesparrowisoverlooked’ andthat,shereadinRevelation5.13, everycreature ‘inheaven,andontheearth,andundertheearth,and suchasareinthesea’ isblessedandloved.22
Thisintroductionprovidesacontextinwhichtoreadthisnarrative ofRossetti’slifeandwriting.The firstsectionreadsRossettiinrelation tocurrentVictorianecocriticism,whichlargelydiminishestherole ofnineteenth-centuryChristianityinthedevelopmentoftheenvironmentalmovement.Itbrieflyassesseshowherworkmightcontribute tothis fieldinrelationtoPre-RaphaelitismandTractarianism. ThesecondsectionestablishesRossettiasaneducatedandpoliticized Christianfullycommittedtoaninclusiveunderstandingofcreation.It alsoquestionsthecriticalperceptionofherasasombreandreclusive poetbysituatingherintheintellectuallyvibrantcircleofherfamily andtheirassociates.The finalsectionanticipatesthebroaderargument ofthisbook thatRossetti’secologicalfaithconfirmsthesignificanceof herlifeandworkforanearlytwenty-first-centurypresentinwhich indifferencetothespiritualiscomplicitwithanenvironmentalcrisis inwhichtheweakandvulnerablesuffermost.Italsomakesreference
tothewider fieldofRossettistudiesandintroducesherreadingof graceandapocalypseasauniquecontributiontotheintradiscipline ofChristianityandecology.
VictorianEcocriticism
ThecriticalreluctancetoreadRossettiexplicitlyasanecological figurecorrespondstothecomparativebelatednessofVictorianstudies toecocriticism,aproblemrecentscholarshiphasstartedtocorrect.As JesseOakTaylorargues,oneofthekey ‘disjuncturesbetweenVictorianstudiesandecocriticism’ hasbeenthe ‘issueofpresentism,the anachronisticmappingofpresentconcernsorideasontotheartefacts ofthepast’ . 23 Yetthehistoricalintimacybetweennowandthenin relationtoecology,industrialcapitalism,andthefossilfueleconomy isstriking.24 TheVictorians,Taylorasserts,werethe ‘firstinhabitants’ oftheAnthropocene,andredefinednaturebeyondpastoralismand Romanticismtoencompasstransformationsinindustry,labour, science,andaesthetics,aswellasinChristianity.ButChristianity hasbeenlargelysidelinedfromthosestudieswillingtoexplore nineteenth-centuryecocriticalquestions,anddismissedasanother formoffetishizednature ‘worship’ dependentonanegoicspiritual self.25 ThefrequenttargetforsuchcriticismisWilliamWordsworth, despitethefactthathislaterandlargelydiscountedChristianpoetry unfoldsitsownparticipatoryecologicalvision.Rossettiregistersin ecocriticismonlyminimally,eventhoughherworkrevealsGodinthe specificityofan ‘embodied,participatory,andsocial’ natureinastate ofcontinualevolutionand flux. 26 Shewasasfascinatedbythebracken andmaidenhairfernsshecollectedinDerbyshireasshewasby ‘galaxies’ of ‘distinctluminaries’ , ‘beltsandatmospheres ’ , ‘interstellar spaces ’,andthe ‘forceofsunsandmorethansuns’ 27 AsChapter3 argues,criticswhosuggestRossettiwasnotconcernedwiththespecificsoftheenvironmentchoosetoforgetheratonceempiricaland spiritualprosedescriptionsofthecosmos.Whenshewroteaboutstars, forexample,shecelebratedtheirdivinebeingasbodiesthatsingand rejoicetogether,evenasshewonderedattherecentlydiscovered vastnessofthemultiverseinwhichtheyareformed,an ‘atmosphere’ ‘fullofcurrentsandcommotions’ repletewith ‘meteors’ and ‘planets’ . 28 Thatthesolarsystemwasnolongeratthecentreofexistenceandwas
onlyoneofcountless ‘islanduniverses’ orgalaxiesmeantthatcreation wasinfinite,asJohnguessed: ‘Andtherearealsomanyotherthings whichJesusdid,thewhich,iftheyshouldbewritteneveryone, Isupposethateventheworlditselfcouldnotcontainthebooksthat shouldbewritten’ (John21.25).29
Theinaccessibilityofspacestoofarawaytocomprehendexcited Rossetti,whosereferencesto ‘lunarthermalenergy,solarphysics, eclipses,celestialspectroscopy,planetarydiscovery,doublestars,variablestars,nebulae,externalgalaxiesandtheoriesaboutthestructure oftheuniverse’ providedherwithaseriesofexpressionsforthe invisible,heavenly,andcosmic.30 AsChapter1explores,theTractariansbelievedthat ‘materialphenomena’ are ‘types’ (symbolsor shadows)of ‘realthingsunseen’,andthattheecosysteminwhichall thingslivewasinclusiveofspiritaswellasmatter,graceaswellas nature.31 Theintimateconnectionbetweentheseeminglyintangible contentoffaithandthephysicalformsthroughwhichitisrevealed intheworldmeantthateverythingwasatypeandthereforesacred. AsKirstieBlairargues,thecategory ‘form’ hadavarietyofmeanings fortheTractarians:liturgical(thepracticeofritual,phrasingofthe sacramentsanddailyservices),structural(thelawsandcommandmentsthroughwhichtheChurchwasshaped),andaesthetic(the expressionoffaithinart,architecture,clothing,anddecoration).32 TheseformshelpedthebelievercomprehendthemultipleformsGod createdoversevendaysatthebeginningoftime,aneventthat Rossettiunderstoodbyequatingthe ‘daysofcreationnotasdaysof twenty-fourhourseach,butaslapsesoftimebyusunmeasuredand immeasurable’ . 33 Inherreading,theeventofcreationwasongoing untiltheendoftime,andsocomprisedspeciesbothdiscoveredand yettobefoundinthisworldandonplanetsstillunknown.Sheinherited theideathat ‘allthingsworktogetherforgood’ fromWordsworth, whoseinsightthathumansandnonhumansalikeare ‘workingsofone mind’,the ‘typesandsymbolsofEternity’ wasacornerstoneofthe OxfordMovement.34 Wordsworth’sviewofnatureasa ‘living,active, organicwholechargedwithdivinemeaning’ waschampionedbyNewmanandKeble,notleastbecauseitwasexpressedinpoetry,where imaginativeand ‘indirectexpression’ wereideallysuitedtotheunseen andincomprehensible.35 LiketheChurchFathersandseventeenthcenturydivines,Wordsworth,S.T.Coleridge,RobertSouthey,and
WalterScottwerevaluedbytheTractariansfortheirtranslationof Christiantypologyintoanattentiveconsciousnessofaunifiedcreation.36 PartofRossetti’smissionwastowriteaformofpoetrythat couldcommunicatethechargethatheldthisunifiedcreationtogether asgrace,andsorevealthecosmosasthelivinganddynamicbody ofGod.
Thecommunionofspiritandmatter,graceandnaturewasalso manifestinanothermovementtowhichRossettiwasaffiliated:the Pre-RaphaeliteBrotherhood.AsChapter2elucidates,theirfocuson avibrantnaturalworldinwhicheverydaydetailslikepebblesand leaveswereobservedalongsideangelsandhaloesdrewonwhat Gabrielcalledan ‘art-Catholic’,anatoncemedievalandRomantic aestheticanalogoustothetheologythatfoundedtheOxfordMovement.JustasNewmanclaimedthatTractariantheologywasareactionagainst ‘thedryandsuperficialcharacterofthereligiousteaching andliteratureandthelastgeneration’,soGabrielandhiscomrades soughttoovercomeartisticconventionbyreimaginingthenatural worldwithahyperrealyetscientificprecision.37 AsJohnHolmes states,thePre-Raphaelitesobservedtheworldlikenaturalistsconcernedtometiculouslyrecordthebotanical,ethological,andecologicalin ‘pursuitoftruth’ . 38 Theinterconnectednessoftheinfinite andabundantvarietyofthenaturalworldinPre-Raphaeliteart capturedwhatJohnRuskincalled ‘circlesofvitality’ inwhichall thingsareorderedtowardsGod.In ‘TheWorkofIron’ (1858),Ruskin suggestedthesecirclesofvitalitycouldtransformaseeminglyuseless substancelikerustedironthroughoxygenorGod’ s ‘breathoflife’ (Genesis2.7)sothatitwouldfortifybloodandcolourthelandscape red,purple,andsaffron.Withoutrust,Ruskinwrotewithaprophetic discernment,theearth’ s ‘greenandglowingsphere,richwithforest and flower ’ wouldbecome ‘theimageofthevastfurnaceofaghastly engine aglobeofblack,lifeless,excoriatedmetal’ . 39 Thisaffinity betweeniron,oxygen,theearth,andbodiesmappedanecological systeminclusiveofthedivine,whichRuskinpubliclypraisedinthe productionsofGabriel,WilliamHolmanHunt,JohnEverettMillais, JamesCollinson,ElizabethSiddal,andEdwardBurne-Jones.Some criticshaveassumedthatRossetti ’sperceptionofthisaffinitywas ‘mitigated’ byherfaith,andthather ‘impositionofatheological frame’ obscuresherreadingofthenaturalworld.40 Buttheevidence
