Mathilde Blind facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mathilde Blind
|
|
|---|---|
Chalk portrait of Mathilde Blind by
Lucy Madox Brown, 1872 |
|
| Born |
Mathilde Cohen
21 March 1841 |
| Died | 26 November 1896 (aged 55) London, UK
|
| Resting place | St Pancras Cemetery, East Finchley, London |
| Occupation | poet, woman of letters |
Mathilde Blind (born Mathilda Cohen; 21 March 1841 – 26 November 1896) was a German-born English poet and writer. She also wrote biographies, essays, and literary reviews. In the 1870s, she became a leading female figure in the art and writing world.
By the late 1880s, she was well-known among "New Woman" writers. These writers explored new ideas about women's roles. Famous writers like Algernon Charles Swinburne and Arnold Bennett praised her work. Her poem The Ascent of Man shared a strong feminist view on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
Contents
Mathilde Blind's Early Life
Mathilde Blind was born in Mannheim, Germany. Her father was a banker named Jacob Abraham Cohen. Her mother was Friederike Ettlinger. Mathilde had a brother, Ferdinand, and other half-siblings.
In 1848, her father passed away. Her mother then married Karl Blind, a political activist. In 1852, her family moved to London, England. Around this time, Mathilde started using her stepfather's last name, Blind.
School and New Ideas
In London, Mathilde went to the Ladies' Institute in St John's Wood. She was friends with future novelist Rosa Nouchette Carey. Mathilde was known for her independent thinking. She even traveled to Switzerland alone, which was very unusual for a young woman back then.
While in Switzerland, she wanted to attend lectures at the University of Zürich. However, women were not allowed to join. Instead, she took private lessons from a famous philosopher, Kuno Fischer. She also spent time with revolutionary friends of her parents.
Family and Politics
Mathilde's family home in London was a meeting place for many political refugees. These included famous figures like Giuseppe Mazzini and Karl Marx. These connections shaped Mathilde's early political views.
Her commitment to women's rights was also influenced by her mother's friend, Caroline Ashurst Stansfeld. Caroline was a key figure in the British feminist movement. Mathilde's own writings often showed her strong political beliefs and desire for change.
In 1866, her brother Ferdinand passed away after a political event. He had tried to stop Otto von Bismarck, a powerful German leader. This event deeply affected Mathilde. Her first book of poems, published under a pen name, honored her brother's memory.
Mathilde Blind's Writing Career
In the early 1870s, Mathilde Blind stopped using a male pen name. She became a strong voice in London's literary scene. In 1870, she gave a lecture about the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. She highlighted his political ideas.
She also wrote a review of Shelley's poems for The Westminster Review. This review impressed Algernon Charles Swinburne and helped her join a group of male "Shelleyites." These were writers who admired Shelley.
Reviewing and Translating
Mathilde began writing for Dark Blue, a new Oxford journal. She also started reviewing books for the Athenaeum magazine. For 15 years, she reviewed many contemporary writers.
In 1871, she published Selections from the Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley. The next year, she translated The Old Faith and the New: A Confession by David Strauss. This translation showed her as a brave, independent thinker.
Poetry and Biographies
Mathilde loved writing poetry. She once wrote that her "only real intense life" was in writing. Her visits to Scotland inspired two important poems: "The Prophecy of St. Oran" (1881) and The Heather on Fire (1886). The latter criticized the Highland clearances, which forced many Scottish people from their homes.
As her fame as a poet grew, she took on other big projects. She wrote two highly praised biographies for the "Eminent Women Series." The first was about the novelist George Eliot (1883). The second was about Madame Roland (1886), a leader during the French Revolution.
Her Only Novel
Mathilde Blind wrote one novel, Tarantella, a romantic story. It was not a big success at the time. Richard Garnett, a friend and writer, felt this was unfair. He said the book had an exciting story and interesting characters.
Garnett believed the novel didn't do well because people in the 1880s preferred realistic stories. Tarantella was more romantic and idealistic. He thought it deserved another chance.
The Ascent of Man
In 1889, Mathilde published The Ascent of Man. The main poem in this book was a detailed response to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The poem was widely discussed and helped her reputation grow.
A reviewer for the Athenaeum said people were so absorbed by the book they would miss their train stops! Later, a new edition of the poem was published with an introduction by the famous evolutionary biologist Alfred Russel Wallace.
Later Travels and Works
In the early 1890s, Mathilde traveled widely in Italy and Egypt. She loved nature and ancient history. These travels also helped her failing health. Her experiences influenced her later works, such as Dramas in Miniature (1891) and Birds of Passage (1895).
Arnold Bennett, a well-known writer, reviewed Birds of Passage. He praised Mathilde's varied writing style and unique voice. He noted her excellent lyric poems and admired her ability to describe nature.
Mathilde Blind passed away in London on 26 November 1896. She left most of her property to Newnham College, Cambridge, a college for women. Her ashes were placed in a monument designed by Édouard Lantéri in St Pancras Cemetery.
Mathilde Blind's Published Works
- Poems, under the name "Claude Lake" (1867)
- "Shelley", a review in Westminster Review (July 1870)
- The Old Faith and the New: A Confession by David Friedrich Strauss, a translation (1873)
- "Mary Wollstonecraft", biographical essay (July 1878)
- The Prophecy of St. Oran and Other Poems (1881)
- George Eliot, a biography (1883)
- Tarantella: A Romance (1885)
- The Heather on Fire: A Tale of the Highland Clearances (1886)
- Madame Roland, a biography (1886)
- "Shelley's View of Nature Contrasted With Darwin's", a lecture (1886)
- "Marie Bashkirtseff, The Russian Painter", a biographical essay (1888)
- The Ascent of Man (1889)
- The Journal of Marie Bashkirtseff, a translation (1890)
- Dramas in Miniature (1891)
- Songs and Sonnets (1893)
- Birds of Passage: Songs of the Orient and Occident (1895)
- A Selection from the Poems of Mathilde Blind, edited by A. Symons (1897)
- The Ascent of Man, new edition with an introduction by Alfred R. Wallace (1899)
- The Poetical Works of Mathilde Blind, edited by Arthur Symons (1900)
Understanding Mathilde Blind's Impact
Today, experts in women's literature are paying more attention to Mathilde Blind. Her strong sense of fairness and justice shines through all her work. Her poetry combines beautiful sounds and images with powerful stories. It shows deep feelings and explores important ideas.
She was influenced by writers like George Eliot and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Her longer works, like "The Heather on Fire" and The Ascent of Man, are seen as important examples of women's poetry in the 1800s. She helped create new ways for women to express themselves and analyze society and politics through their writing.
