Christina mats a biography of john

The conflict at the heart of "No Thank You, John " is one of unrequited love: John has feelings for the speaker, which she does not return. One interesting aspect of Rossetti's portrayal of this dynamic is her focus on feelings as involuntary. The speaker does not, primarily, express dislike of John. Indeed, she at times seems to suggest that she would like to return his feelings, if only to end their current conflict.

However, she clearly asserts that she cannot make herself love John, any more than he can make himself stop loving her. The best option, she ultimately concludes, is a compromise of friendship—through friendship, she can offer something of herself without having to conjure love out of thin air, while John can maintain some feelings of affection for her.

This suggests that romantic love exists on a plane separate from platonic love, and that it is uniquely uncontrollable.

Christine kim linkedin

In this poem, Christina Rossetti critiques gendered expectations of love and romance, defending the rights of women to refuse male attention and affection. John's actions both reflect and take advantage of sexism. He believes himself entitled to the speaker's love, and disregards her feelings and opinions. The gender norms of Victorian mid-to-late 19th century England, in particular, tended to portray women as caretakers, and as morally superior to men.

John makes use of those ideals to portray the speaker's refusal as unfeminine.