Revising keats's “the eve of st agnes”: the shift from dreams to reality in adelaide procter's “a legend of provence”

Abstract

Adelaide Procter's commitment to the “Woman Question” compels her to revise Keats's romantic myth in “The Eve of St Agnes”. Like Keats, Procter is fascinated by the possibilities of the imagination, but in “A Legend of Provence” she focuses on the very real dangers of women's romantic dreams. Procter asks her readers not only to sympathize with the plight of a “fallen woman”, but also to acknowledge the hope that is available to everyone through Catholicism. She proposes that the glorious reality of God can transform the world, protectingwomen from social inequalities and providing motivation for change. By examining “A Legend of Provence” in the context of Keats's poem and in the context of Procter's political and religious values, we can begin to see Procter not simply as the “sentimental” poet she has often been called, but also as a politically active writer who was committed to transforming her world