Felicia Hemans – Records of Woman

Properzia Rossi was a gifted artist. She could sculpt, write poetry and was also musically gifted. Her heart was for only one man, Roman Knight, and she would do anything for his attention. As a true romantic, eventually, after she was constantly discouraged she died of a broken heart. Hemans writes, “Have I not lov'd, and striven, and fail'd to bind one true heart unto me” There is such longing in this line. Longing for love, for attention, for comfort, for desire, and for lust. It captures that ones talents don’t ensure happiness, that aquacades won’t outweigh loneliness. Properzia seems lonely to me, she has planned out her perfect life with Roman Knight, and because of her stagnant image of what her life should be he can do no wrong. She seems desperate, someone that is lovesick with a fantasy or an alternate reality and because of her heart she has lost sight of herself. She speaks of leaving the earth unknown, and longing for one more dream, she then goes on to write about wondering what will happen when she is gone. After reading these lines, I began to consider the idea that she may have committed suicide. She was making the ultimate sacrifice to show her love. She was so delusional that she believed Roman Knight would take notice. She reached an edge and believed that death was the only way down. Also what makes me believe that suicide is an option is that she leaves a sculpture with him, as if it were to remain a shrine to her. She believed in a love solely devoted to one man. She centered her life on gaining his attention. Unfortunately she did not attain her love, and she lost her life for it. Does this mean that Roman Knight was not the one she was meant for? Or was she so delusional that she couldn’t see life in its own reality? She had a true and pure love, it was just misplaced in the wrong man.