The+Aesthetic+Life+of+Michael+Field

Katherine Bradley (1846-1914) and Edith Cooper (1862-1913) wrote together under the pseudonym Michael Field (Sturgeon). Katherine was Edith’s aunt and sixteen years her senior. The two spent their lives together as friends and they were also assumed to be lovers. Their poetry was influenced by Walter Pater and they belonged to the aesthetic movement. Katherine and Edith’s lives were an embodiment of the values of aestheticism. Aestheticists were devoted to the pursuit of what is beautiful or attractive to the senses, and they did not generally concern themselves with outlooks that were too far removed from their aesthetic priorities (Sturgeon).

Katherine and Edith placed great emphasis on beauty and it pervaded their works and lifestyle. They were fond of aesthetic dress and wore flowing garments in ‘art’ colors with hair in a loose knot at the nape of the neck (Sturgeon). Aesthetic dress was characteristic in Bohemian circles. This type of dress was simple and graceful in contrast to the more popular fashions of the day. At this time Katherine and Edith were Rationalists, secretly devoted to poetry, and sworn in fellowship to each other (Sturgeon).

In 1871 Michael Field (though not yet operating under this pseudonym) moved from Kenilworth to Stoke Bishop, Bristol to pursue Classics and Philosophy at University College (Sturgeon). Katherine loved the classics and Edith loved philosophy. Katherine was often said to be Dionysian in character; she was warm, rich in humour and fun loving. Edith’s character was likened to Apollo, as she was highly introspective, intellectual and always gracious (Sturgeon). The pair joined the debating society at university, taking up the questions of the moment: women’s rights, anti-vivisection and higher education. Bradley was a prime figure in the Anti-Vivisection society, and she was its secretary until 1887.

In 1875 Katherine produced a volume of lyrics under the name Arran Leigh. In 1881 //Bellerophôn// was released—which was a collaborative work between Katherine and Edith, publishing //Bellerophôn // under Arran and Isla Leigh (Sturgeon). In 1884 //Callirrhoë: Fair Rosamund// was released: the first work to be published under their joint pseudonym Michael Field. They chose this pseudonym somewhat arbitrarily—they were pleased by how the names sounded together (Sturgeon). This reason for choosing the pseudonym seems fitting, given their aesthetic sensibilities. However, there is speculation that they may have been inclined towards choosing Michael because they wanted to subtly acknowledge William Michael Rossetti, whom they admired (Sturgeon).

The work of Michael Field was very well received and highly praised—//The Liverpool Mercury// and //Athenæum// went as far as to draw comparisons between Field and Shakespeare (Sturgeon). However, as soon as the identity of the poets was realized, their next published works received great criticism. Though these criticisms were frustrating to the Fields, they kept producing poetry and plays.

The pair wrote much poetry and many dramas. They had a large group of literary and artistic friends: Charles Ricketts, Charles Shannon and Robert Browning to name only a few. They were acquainted with Algernon Charles Swinburne and Oscar Wilde. In one of his letters, poet Gordon Bottomley wrote: “life was one of [Michael Field’s] arts”. Edith and Katherine inspired him to see that the “identity of life and art was to be seen in the slight, ordinary things of existence” (Sturgeon). As Bottomley indicated, Michael Field was driven to find a way to illuminate the latent beauty in all facets of life. They were especially interested in discovering the inner light of people they knew—without the “shell of worldly behavior and commonplace talk” (Sturgeon) often worn when one interacted with society.

In 1888 Edith and Katherine moved from Bristol to Reigate and withdrew into their art. In 1892 //Sight and Song//, a volume of poetry inspired by art (particularly Italian Renaissance artists) was published (Ireland). Michael Field took an expansive, flexible approach in writing the poetry included in //Sight and Song.// Their approach to the poems in this volume emphasized thematic fruitfulness over formal rigour (Ireland). In this work the Michael Field desired to act as the “literal mouthpiece” (Ireland) for the paintings that inspired the poems; they strove to express the essence of the art without imposing themselves upon it. Katherine and Edith lived by inherent aesthetic values and implemented aesthetic constructs in every aspect of their life from the way they dressed and decorated their home, to the way they wrote and thought. Their lifestyle was a manifestation of aestheticism.

-- A. M. Diakowski, UVic Engl 386/2012W

Works Cited

Ireland, Kenneth R. "Sight and Song: A Study of the interrelations between Painting and Poetry." //Victorian Poetry.// 15.1 (1977): 9-20.

Sturgeon, Mary. //Michael Field//. London: George G. Harrap, 1922.