The Pre-Raphaelites

Sloan's reading of "Jenny" concludes that the poem "captures the ultimate damning reality of Victorian masculinity, its infinite capacity for denial"-a view which he believes Rossetti presents ironically and at critical distance. Since much of the chapter centers on his interpretation of "Jenny," however, it might also seem useful to consider whether the persona of "Confessional Man" appears in Rossetti's other narratives and sonnets. In "Jane Morris and her Male Correspondents" (JWMS 20.4: 60-78), Peter Faulkner draws together what is known about the four men (excluding her husband) with whom Jane corresponded most frequently-Dante Rossetti, Cormell Price, Wilfred S. Blunt and Philip Webb-and assesses her correspondence with each. Since Jane's relationship with Rossetti has been analyzed in depth by Jan Marsh, Wendy Parkins, and others, and that with Blunt chronicled in Faulkner's edition of their letters, the article's most interesting findings may lie in its untangling of subtle aspects of her other friendships, especially that with Phillip Webb, with whom she shared a sustaining affection based on common cultural tastes and mutual kindnesses.