2

From Aurora Leigh:

I had my windows broken once or twice
By liberal peasants, naturally incensed
At such a vexer of Arcadian peace,
Who would not let men call their wives their own
To kick like Britons,–and made obstacles
When things went smoothly as a baby drugged,
Toward freedom and starvation; bringing down
The wicked London tavern-thieves and drabs,
To affront the blessed hillside drabs and thieves
With mended morals, quotha,–fine new lives!–
My windows paid for't.

What is the meaning of the phrase in bold? It does not seem to be coherent at all. It's not connected to the previous words.

To whom does "to kick like Britons" refer? To "wives", to "peasants", or to the person pronouncing the sentences?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4

He describes the attitude of the "liberal peasant" who claims that he owns his wife as property and therefore has the same right as every other free (male) Briton: to kick her whenever he feels like it. Romney denies both the ownership and the liberty.

Improve this answer
3
  • Merry Xmas! That was a tough phrase. I just stared at it and tried to connect the two pieces together.
    – CowperKettle
    Commented Dec 25, 2017 at 14:14
  • 1
    @CowperKettle Both the Brownings were given to highly elliptical expressions. They leaned heavily on the diction of the Tudor and Jacobean dramatists, but they were also pioneers in introducing the structure of contemporary casual speech into literature.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Dec 25, 2017 at 14:45
  • I don't think the peasants here are Britons themselves. I think Britons is being used as a slur. As in 'to kick like animals'. But it is a bit ambiguous today as to whether the Briton referred to is the kicker or the kickee.
    – Phil Sweet
    Commented Dec 25, 2017 at 15:27

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .