200 The Poetry of Mary RobinsonMoreover, her own poetry reveals that she, like Coleridge, was inter-
ested in the relationship between the workings of the poetic imagina-
tion and their manifestation in innovative poetic forms.^1Ay! that Woman has an Ear
At the time of his writing to Southey, Coleridge and Robinson had
only recently met in person. William Godwin’s diary corroborates that
the letter quoted above, from 25 January, finds Coleridge in the midst
of socializing with Godwin and Robinson, taking tea and supper with
them on 15 January, 18 January, and 22 February 1800 (Davenport
204, 253). In a recently discovered letter to his friend Samuel Purkis,
written most likely toward the end of February of 1800, Coleridge
exclaims, “I have passed some hours with Mrs Inchbald, have spent a
long Evening (from 7 to 1) with Charlotte Smith—have been at Mrs
Barbauld’s—and Mrs Robinson & I are quite Intimate.—There’s a
list of Illustrissimae!” (Whelan 25). Robinson seems to receive special
recognition here. However, as provocative as this suggested intimacy
may be, we can only speculate on its erotic dimension. Coleridge’s
enthusiasm for Robinson’s poetr y may have been charged by the fresh-
ness of his personal acquaintance with her and perhaps by a touch of
frisson. Without a doubt, understanding his response to her is com-
plicated by a host of other issues, among them her highly sexualized
and politicized celebrity, his own issues regarding female sexuality,
and his other remarks about Robinson here and elsewhere, which are,
by turns, chivalric, judgmental, sympathetic, and patronizing. Susan
Luther contends that Coleridge’s response to Robinson as a poet
“can be difficult to separate from his response to her as a woman”
(392). For example, regarding the inclusion of “Jasper” in the Annual
Anthology, “I think,” he tells Southey, “you will agree with me; but
should you not, yet still put it in, my dear fellow! for my sake, &
out of respect to a Woman- poet’s feelings” (Letters 1: 562–3). Such a
plea may seem condescending to us today, but I read it as rhetorical:
Coleridge surely intended the remark as a gesture of sympathy for her
hardships and of support for her career, as well as a show of confidence
in his own judgment should Southey disagree. Whatever Coleridge’s
indeterminable subconscious motives, these ought not to override or
discount his judgment as a reader and writer of poetry. As Timothy
Whelan, who published this particular letter, suggests, “The intimacy
Coleridge claims at this point may have less to do with romantic love
and more with an artistic infatuation” (30). Given Robinson’s poor
health and immobility, an erotic fixation seems preposterous. I think9780230100251_07_ch05.indd 2009780230100251_07_ch05.indd 200 12/28/2010 11:09:01 AM12/28/2010 11:09:01 AM
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