“So, why do you do this Lizzie Siddal thing?”
Once someone asked me why I spend so much time creating a site about a woman who committed suicide years and years ago.
Although I am not asked that question often, I can’t shake this feeling that there are people I know that can’t quite grasp why I started this site. On the one hand, I wonder why they care. People have built websites on far sillier subjects and a lot of us have spent hours online only to realize later that we really haven’t been doing much at all.
I suppose all I can say is that I am just so interested in Elizabeth Siddal that no matter how much I learn about her it never seems to be enough. I feel compelled to read and dig and ponder and wonder and discuss. And then I long for more. It’s usually a solitary process. But then, as a happy by-product of having this site, someone will friend me on facebook or approach me on twitter and I will discover that they too have an interest in Lizzie and the Pre-Raphaelites. Then a strange friendship is born. I say strange because it’s entirely possible that offline, we may never have discovered this mutual interest. We could have passed by each other in the grocery store or nodded hello in the post office and not have had the slightest inkling that we may like the same art or books, let alone this deep, questioning interest to learn more about Elizabeth Siddal. So, you see what happened there? It’s a magical thing. Yes, I know the internet can be a dangerous place. But it can also be a place where not only can you pursue your interests, you can cut through the superficial small talk and jump right into “Ophelia moves you too? Yes, yes I get that…”
Tags: My personal views on Lizzie, site related
Posted in Site Related
12 Responses to ““So, why do you do this Lizzie Siddal thing?””
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Timeline
Paintings and Drawings by Elizabeth Siddal
"A drawer full of Guggums"
Inquest
Photographs of Elizabeth Siddal's grave
Handwriting analysis of Elizabeth Siddal and Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Interview with Siddal biographer Lucinda Hawksley
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(big warm hug)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Cat, Stephanie Pina. Stephanie Pina said: "So, why do you do this Lizzie Siddal thing?" http://lizziesiddal.com/portal/?p=727 [...]
Why not. We can learn so much from the past and Lzzie was / is so interesting.
Beautiful! And I wanted to add that not only are you connecting with fellow Lizzie fans, but you are also introducing her to people who may not have known of her!
I had never heard of Lizzie until I happened upon this site a few years ago. It was hear on your site that I discovered Hawksley’s biography and some of Jan Marsh’s books. I was a Pre-Raphaelite newbie I guess and I want to thank you for providing this space.
Thank you so much!
Thank you for being a kindred spirit! This site is sort of like Lizzie’s keeper of the flame!
Fellow Lizzie lover here! And I really respond to what you said about friendship.
ALSO, you are a beautiful writer. I enjoy your other sites too.
Thank you for your lovely comment!
Aw, so nice of you!
Congratulations Stephanie on this excellent site and for giving all of us “Lizzie Admirers” a voice to connect with and to further our discussions on this fascinating and talented woman!
Great stuff Stephanie. I became very interested in all this after watching the BBC series The Victorians, part of which is about Lizzie and Rossetti. I never took much interest in art before but this has changed all that
Hi. I have just recently discovered Lizzie Siddal. I am a painter myself and have always been drawn to the “Ophelia” image. While researching Pre-Raphaelite art, I came upon this site. I find a common thread to her life in many ways and want to learn more about her.