I was asked who might have influenced Christina Rossetti. I think a woman who wrote under a man’s name was in influence as she lived into the Victorian area. That someone was a writer named George Sand. That name is the pseudonym of Amandine Aurore Lucille Dupin, Baronne Dudevant. She was a French novelist, but her works were translated into English. After separating from her husband, she went to Paris and began writing. The first of her novels, you might say, were “romance” if published today. Still, they portrayed the struggles of an independent woman against what society dictates, especially those who are married. She had to use a man’s name to get published clearly illustrates that struggle.
Chopin had a notorious affair with George Sand. She also had an affair with Alfred de Musset, a well-known French poet, and playwright. She was not shy about those affairs and wrote about them. Those books defined the second part of her writing career.
I am sure that Christina Rossetti was well aware of George Sand, her life, her writings, and her affairs.
