Love, Loyalty, and Sexuality in Robinson’s Memoirs

In Mary Darby Robinson’s personal memoirs, she first discusses the relationship between her father and mother, and then delves into her own marital experiences with her husband, Mr. Robinson. When recounting her parents’ initial affection, she states he “was prosperous, and my mother was the happiest of wives” (328). Under the pressure of a cross-continental separation, however, their amicable ties deteriorate with the entry of a mistress, a happening Robinson describes as a “deviation from domestic faith…the only dark shade that marked my father’s character” (329). Cognizant at a young age of the divide between succumbing to physical longings and upholding intellectual curiosity, the author still perceives her father as “a soul brave, liberal, enlightened and ingenious” (329).

            Though Robinson witnesses her own father’s departure from standard moral codes, she is still shocked at her own husband’s infidelity early in their marriage. When rationalizing her intentions to remain in the contract, however, she cites not love, but filial duty, stating that “love was still a stranger to my bosom” (331). It was not until the entry of the Prince of Wales when she admits “how would my soul have idolized such a husband!” (342). Whereas her father was drawn away for physical reasons, Robinson experiences extramarital longings for the Prince’s intellect—a quality she ultimately values more highly than her conjugal responsibilities.