I know as a class we have discussed the meaning behind the characters and plot of The Faerie Queene, Canto I and II, but I wanted to lay it out a little more, if not for the rest of the classe, for myself when it comes time to study.
In the Faerie Queene, Canto I by Spenser, Redcrosse is the main character, going through turmoils and struggles as he fights various monsters throughout the book. Redcrosse is mentioned as "the knight of Holiness" in this book, however when we start to read, we can see his illusion as a Christian person searching for that which is Holy.
With the background information on what is going on at the time of this book, it's evident that Spenser wrote the Faerie Queene to be Queen Elizabeth, symbolizing the direction toward Protestantism. However, when trying to "defeat" the monsters (who in and of themselves represent the corrupt and false Roman Catholic Church and its teachings, in Spenser's eyes), each "evil" character seems to represent something different.
The first one, Error, is said by different analyses to be a symbol of the Catholic church's propoganda being regurgitated upon the public. However, it was mentioned in class (with which I agree), that Error could possibly represent Queen Elizabeth's cousin Mary. It makes sense, as the monster is bearing child after child over and over, and Redcrosse ends up beheading her in the end.
This brings me to the enchanted forest and the man who was turned into a tree, Fradubio, and the evil Duessa. Duessa's character is where I have trouble trying to figure out the symbolism between the characters and what is going on in the background. She is an evil witch who hides behind an alter exterior to con others into accepting her presence, before she turns on them. Fradubio mentions how he say her "true nature" when catching her bathing in her natural, hideous form. Could Duessa possibly symbolize the Catholics who merely called themselves Catholic but did not follow the faith directly? Or could she represent that which is greedy and corrupt of the times, as she dressed in rich clothing?
What you said about Error, propoganda, and Mary was very interesting to me. I like the idea that the beast was Propoganda, and that the children gorged themselves on its blood to their own demise. I also think it is very interesting to think of Mary as a symbol for that symbol.
ReplyDeleteI must not have caught the part in class when we discussed the potential of Error being a representation of Mary. Like now that it's been said I can't believe I didn't make the connection myself. I totally agree that the beast was Propaganda as it does play into the overall theme of good versus evil in comparison with Catholics versus Protestants.
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