In Canto III of Alexander Pope ‘s “ The Rape of the Lock, ” Pope describes Belinda ‘s overseeing of a conflict of not-so-epic proportions: “ Belinda now, whom thirst of celebrity invites, / Burns to meet two advent’rous Knights, A / At Ombre singly to make up one’s mind their day of reckoning ; A / And swells her chest with conquerings yet to come ” ( III. 25-8 ) . Pope has given Belinda the authorization to command the troop, to order the actions of a conflict between topics of a deck of playing cards. If we read this transition as an case of feminine power and control, we can non overlook the existent deficiency of importance of what is happening. While Pope does non presume that all adult females are foolish and incapable of executing undertakings, his overall position of adult females nowadayss itself in “ The Rape of the Lock ” as negative. Pope ‘s apprehension of the function of adult females was greatly influenced by social perceptual experiences that adult females were inferior tools of work forces. While it is clear that “ The Rape of the Lock ” is meant to be a mock-epic, it is non wholly clear if Pope intended to reflect a submissive position of adult females based on society ‘s positions. Regardless, Pope ‘s “ The Rape of the Lock ” explores the power of adult females by utilizing Belinda as mock hero who can make nil by herself ; she invariably depends on others to execute undertakings. By portraying Belinda as a powerful adult female as the leader in a mock conflict, Pope efficaciously exaggerates any sense of true power that Belinda possesses. Ultimately, Pope, the man/poet, exerts his concluding act of power over Belinda, the adult female, by commemorating non Belinda but his really ain work.
While the 18th century was non needfully a period of outstanding conflicting social positions of adult females and their functions, there was treatment over whether or non adult females were of course submissive or merely bred to act as tools of work forces. In “ Rights of Women, ” feminist Mary Wollstonecraft felt that adult females had weak heads and organic structures and blamed this status on a false sense of instruction. She believed it was through civilization, non biological science, that adult females became submissive tools and that adult females ‘s behavior and manners would better if they were educated to ground. Jean Jacques Rousseau, on the other manus, believed that it was critical to educate adult females harmonizing to the demands of work forces. In his book Emile, Rousseau outlines ways to do certain adult females are confined to a private, domesticate universe and how to make an orderly domestic and familial life ( Caine 89 ) . Rousseau believed adult females should be educated straight in regard to their dealingss with work forces. They would larn accomplishments such as how to delight work forces, how to be utile to work forces, how to win work forces ‘s love and regard, and how to do life Sweet and agreeable to work forces ( 104 ) . Rousseau besides believed that adult females should be inactive and weak. Clearly, conflicting treatments on the functions and outlooks of adult females existed, and Pope ‘s “ Rape of the Lock ” does little to clear up the affair.
While on one degree sympathetic toward the deficiency of adult females ‘s chances in a patriarchal society, “ Rape ” besides perpetuates portraying adult females as trade goods. Pope is cognizant of the culturally limited parametric quantities placed around adult females and is, in one sense, sympathetic. He is cognizant that “ she who scorns a Man, must decease a Maid ” ( V. 28 ) . While work forces are non treated particularly good in the verse form, such as the “ waste ” -minded Baron or the crackbrained Sir Plume, adult females in the text seem to stay the object of both ridicule and unfavorable judgment.
Belinda ‘s heroic action has no deepness. “ When Belinda wins ombre, her full character bureau has become transferred to and embodied in a playing card. Belinda has merely won a card game. She has non literally conquered a far-away land. Her power merely goes every bit far as the cards, nonmeaningful paper objects that are the true subsisters of the old heroic virtuousnesss. Belinda ‘s true strength or heroism is greatly diminished.
If Belinda ‘s committedness to faith is cosmetic and attracts chiefly sexual attending, so we should presume that the really thought of Belinda ‘s celibacy and artlessness is cosmetic and superficial. Pope gives us the locks of hair as little but dominating engines of sexual power. Belinda takes the clip to curve her hair so that it is appealing to work forces. Pope describes, “ This Nymph, to the Destruction of Mankind, / Nourish ‘d two Locks, which graceful hung behind / In equal Curlsaˆ¦ / With reflecting Ringlets the smooth Iv’ry Neck ” ( Black II. 19-24 ) . Taking the clip to repair her hair is non a offense, nor is it one that is punishable by colza. By seting so much accent on hair, nevertheless, Belinda has taken the accent off of her existent celibacy and religion. “ ‘Rape ‘ comes from the Latin verb ‘to seize ‘ and does non etymologically connote sexual ownership ; but in footings of sexual political relations, the Baron clearly conceives that if Belinda has turned her gender into an object, she can be possessed ” ( Baines 68 ) . If Belinda ‘s Bible, cross necklace, and hair are mere objects, so excessively is her celibacy.
By looking at Belinda ‘s celibacy as an object, we besides must see Pope ‘s deduction that we should look at Belinda herself as object. As mentioned, adult females were seen as tools of work forces. In canto 2, the ‘beauteous Mold ‘ is transformed into a ‘painted Vessel’- it is left up to us either to look at Belinda as the gorgeous battlewagon decked out in Beauty ‘s arm, or to take the broader reading, the thought of adult female as a contained, empty but beautiful. Belinda ‘s greatest power arises from the fact that she is non truly cognizant of what she is taking the Baron to make or of what catastrophe may bechance her. She is non guided by her ain determinations. Alternatively, the sylphs tend to her, both physically and mentally. “ This erring persons Levity may name ; / Oh blind to truth! the Sylphs contrive it all ” ( Black I.104-5 ) . Belinda can non plan her ain thoughts or execute her ain undertakings because she is invariably aided by the sylphs. Without an chance to execute her ain Acts of the Apostless, Belinda is apparently suppressed. Pope does non inherently discourse this suppression as a social one, but the sylphs guard adult females, while work forces are on their ain. In this society, work forces do non necessitate to trust on fanciful animals. By seting Belinda in the attention of such animals, Pope implicitly points out a adult female ‘s built-in dependance on something or person else.
By the verse form ‘s terminal, Belinda ‘s lock has been removed, against her will, by a adult male who assumes control over her. While we can sympathise with Belinda for her loss, we can non overlook Pope ‘s true purposes in the verse form. During the 18th century, middle- and low-class adult females were going more literate in the families, but work forces were still the scholarly Masterss of Pope ‘s clip. Pope is the ultimate authorization of his ain work. Unlike Belinda, who needs the sylphs to assist her accomplish her undertakings, Pope succeeds because of his ain pen. The existent hero, the existent remembered character, will be Pope, the writer.
Pope ends the verse form by connoting that Belinda and her lock will populate everlastingly. Inexplicably, harmonizing to Belinda or the Baron ‘s manner of logical thinking, the lock is gone to go a comet or a shooting star. Pope writes, “ A sudden Star, it shot thro ‘ liquid Airaˆ¦ ” ( Black V.127 ) . Although the lock is gone, Belinda will hold celebrity. Peoples will retrieve her. Pope ‘s concluding words are: “ When those just Suns shall put, as set they mustaˆ¦ / This Lock, the Muse shall ordain to fame / And ‘midst the stars inscribe Belinda ‘s name ” ( V.147, 149-50 ) . Even though Pope writes that Belinda ‘s name will ever be remembered, we can non bury his old statement when depicting Belinda ‘s locks: “ But since, alas! frail Beauty must disintegrate, A / Curl ‘d or uncurl ‘d, since Locks will turn to gray ; / Since painted, or non painted, all shall melt ” ( V.25-7 ) . The thought of Belinda could really good be consecrated to fame, but the lock will be lost in infinite or the kingdom of another clip. The symbol of celibacy, artlessness, and muliebrity is surpassed by Pope ‘s existent textual work. By juxtaposing the mortal nature of Belinda ‘s lock with the immortal facet of his verse form, Pope asserts, for the last clip, adult male ‘s power over a adult female.
In “ The Rape of the Lock, ” Pope has given Belinda the authorization to showcase cases of bid and authorization. This is interesting because during Pope ‘s literary epoch, adult females were considered mere tools of work forces and lacked any sense of power. Any clip Pope presents Belinda as a powerful figure, that authorization is rapidly undermined and questioned by what she really controls. Belinda is invariably assisted by wispy sylphs and can efficaciously make nil on her ain ; such a presentation leads the reader to oppugn if Pope agrees with the social perceptual experience that adult females were inferior to work forces. Although Belinda will hold celebrity, and people will retrieve her, it is finally Pope the man/poet who exerts the concluding act of male laterality by commemorating non Belinda but his ain verse form.
