The Faerie Queene, Books Three and FourThese paired Arthurian legends suggest that erotic desire and the desire
for companionship undergird national politics. The maiden Britomart,
Queen Elizabeth's fictional ancestor, dons armor to search for a man
whom she has seen in a crystal ball. While on this quest, she seeks to
understand how one can be chaste while pursuing a sexual goal, in love
with a man while passionately attached to a woman, a warrior princess
yet a wife. As Spenser's most sensitively developed character, Britomart
is capable of heroic deeds but also of teenage self-pity. Her
experience is anatomized in the stories of other characters, where
versions of love and friendship include physical gratification, torture,
mutual aid, competition, spiritual ecstasy, self-sacrifice, genial
teasing, jealousy, abduction, wise government, sedition, and the valiant
defense of a pig shed. |