Belinda's character :-
Belinda is presented by Pope in "The Rape of the Lock" as a bundle of contradictions. This makes her not just a more interesting character, but also a reflection of the society in which she lives. First and foremost, Belinda is a ravishingly beautiful young lady, her beauty a source of wonderment and admiration to men and women alike. Her very name comes from the Latin for "lovely to behold." Pope often describes Belinda in gushing superlatives such as "the brightest fair" and "the fairest of mortals."
Belinda is acutely aware of her extraordinary beauty and the equally extraordinary effect it has on people. She is the center of attention wherever she goes, most notably during her pleasure ride down the Thames, her bright smile and eyes shining like the sun:
Bright as the sun , her eyes the gazers strike ,
And, like the sun , she shines on all alike.
Not surprisingly, with all this natural beauty and the attention it brings, Belinda is a rather vain, superficial young lady. She worships at...
Belinda, the poetic name of Arabella Fermor, an upper-class English girl. She is a beautiful young woman and vain of her appearance. Although she is a sweet society girl who loves her spaniel and is normally quite agreeable, she flies into a horrid rage when Lord Petre snips off one of her treasured curls.
Pope has presented Belinda as a complex character. He has presented her in different roles and under different shades, some are satirical other ironical but all entertaining. The character of Belinda has created much controversy since the publication of the poem. Some critics consider her treatment fair while others as unfair. There are several aspects of the personality of Belinda as portrayed by Pope in The Rape of the Lock. It will be wrong to regard her purely as a goddess, or as a pretty spoiled child, or as a flirt. She is a combination of all three and yet much more than such a combination. We see her in many different lights. We see her as a vamp, an injured innocent, a sweet charmer, a society belle, a rival of the sun, and a murderer of millions. She has a Cleopatra- like variety. However, the reality lies in between these two extremes we can discuss her character as blow.
Except being a beauty the faults of Belinda are many. The poet fully reveals to us her petty pleasure-seeking nature. She suffers from all the vanities, laziness, follies and moral scruple of the aristocratic ladies of her time. She is treated as an object of mockery, ridicule, and even condemnation because of her shallowness, superficiality, and lack of any intellectual interest or moral elevation in her life. The lady sleeps till the hour of twelve in the day. Her dog licks her and she gets up every day from her all prophesied purity. Belinda is proud to be secretly in love with the Baron just after opening her eyes; first thought is about love letter which has been addressed to her. Next, she gets ready for her toilet and her day begins at noon. The toilet-table is like a church to her. She takes help of “cosmetic power” and her maid-servant Betty assists her in her sacred ceremony of the toilet. These show her superficial nature and lack moral awareness.
Belinda is presented by Pope in "The Rape of the Lock" as a bundle of contradictions. This makes her not just a more interesting character, but also a reflection of the society in which she lives. First and foremost, Belinda is a ravishingly beautiful young lady, her beauty a source of wonderment and admiration to men and women alike. Her very name comes from the Latin for "lovely to behold." Pope often describes Belinda in gushing superlatives such as "the brightest fair" and "the fairest of mortals."
Belinda is acutely aware of her extraordinary beauty and the equally extraordinary effect it has on people. She is the center of attention wherever she goes, most notably during her pleasure ride down the Thames, her bright smile and eyes shining like the sun:
Bright as the sun , her eyes the gazers strike ,
And, like the sun , she shines on all alike.
Not surprisingly, with all this natural beauty and the attention it brings, Belinda is a rather vain, superficial young lady. She worships at...
Belinda, the poetic name of Arabella Fermor, an upper-class English girl. She is a beautiful young woman and vain of her appearance. Although she is a sweet society girl who loves her spaniel and is normally quite agreeable, she flies into a horrid rage when Lord Petre snips off one of her treasured curls.
Pope has presented Belinda as a complex character. He has presented her in different roles and under different shades, some are satirical other ironical but all entertaining. The character of Belinda has created much controversy since the publication of the poem. Some critics consider her treatment fair while others as unfair. There are several aspects of the personality of Belinda as portrayed by Pope in The Rape of the Lock. It will be wrong to regard her purely as a goddess, or as a pretty spoiled child, or as a flirt. She is a combination of all three and yet much more than such a combination. We see her in many different lights. We see her as a vamp, an injured innocent, a sweet charmer, a society belle, a rival of the sun, and a murderer of millions. She has a Cleopatra- like variety. However, the reality lies in between these two extremes we can discuss her character as blow.
Except being a beauty the faults of Belinda are many. The poet fully reveals to us her petty pleasure-seeking nature. She suffers from all the vanities, laziness, follies and moral scruple of the aristocratic ladies of her time. She is treated as an object of mockery, ridicule, and even condemnation because of her shallowness, superficiality, and lack of any intellectual interest or moral elevation in her life. The lady sleeps till the hour of twelve in the day. Her dog licks her and she gets up every day from her all prophesied purity. Belinda is proud to be secretly in love with the Baron just after opening her eyes; first thought is about love letter which has been addressed to her. Next, she gets ready for her toilet and her day begins at noon. The toilet-table is like a church to her. She takes help of “cosmetic power” and her maid-servant Betty assists her in her sacred ceremony of the toilet. These show her superficial nature and lack moral awareness.
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