의심과 두려움: 「선녀여왕」 3권에 나타난 정결의 적

Abstract

This paper is to suggest that doubt and fear are the most significant obstacles to Britomart’s achievement of chastity, the virtue that she has to represent through different adventures in Book III of The Faerie Queene. Although lust, manifested in the characters of Malecasta and Hellenore, seems an obvious enemy of chastity, it never poses any serious problem to Britomart, a virgin who searches for her destined husband; instead, what really troubles her is her doubt and fear about her own love and its realization. It is certainly not easy for the knight of chastity to accept a mirrored image as her future husband. However, falling in love with someone whom she does not know if he exists poses a far more difficult task for her. Britomart’s doubt and fear are manifested in other lovers who can be seen as her mirror images. While Florimell-Marinell couple reflect Britomart’s fear and frustration, Belphoebe and Timias show doubt, the feeling that not only Britomart but also all the lovers are vulnerable to. Even jealousy, that Malbecco eventually transformed himself into and that Scudamore often succumbs to, is merely another name for doubt and fear in the work. As we examine closely Britomart’s and other lovers’ behaviors, we are to understand the nature of chastity and Britomart’s heroism, and this ultimately leads us to an understanding of Edmund Spenser’s view of chastity, the virtue he considers higher than all other virtues.