In the beginning, there was Adam and Eve. They lived in the Garden of Eden where all their needs were met and thrived in the purity and goodness of God. One day, unfortunately, Eve was deceived by the serpent and she ate the fruit of knowledge between good and evil. Her purity was stripped from her at that moment and was thrown into the world of sin. Whether you categorize yourself as a religious person or not, the story of Eve and the forbidden fruit is a familiar story. The story is so profound that it is often the foundation of many modern arts, including Christabel. Written in 1816 by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, two years after he returned to the Church of England, it tells the story of a chance encounter between two women who impact one another's
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Sexuality doesn’t always have to be presented as this shameful thing, but another side to being human. In my original argument, Geraldine symbolized impurity and evil. However, when Christabel first sees her, one wouldn't think that she did, “There she sees a damsel bright,/Drest in a silkin robe of white”, (60-61). Geraldine is first introduced draped in a beautiful silk robe, with such a costume, nobody would think that she represented a sexuality and impurity. White is always the color that symbolizes purity and yet in this poem, it is beautifully wrapped around an undeserving vessel. To further support that Christabel could be seen as support to the relationship between sexuality and purity, we can explore the reason who she was found under the oak tree. Geraldine can be pitied once you’ve read her story, “Five warriors seized me yestermorn, /Me, even me, a maid forlorn: /They choked my cries with force and fright, /And tied me on a palfrey white. /.../As sure as Heaven shall rescue me, /I have no thought what men they be; /Nor do I know how long it is” (79-89). Sometimes sexuality doesn’t necessarily mean that there is an absence of purity, but rather the purity that was once there was stolen from. Geraldine may have been in an unfortunate situation where she is forced to cope with a traumatizing situation and the only way she knows how is to embrace the newfound sexuality that’s been awakened in
Sexuality doesn’t always have to be presented as this shameful thing, but another side to being human. In my original argument, Geraldine symbolized impurity and evil. However, when Christabel first sees her, one wouldn't think that she did, “There she sees a damsel bright,/Drest in a silkin robe of white”, (60-61). Geraldine is first introduced draped in a beautiful silk robe, with such a costume, nobody would think that she represented a sexuality and impurity. White is always the color that symbolizes purity and yet in this poem, it is beautifully wrapped around an undeserving vessel. To further support that Christabel could be seen as support to the relationship between sexuality and purity, we can explore the reason who she was found under the oak tree. Geraldine can be pitied once you’ve read her story, “Five warriors seized me yestermorn, /Me, even me, a maid forlorn: /They choked my cries with force and fright, /And tied me on a palfrey white. /.../As sure as Heaven shall rescue me, /I have no thought what men they be; /Nor do I know how long it is” (79-89). Sometimes sexuality doesn’t necessarily mean that there is an absence of purity, but rather the purity that was once there was stolen from. Geraldine may have been in an unfortunate situation where she is forced to cope with a traumatizing situation and the only way she knows how is to embrace the newfound sexuality that’s been awakened in