Sexual Rejection by the Example of an Unchaste Woman

One of Spenser’s main themes throughout “The Faerie Queene” has been chastity, which is modernly defined as the abstinence from unlawful sexual intercourse (urbandictionary). Chastity is accepted to be one of the seven virtues and opposite of the deadly sin, lust. In this paper, I will examine the ways in which Hellenore’s characterization serves to comment on views about women’s sexuality. Hellenore serves as an example of an unchaste woman.

She is depicted as sexually deviant, or oversexualized, especially in comparison to Florimell, who is defensively chased, and Britomart, who is Spenser’s representation of war-like chastity.

Unlike Hellenore, Britomart’s chastity is based within the confinements of her love for Artegall. It is stated that “like Elizabeth, Britomart is an emblem of chastity, but her chastity is only temporarily virginal, given that she is destined to marry” (Spenser, xxii). Hellenore, however, is painted as someone who is untrustworthy and easily seduced through her husband Malbecco’s eyes.

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Spencer states:

• He is old and withered like hay
• Unfit faire Ladies service to supply
• The privie guilt whereof makes him alway
• Suspect her truth, and keepe continuall spy,
• Upon her with his other blincked eye… (Spenser 9.5.1-5).

Spenser then continues stating that “extremely mad the man I surely deeme,/ That weenes with watch and hard restraynt to stay/A woman’s will, which is disposed to go astray” (Spenser 9.6.7-9). It seems that Spenser felt that a woman’s will is easily weakened by sexual lust, which apparently Hellenore was and that her husband would surely go mad because he is always worried about the potential of being a cuckold.

Sexual intercourse was designated to be specifically for a married couple and it was important that women remained faithful to their husbands. In my opinion, Spenser viewed sexual deviation or unchastity as a way to corrupt men’s minds and reduce them to beastiality. For example, Malbecco is ultimately transformed into a beast, due to his jealousy, and as a consequence of Hellenore’s infidelities. Another example of the corruptibility of sexual deviation is the Trojan War.

The Trojan War is ultimately caused by the infidelities of Helen, which is who Hellenore may be loosely based upon. Helen’s womanhood was scrutinized, and she was viewed as unwomanly, mainly due to lack of sexual loyalty within the confinements of her marriage. Marriage is viewed as something that is to be honored and protected, and the main concerns were ones concerning male heirs. The only way to ensure that there was a biological male heir was to maintain sexual loyalty, which was considered to be a gender role when regarding women.

Hellenore is an opposite of that representation, being someone who is easily seduced, and manipulated to leave her husband. In addition to leaving her husband for Paridell, who is the epitome of an unchaste male, she is left in the woods and ends up the “May Lady” of multiple satyres. Spenser states:

• The gentle Lady, loose at random lefte,
• The greene-wood long did walke, and wonder wide
• At wilde adventure, like a forlorne wefte,
• Till on a day the Satyres her espide
• Straying alone withouten groome or guide;
• Her up they tooke, and with them home she ledd
• With them as housewife ever to abide,
• To milk their gotes, and make them cheese and bredd,
• And every one as commune good her handeled (Spenser 10.36.1-9).

I interpreted this as Spenser incorporating the idea of domesticity into the characterization of Hellonore, in addition to her flirtatious unchastity. Women are often viewed as the person who is fit to stay home and take care of the children, as well as tend to the household responsibilities. In this case, Hellenore is their “housewife,” who is responsible for milking their gote, and making them cheese and bredd. The problem with this, is the fact that there are multiple satyrs, all who Hellenore bed, which further insinuates that she is a depiction of sexual deviance or deviation of normal marital sexuality since satyrs are known to have excessive and vigorous sexual desires and a sex drive to match. Spenser states: Embraced of a satyre, rough and rude,/Who all the night did minde his joyous play:/Nine times he heard him come aloft ere day, (Spenser 10.48.3-5). The satyrs have a high sex drive, which Hellenore seems to like since Malbecco is “old and withered like hay/Unfit faire ladies service to supply” (Spenser 9.5.1-2).

Women are viewed as “easy” or “naive” and in response to that, they are judged based upon their sexuality or lackthereof. Elizabethian women are viewed as subservient to their men and marriage could be considered as a tool of control. Within marriage, a husband legally possesses his wife’s body, which leads me to patriliny and the notion that women were seemingly only important when it came to bearing children in the Elizabethian era. To deviate from the normalized values of manogamy is considered to be sexually impure. Hellenore represents sexual impurity, in contrast to Britomart’s aggressive chastity and comments on how women are sometimes portrayed as promiscuous when examing their “normalized” sexual behaviors.