Introduction:
In The Rape of the Lock, Belinda is presented as the charming, fashionable, and aristocratic lady who represents the beauty and artificiality of eighteenth-century high society. Alexander Pope portrays her as a young woman full of grace, pride, and vanity, whose life revolves around beauty, social manners, and fashionable activities. Though she appears attractive and elegant, Pope gently mocks her excessive concern for trivial matters, especially the loss of a lock of hair. Belinda is not merely an individual character; she symbolizes the fashionable women of the age who valued appearance, luxury, and social reputation above serious moral concerns. Through her character, Pope brilliantly combines admiration with satire and exposes the shallow and artificial lifestyle of contemporary society.
Belinda is the heroine in this mock-heroic epic. A classical epic consists of inspiring characters as we see in Paradise Lost that even Satan’s character is highly inspiring. But in this mock-heroic epic the characters are lacking in nobility. They are comic characters. For example, the hero is hardly heroic in his action he wants to get possession of the beautiful bright locks hanging behind ivory white neck of fair Belinda. Belinda too lacks in high seriousness. She gives too much importance to her beautiful locks and makes efforts to get back the lost one. Though she knows that it is quite useless after being cut off. During the mock-heroic battle among the characters, their foolishness comes to light. On the grassy bank of the river Meander lies a young man dying like a swan singing his last sweet song. Courageous Sir Plume succeeds in defeating Clarissa but by the time Chlow comes there. Chlow frowns at him and he dies. When she smiles seeing him dead, seeing her attractive smile Sir Plume is alive again.
Her Personality:
Belinda is very beautiful. On her fair bosom she wears a bright Cross as a piece of ornament. It attracts all so greatly that even Jews are willing to kiss the Cross and the atheists are ready to worship it. The sharp features of her face are active enough to expose her intelligent mind. Her fast-moving eyes neither ignore anybody nor pay personal attention to anybody. If any young man proposes, she rejects the offer without hurting his feelings. The poet claims that Belinda’s eyes are bright like the sun not only in appearance but in attitude also. Their brightness dazzles the eyes of those who look at her face attentively. She welcomes all equally without ignoring or attending anybody personally. Her natural looks are sweet and free from the feeling of pride. Her attitude hides all of her faults if she has any. Being a girl, she may be suffering from female weakness but when anybody looks at her attractive face, he forgets all of them. Belinda is already so beautiful yet she has grown two beautiful ringlets of her hair. These bright ringlets attract attention and captivate hearts of men. These ringlets are heavily decorated and hang behind her ivory like fair neck. It seems she has conspired to destroy the mankind with her beauty. Belinda’s beautiful locks of hair are like a labyrinth, a complex arrangement. It is difficult to come out of it. The passion of love succeeds in enslaving the young men by winning their hearts with the help of the beloved’s beautiful hair. Great warriors are imprisoned in bright hair of a beautiful girl. Sharp eyed birds are betrayed by a net woven of thin hair. The clever fish are caught in a hook attached to a thin hair. Beautiful hair enslave kings and emperors. It is the attraction of a lady’s beautiful hair that men follow her.
Her Luxurious Living:
Belinda leads a luxurious life. When through clouds or white curtains a weak sun ray enters Belinda’s sleeping room, it is likely that she will open her dark eyes. The eyes are black enough to hide the light of the day. Her lap dog named Shock stirs his body. It is just twelve when she wakes up. The lovers who get a disturbed sleep become late riser. Since morning she has been making efforts to get up. For it she rang the alarm three times, and each time knocked her slippers too or the ground but all proved useless. She pressed the watch that too gave a musical sound but could not arouse her from the bed. She presses her soft pillow and falls asleep again. This time she is under the influence of her guardian sylph, Ariel who wishes to tell her some important things. Ariel appears as a fashionable handsome youth. Seeing him though in a dream, Belinda blushes. Just then Belinda’s pet dog Shock feels that she has slept enough to wake up and for that purpose licks his mistress with his tongue. When she opens her eyes, a love letter comes before her eyes first of all. She reads in the letter how her beauty hurts a lover, or her face looks charming and provokes passionate desires for her. Reading this letter, she forgets the warning given by her guardian sylph, Ariel.
Her Devotion to Make-up:
Belinda is so greatly devoted to make-up that she passes a long time in her toilet. Belinda enters the toilet for make-up. She uncovers her face before the mirror. On the mirror there are kept silver boxes in a strange order. She appears in a white dress to worship the powers of cosmetics. Her reflection in the mirror looks like a heavenly image. It attracts her so much that she bends her eyes to pay respect to cosmetic powers. Belinda’s make up is narrated in a mock-heroic style as if it were an act of worship. Betty, her maid servant is like an inferior priestess who stands beside the dressing table that is no less important than the altar in a church. Betty opens a number of small boxes to pick out cosmetics to beautify Belinda. These cosmetics are brought from different countries of the world. With a high sense of pride Betty picks cosmetics so carefully that Belinda might look like an angel. She decorates her with shining ornaments.
The poet describes Belinda’s dressing table. There is a small box that is filled with bright gems brought from India in another box there are kept Arabian perfumes. There are combs made from tortoise shells and the ivory making an attractive blend of the black with the white. There are lines of pins, puffs, powders, stickers, Bibles and love letters. Belinda looks very beautiful when the make-up is over. Still, she attempts at looking more beautiful by improving her smiles and increasing her grace. She exposes blushing on her face and a bright shine fills her eyes with a lively excitement. It seems as if she were a warrior and the charms of her face are her weapons. The poet points out the sylphs’ contribution in Belinda’s beautification., Numberless sylphs surround her to help in different matters. They all become busy. Some of them help in setting her head, some in dividing the hair, some in folding her sleeve and some in plaiting her gown. It is a great pity that their hard labour is not recognised and all praise’ only Betty for getting success in beautifying Belinda.
Her Misfortune:
Belinda has to face a misfortune. Ariel reports Belinda that he has seen some misfortune to fall on her before the sun-set. But he could not know the exact nature, manner, time and place of the coming misfortune. The poet asks Belinda to pay attention to the warning and be careful of all but particularly of the mankind. Ariel warns all sylphs that this day being passed by Belinda and her friends in great enjoyment is full of ill predictions for her. She should be well guarded for there may fall a misfortune in her life. It may be in form of a terrible loss or insulting rejection or anything else of ill nature. It is still in dark what shall harm her and where.
Ariel thinks over probable misfortunes that may trouble Belinda. She may lose her virginity or her beloved decorative piece of China clay may get a hard shock or fall on the ground. She may spoil her respect or a new silk dress. She may neglect her religious duties or forget to attend a programme of entertainment. She may fall in love with someone or lose a costly necklace. Ariel fears that gods may be thinking of giving her a greater loss that may be in form of an injury to her pet dog named Shock.
Her Guard:
Belinda is well-guarded by Sylphs. Ariel asks all sylphs to be active in the duty given to them. He points out that Zephyretta will take care of Beiinda’s fan. Brillante will look after Belinda’s ear-rings. Momentilla has to care for Belinda’s watch while Crispissa will attend her beautiful locks of hair. Ariel himself takes the charge of her pet-dog, Shock. Ariel recognises the great importance of a girl’s virginity and therefore, he posts his best sylphs to guard Belinda’s petticoat. Fifty sylphs of remarkable quality are asked to take care of her petticoat. He knows that even seven folded petticoat fails in guarding the chastity of a lady when she becomes loose in character. Iron-rings or ribs of whales are used to keep the lower part of the petticoat stiff and the decoration is made with a silver-wire there to keep safe the lower border from being attacked. Yet all these precautions prove useless.
Ariel warns all sylphs to do their duty well otherwise they will get hard punishments. If any of them is found neglecting his duty or absent on the duty and Belinda is not well-guarded, the sylph concerned with it shall not be spared. He be imprisoned in a small bottle, or tortured with pinching of pins or thrown in dirty water to be drowned or pushed for ages in the whole of a needle. Ariel goes on pointing out how the careless sylphs shall be punished severely. Their wings shall be pasted with ointments to make them unable to fly. All the fluttering of wings shall be useless. In prison their wings shall be crushed. Such astringents shall be used that their bodies shall be stiff and reduced like a folded flower.
Besides, such sylphs may be punished in the lower world like Ixion. These sylphs may be burnt in the boiling chocolate. When Ariel finishes his speech, all sylphs go to the places of their posting. Some sylphs move round Belinda, some make a line in her hair and reach the locks. Some sylphs hang upon her ear-rings. All look frightened with the fear of the misfortune that may fall on Belinda anywhere and at any time.
Her Romantic Nature:
Belinda is romantic by nature. Belinda suffers from over ambition of earning fame. It provokes her to face two daring youths to face in the struggle caused by the game of Ombre to be played with cards. Her heart is full of pride. Immediately these three players are assisted by separate groups and thus, in total the players become nine in number. Nine is a mystic number. It may do miracle. With a sense of pride Belinda looks at her cards. Belinda who is not only beautiful but wise also observes her cards carefully and declares that the Spade is the trump.
The cards of Spades are black like African Moors. She moves the Ace of Spades that is the highest card. It defeats two other spades of inferior value and sweeps the board by collecting the cards. Then the card of the second-best trump is moved. It forces many cards to surrender and goes away from the green field as a winner. There after the Ace of Clubs is moved but its fate is hard. It faces a trump card and a common card. Now the old King of Spades comes with a broad sword. It impresses with its dignity.
The King of Spade exposes his one strong leg and the other like the rest of the body remains hidden in his multi-coloured gown. The Jack of Spade rebels against the King. But the King punishes him severely. Then comes the Jack of Clubs. He is powerful to overthrow many kings and queens in the game of Loo. Nobody knows the fate of a battle. He is devoid of help. He is defeated disgracefully. At last Belinda’s army defeats both the other armies.
Her Loss:
Belinda suffers from the loss of a lock of her beautiful hair. The Baron takes a pair of scissors respectfully from Clarissa. He opens the scissors on the tips of his fingers. He takes it just behind Belinda’s neck when she bends her head over the river. Seeing it a number of sylphs run to attend her. They try to blow back the lock to save it from the scissors. Sylphs try their best to save Belinda’s lock from being cut off. They try to warn her by moving three times the diamond of her ear ring. Three times she turns back and three times the Baron comes near her.
Ariel tries to know if she is virgin by thought and feeling. When the bunch of flowers at her breast falls down, he gets an opportunity of knowing her feelings. Belinda tries her best to hide her inward feelings but Ariel succeeds in seeing the image of an earthly lover present there. He is utterly surprised and confused with this discovery. He decides to withdraw his army of sylphs leaving Belinda at her own fate. He leaves her with a deep sigh expressing his sorrow.
The Baron opens the scissors to cut off the lock. He opens it wide. Just then an unfortunate sylph tries to obstruct the foul action by coming between the sharp edges of the scissors. Fate directed the scissors and the sylph was divided into two pieces. With it Belinda’s fair lock also gets separated from her head for ever. Seeing it Belinda becomes very angry. Her eyes produce flames of fire. She shouts horribly. The whole sky echoes with horror. None has ever shouted louder than this to melt the heart of Divine Powers. A woman does not lament louder than this when she loses her husband or the lap-dog or her costly of China clay falls down from a high place. It is broken. Its painted pieces shine bright in dust and cause her great sorrow.
Her Sorrow:
Sad Belinda is worried, sorrowful and hopeless. Her inner feelings upset her mind. For her lock of hair taken away by force she is more angry, bitter and hopeless than a young king arrested in the battle field, an elder unmarried woman hating all men, a passionate lover deprived of his beloved, an aged unmarried girl refused to be kissed, an unjust king dying without repenting for his sins, or an ordinary girl like Cynthia whose loose gown gets hung wrongly. After the foul incident of rape of Belinda’s lock, fashionable youths are jealous of the Baron who is in possession of Belinda’s lock and ladies are frightened. They wish that honour should not be injured for ladies’ worship honour. For ladies honour is their comfort, joy and virtue. Thalestris tells Belinda that she has seen her tears and feels her sorrow. She has heard the horrible words spoken for her. She has seen how Belinda is degraded and her honour is lost within no time. There are no means to guard her unfortunate fame and even her friendship has become a curse now.
Belinda laments that the day of victory in cards. has become the cause of permanent misfortune in her life. It is the hateful day on which she has lost her dear lock. Her visit to the Hampton Court has made her unfortunate and she would have been happy if she had never visited, he cursed place. But she is not the only girl who has suffered on account of love for Courts for they have always been centres of ills and cause of ruin for numberless people. She thinks that she would have avoided this curse by remaining far from public admiration in a lonely island.
Her Fury:
Angry Belinda attacks the Baron. Her eyes are filled with uncommon fire. But it does not frighten the Baron who was ready for it. His only wish is to die in the hands of beautiful Belinda. He does not, therefore, use his physical strength. She defeats him with a finger and a thumb. Immediately when the Baron takes breath, a pinch of tobacco the cunning Belinda throws before his nose and gnomes take all particles of tobacco powder inside the Baron’s nose. Immediately his eyes overflow with tears. The Baron sneezes so heavily that the high dome of Hampton Court echoes with its horrible sound. Angry Belinda asks the Baron to face his tragic fate. She draws out a horrible hair pin from one side of her head. The pin has been a piece of decoration since ancient times. Her great grandfather used to wear it round his neck. It was turned into three seal rings. After his death, it was melted. There was made a buckle with it for his widow. It was turned into a whistle when Belinda’s grandmother was a child. It was her beloved toy to play. It was turned into a hairpin for Belinda’s mother. Belinda’s mother wore it for a long time and now it is worn by Belinda. The Baron asks Belinda not to be proud of his fall. According to the Baron Belinda is his insulting enemy. He curses that she too shall be defeated by someone. He claims that the thought of death does not frighten his sublime mind. He fears that he is leaving behind Belinda. He wishes to live and burn in the fire of her love. Belinda cries that he should give back her lock and these words echo the dome of Hampton Court. Even Othello had not shouted louder when he asked his wife about his handkerchief that was the source of his grief.
Conclusion:
Belinda is the central character in the epic. She is the most attractive as well as interesting female character in the epic.