Knightly Accommodations: Governing Passions in The Faerie Queene
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German sociologist Norbert Elias’ historical framework of “civilizing process” has been predominantly used to characterize the early modern period as one of increasing emotional restraint. In this context, Edmund Spenser’s epic poem, The Faerie Queene, has frequently been understood as a case study that encapsulates the mechanisms of emotional restraint. In this article, I pair two thematically connected episodes, the Despair episode in Book I, and the Phaedria episode in Book II, in order to ashow how Spenser’s engagement with emotions goes beyond presenting a moralistic lesson on the importance of suppressing passions. I argue that rather than advocating for the eradication of emotional perturbations, Spenser grapples with the management of specific passions, particularly those framed as masculine, heroic, and militaristic in early modern culture, such as rage, fortitude, and vengeance. Through the Despair episode, Spenser underscores the necessity of these masculine passions to fulfill a heroic quest while, by contrast, in the Phaedria episode, he places sensual pleasure at the center of tempering excessive and destructive militaristic emotions. By foregrounding this dynamic, this article seeks to reveal Spenser’s nuanced approach to the passions, as well as to complicate the singular understanding of the civilizing process.
Abstract
German sociologist Norbert Elias’ historical framework of “civilizing process” has been predominantly used to characterize the early modern period as one of increasing emotional restraint. In this context, Edmund Spenser’s epic poem, The Faerie Queene, has frequently been understood as a case study that encapsulates the mechanisms of emotional restraint. In this article, I pair two thematically connected episodes, the Despair episode in Book I, and the Phaedria episode in Book II, in order to ashow how Spenser’s engagement with emotions goes beyond presenting a moralistic lesson on the importance of suppressing passions. I argue that rather than advocating for the eradication of emotional perturbations, Spenser grapples with the management of specific passions, particularly those framed as masculine, heroic, and militaristic in early modern culture, such as rage, fortitude, and vengeance. Through the Despair episode, Spenser underscores the necessity of these masculine passions to fulfill a heroic quest while, by contrast, in the Phaedria episode, he places sensual pleasure at the center of tempering excessive and destructive militaristic emotions. By foregrounding this dynamic, this article seeks to reveal Spenser’s nuanced approach to the passions, as well as to complicate the singular understanding of the civilizing process.