More on the French
Posted by Karen R on November 03, 1997 at 14:57:29:
In response to I remain unconvinced..., written by Kate on November 01, 1997 at 14:09:01
BTW, there's another reference to Christabel's Frenchness by Ellen Ash. On pages 134-5, she writes about reading Melusina. "Miss LaMotte, despite a lifetime's residence in this country, remains essentially French in her way of seeing the world. Though there is nothing to which one can take exception in this beautiful and daring poem, in its morals indeed." Then, when she has finished the poem (which we know was written after the affair and Ellen knows this), her breath is literally taken away by the originality of the work, i.e., it wasn't the typical twaddle that women of her day and age were allowed to write. "It makes no concession to vulgar frailities of imagination" refers to Coleridge's omission of the descriptive elements of Christabel, the poem, those that "might be too strong for some stomachs, especially maidenly English ones, who will be looking for fairy winsomeness."
I think we have another, carefully crafted example of "Mrs. Ash Regrets," without the need to cross out certain words.
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