In The Rape of the Lock, Alexander Pope uses gender role reversal to sculpt a subtle societal critique of the quiet life of the beautiful and the handsome. Through this satirical device, Pope exposes the aristocratic pretensions of this heavily ornamented and indolent lifestyle. He emasculates his male characters and applies warrior traits to his female characters, with the exception of Clarissa, who is instead identified as a defender of the patriarchy. In this epic poem, assumed gender positions and presupposed dominations shatter and blur in the whirlwind of futile actions that ensue between and within the sexes. Roles typically reserved for men in epic poetry are usurped from them and given to women, who prove to be compelling warriors and dominant heroines. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In this epic piece, Pope walks a tightrope between maintaining his good rapport with the families mentioned and inserting his own critique into the poem. Critic Cleanth Brooks identifies Pope's areas of criticism as "...the real nature of the conventions of polite society, the heroic pretensions of that society as reflected in the epic, the flattering clichés which society conventionally employs – all of which make the subject of a brilliant controversy. » (Brooks 108). As a technique, gender reversal helps Pope express his dissatisfaction with the decline of traditional roles. Pope uses the first two cantos of the poem to show Belinda and the Baron preparing for "war" in their respective ways. It gives the reader a glimpse into the magical inner workings of Belinda's morning routine. Belinda is armed with the help of the sylphs, and “Puffs, powders, patches, Bibles, billet-doux,/Now the horrible beauty puts on all her arms” (I 138). However, Belinda is unaware of the conquests she will encounter that day. Echoing the language of traditional epic in its cataloging of weapons and armor, these lines gradually begin to enter the language of mock epic. Critic Hugo Reichard argues that these two characters are equals, each with powerful and dominant characteristics unique to their gender: "Both Belinda and the Baron are at the age of exuberance when the armor of the court fits rather cowardly... Feigning "death", sophisticated love and fleeing marriage, they wage a simulated war in a simulated heroic poem. Their maneuvers […] make the poem's plot a contest of cunning between imposing personalities – an uninhibited womanizer and an invincible flirt” (Reichard, 887-888). However, the scene in which we are first introduced to the Baron does not portray him as being "commanding" to say the least. Our demanding heroine is juxtaposed with the lovable baron, kneeling before his altar composed of various tokens of love from past romantic endeavors: “There lay three garters, half a pair of gloves,/And all the trophies of his former loves.” /With tender billet-doux he lights the pyre,/And heaves three loving sighs to light the fire” (II 39-42). Pope feminizes the baron by presenting him as a handsome suitor and prostrating himself before the altar of love. The "contest of tricks" mentioned by Reichard seems to have little basis in light of how quickly the Baron's joy at his victory deflates. He also decides to have the lock, whatever the method, whether "by force to ravish, or by fraud to betray" (II 34), indicating his willingness to use artifice and cowardice to obtain the lock.We are far from the epic and valiant hero that the Baron considers himself to be, and that Belinda will later become. However, it doesn't take long before these lightly satirical beginnings turn into a battlefield where gender wars ensue and Pope wields his strongest satire. The very “rape” scene itself reveals a complex web of indistinct gender alliances and positions. The rape of the bolt is not the vigorous, virile conquest one would expect of the Baron as a masculine warrior. It is actually caused by temptation and the help of a woman, Clarissa. It is Clarissa who provides the shears with which the Baron cuts Belinda's lock: "At that moment Clarissa drew with tempting grace/A two-edged weapon from her shining sheath:/Thus the romantic ladies assist their knight ,/Present the spear, and arm him for combat” (III 127-130). Clarissa chooses to betray Belinda through deception rather than direct conflict. She is different from the other two prominent women in the poem, Belinda and Thalestris, in that she does not take the most direct and aggressive route to obtaining power. Because she is a woman and not a lover of the Baron, their alliance is somewhat confusing. She later attempts to present herself with neutralizing virtue, contradicting her earlier socially pragmatic behavior in helping the Baron. It is possible that Clarissa sees herself as a neutral and combative force against vanity and coquetry, thus justifying her actions. Although the language of the poem suggests that Clarissa and the Baron have a romanticized knight/lady relationship, it is not clear what Clarissa has. to be gained by assisting in the cutting of the lock. Critic Peter Staffel accuses Clarissa of becoming a male courtier for status: "The behavior and behavior that Clarissa encourages perpetuates both the marginal status of women and their superiority over Belinda within those margins." She thus establishes herself as a corrupt collaborator in a hegemonic patriarchy” (Staffel 91). Staffel appears to be correct in thinking that moral superiority over her female counterparts and patriarchal favor are the goals of Clarissa's actions. Following the rape of her lock, Belinda falls ill with grief. Pope uses this illness to introduce us to another fantastical world, the Spleen Cave, taking us away from the epic, over-the-top human world. Ralph Cohen presents this world as a reflection of the human world, because “the mythological machinery reflects the same reversal of sexual roles” (Cohen 58). The gnome Umbriel descends into this world, where "countless crowds are seen on all sides/Bodies transformed into various forms by the Spleen... Men prove it with children, like mighty works of fancy,/And maids, transformed in bottles, cry out loud to get corks” (IV 47-48, 53-54). This image of impregnated men is a bold statement about the flexibility of masculinity in the poem. The cave could be interpreted as a dark microcosm of the human world. Just as the forms of men and women change in the cave, the roles and identities of the two sexes are mixed in the human world. The Spleen Queen, another example of a dominant woman, who resembles powerful women to come, rules the cave. The woman with the strongest associations of power is Thalestris, whose name echoes the Amazons. Unlike Clarissa, Thalestris acts as an ally to Belinda and advocates her anger and grief. Thalestris, as Belinda's brave and aggressive sidekick, represents the close-knit sisterhood, which Clarissa failed to enter. She fights alongside Belinda and sets an example with her confidence. Thalestris' first small victoryis her domination over Sir Plume, her lover. With her rhetorical ferocity, Thalestris convinces Plume to demand the Baron's lock. The reader watches as Thalestris quickly emasculate Plume with incessant slander: “'Men, apes, lapdogs, parrots, perish all!'/She said; then enraged at Sir Plume's repairs,/And orders his beau to claim the precious hair” (IV 120-123). For the third time in the text, men are called lapdogs. Although there is no obvious parallel, it is significant that humans are included in this continuing list of animals. In this case, a subtle juxtaposition is just as effective as an obvious parallel. As Ralph Cohen points out, like lapdogs, monkeys, and parrots, all common pets of the elegant upper class, the men in this poem “…become the possessions of women, to delight at their commands, to obey their every order."to wish...and to faint before the displeasure of their looks" (Cohen, 55). At his command, Plume submits to Thalestris' will and attacks the Baron with a confusing list of overcompensatory curses: "Zounds!" damn the lock!/'before Gad, you must be civil!/Purse on it! It was a joke - no, please, the pox! / Give him the hair” – he spoke and knocked his box” (IV, 128-130). His ridiculous request does not move the baron, who jokes about his pain: “He who speaks so well should always speak in vain” (V 132). Thalestris seemingly matches and surpasses Sir Plume's rhetorical skills due to her power of persuasion. While she is unable to gain power over the Baron directly, she is still dominant in that she can influence him vicariously through Sir Plume. The fast-paced action of this scene is interrupted by the reappearance of Clarissa, who gives a speech about "good humor." In his article "The Case of Miss Annabella Fermor", Cleanth Brooks presents the most popular view on Clarissa's purpose: "The Pope expresses his own judgment on the situation, using Clarissa as his mouthpiece [...] Although Pope obviously agrees with Clarissa, he is neither surprised nor particularly displeased that his heroine has defied Clarissa's advice” (Brooks, 105). This noble and ineffective speech comically receives no applause. It seems that if Clarissa were truly the Pope's spokesperson, her moralizing speech would at least garner approval from the patriarchal side she is trying to defend. It is clear that she is using this speech to elevate her own wisdom, which is a vanity in itself: "And believe me, my dear, good humor can prevail/When tunes, escapes, cries and reprimands fail » (V 31-32). By positioning herself as the expert on the virtues of “good humor,” she seems to forget her previous involvement in perpetuating this chaos: her assistance in the rape of the lock. It's more likely that Clarissa is just as much of a caricature as the society around her, she just has a different approach to its ridicule. Immediately after Clarissa's applause-free speech, she is met with a frown from Belinda, and Thalestris comically calls her a "prude". it is likely that he “detects the taint of a lack of noble sincerity in Clarissa’s too-conscious speech…” (Groves 83). Clarissa's opportunism overshadows her moral voice and reveals her to be a socially pragmatic traitor. Her speech does not ask to be taken seriously because of her deceptive participation in "rape", which makes her as guilty and engaged in this vain game as the others whom she tries to overtake through rhetoric. Almost instantly after Clarissa's speech, the warring characters escalate the conflict with eagerness., 1954.