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Summary

Short stylistic analysis on The Faerie Queene. ...

Description

The Faerie Queene 1.1.14

“...Halfe like a serpent horribly displaide, But th'other halfe did womans shape retaine…”

Spenser’s characterization of the monster Errour as half serpent and half woman is strongly reminiscent of the Christian concept of original sin, lending interesting insight into the Redcrosse Knight’s position as a representation of holiness. Errour could have conceivably taken any number of monstrous shapes, so why did Spenser wish to emphasize Errour’s connection to the fall of man? Errour’s physical state as half serpent and half woman associates her with the idea of the Christian origin of all sin, when Eve partook of the fruit of the Tree of Life at the insistence of Satan in the guise of a serpent. Spenser in these lines insinuates that Errour was present first in Satan, but was transmitted to humanity through Eve’s decision, by the simple use of the word “retaine.” The use of this word implies that the human woman was whole, and at some point the serpent half was imposed upon her. Errour itself is a vice which was not inherent in mankind, but through the serpent in the Garden of Eden was introduced and now is inextricable from society and plagues all individuals, male or female. No other description would better befit the Redcrosse Knight’s first official challenge than combating the original sin, the original Errour. As an image of holiness, the Redcrosse Knight’s natural enemy is any type of Errour, all of which exist only because of this original combination of the wiliness of the serpent and naivety of Eve.

This description of Errour also serves to foreshadow the Redcrosse Knight’s own eventual weakness: Just like Eve the Redcrosse Knight is human, and by his lineage is destined to experience the same subtle temptations, and, like Eve, is prone to succumb when error is more sly and covert in its appearance. Not only does Errour represent the original sin, but in Christian theology Adam and Eve are the parents of all life. Errour is the Redcrosse Knight’s very ancestry – humans introduced to this world only by virtue of their errors – making the fight against her a fight against the human inclination towards temptation....