"This strange operation of love" : a unified reading of Sidney's Arcadia.

Much of the scholarship surrounding Sir Philip Sidney attempts to analyze or qualify the various versions of Sidney's Arcadia. Some critics argue the superiority of the Old or the New while others attempt to link the two. Much has been written in speculation of Sidney's abrupt halt in the revision. Some propose that Sidney may have severed his writing in disgust or disillusion, but others believe that Sidney's work was interrupted merely by his untimely death. Adding to the complexity of the issue is the 1593 composite text, amalgamated and edited by the author's sister, the Countess of Pembroke. Some critics blast the Countess for her "meddling," while others praise, or at least endorse, the Countess's work. I believe that in the 1593 form, Sidney's didactic message and purpose are intact. This thesis shall attempt to prove that the 1593 Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia can be read as a thematically unified whole. I believe that the composite text represents Sidney's treatise on virtuous, romantic love. In Chapter One I begin to construct the pattern I find in Sidney's Books One, Two, and Three. This pattern creates an ambiguity about love which forces the reader to question the possibility of a virtuous, romantic love in the light of human imperfection. Nowhere in the first three books does Sidney provide an example of romantic love which is not qualified by vice or shortcomings. Chapter One discusses Sidney's Book One in which Sidney establishes love as the primary theme of his work by describing various pairs of lovers. Each love is called into question by some degree of human imperfection. At the close of Book One, Pyrocles and Musidorus, the heroes of Sidney's work, find themselves in the volatile throes of passion. They each fall in love with one of the Arcadian princesses. In Book Two Sidney further develops tension surrounding virtuous love as the heroes and heroines tell each other stories about love. Those who fall in love now learn about love. In Chapter Two I discuss three theme clusters around which I believe the stories can be grouped. The tales told by Pyrocles, Musidorus, Pamela, and Philoclea serve as foils as they formulate their ideas on what romantic love should be. Chapter Three considers Sidney's mingling of love and war in Book Three. By mixing the pursuit of love with the pursuit of battle, Sidney continues to shroud the issue of virtuous love with ambiguity and tension. In the latter part of Book Three, Sidney introduces the element of the divine, represented most powerfully in Pamela's trials at the hand of Cecropia. Providence becomes central to Sidney's notions of virtuous, romantic love. Chapter Four discusses Sidney's Books Four and Five. These books form a unified statement about the necessary presence of the divine in a virtuous, romantic love. The princes first demonstrate their selfishness, but each receives instruction from one of the princesses about one's necessary dependence on the divine. I discuss Sidney's transformation of the traditional heroic ideal. As the princes stand trial for Basilius' apparent murder, Providence intervenes in the awakening of the King at the close of the trial scene. The influence of the divine spares the lives of Pyrocles and Musidorus and makes possible a virtuous love with the princesses. Sidney's message for the inhabitants of Arcadia and for those who would study his work is clear: love cannot be virtuous without the influence and intervention of the divine.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

1991

Author dc:creator

• Duncan, Amy Brown.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Hunt, Maurice, 1942-

• Sidney, Philip, 1554-1586 -- Criticism and interpretation.
• Sidney, Philip, 1554-1586. Arcadia.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14977

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14977