Harry, I suddenly regret the DQ phrase, especially since Jackie's response, which reminds me that the first woman graduate student allowed into Princeton once commented on Guyon's pick up by Phaedria as "Guyon finds himself with a woman more knowledgable than he and asks to be taken back to Mamma. [i.e. Palma]. And that is, I hope, the last I will say on gender issues and the Palmer. tpr
"Harry Berger, Jr." wrote:
> "Spenser is obviously making a comparison between Una and her Book II parallel, although I would hate to see an article on the palmer as an Una drag-queen." (T.P. Roche Jr)
>
> So Tom, let's see how close we can get without turning it into an article: Several times Guyon rushes impetuously off to practice what the Palmer preaches-"the weake to strengthen, and the strong suppresse"-only to get misdirected by Archimago, lose his horse to Braggadocchio, take a beating from Furor and a boatride in the wrong direction from Phaedria, and end up half dead outside Mammon's cave. Not an enviable record; less like the patron of temperance than a patient in need of it. This must mean that as guide and teacher the Palmer leaves something to be desired, or possibly something to be feared, or more probably something to be desired and feared. That something, which is necessary to the success of his regimen, is a-krasía, or Acrasia. Eh? Tom? Well, close, but no .
>
> But the idea that the Palmer replaces and parallels Una opens up all sorts of weird possibilities, enough to shut me up for a month or two while I retire into the mind's closet to sort them out.
>
> Now that I am finally connected to this talk tank and have printed out all of the
> palmer stuff for further rumination, and Harry, you may be the oldest New Critic,
> but what an astounding performance! Apologies to anyone who may have mentioned
> this, and I have missed, but the palmer is dressed in black attire whereas they
> traditionally bore a palm and wore unbleached cloth. Spenser is obviously making
> a comparison between Una and her Book II parallel, although I would hate to see an
> article on the palmer as an Una drag-queen. This was first pointed out to me by
> my former colleague, Julia Holloway, from whom I am afraid we can get no further
> information since she has become the Hermit of Fiesole. They are still around.
> Truth can be stranger than fiction. Tom Roche
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