> Belles dames sans merci are in their early twenties, Alison.
A somewhat absolutist statement, Erminia, which would seem to deny erotic
force to anyone over the age of twenty.
And of course, they can be male as well as female, as instanced by the Young
Man in Shakespeare's Sonnets.
Not to go into the curious overlap between the mythic Belles Dames such as
the Queen of Faerie in Thomas the Rhymer, as well as Keats' (I was about to
say "definitive", and nearly fall into the trap of making absolute
statements, so ...) crucial statement. Ghosting behind which is the
"real -life" figure of Fanny Brawne.
Forgive me for deconstructing the ageist and homophobic components of your
remark, which I'm sure weren't intended ...
> Maybe it is better to let your daughter or nice now be a belle dame sans
> Merci.
> Moreover, dearest, I like men, so I have to decline your cryptic
homosexual
> suggestion. I am insensible to any gay charme.
> Sorry.
> You can always try with someone else on the list.
... or perhaps they were.
Robin
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