I stand corrected on that one--never really saw the line. Ah, the power
of imagination. Bill
>>> John K Leonard <[log in to unmask]> 12/4/2006 8:12 PM >>>
I'd love to believe that Hero is naked in the line Bill quotes. It
would add to the comedy of Hero shrieking at the sight of naked Leander
in her doorway ("such sights as this to tender maids are rare") if she
too were in the raw. But when, just a couple of lines later, she flees
to her bed, she seems to be wearing some kind of undergarment--her
"white limbs . . . sparkled through the lawn" (where "lawn" of course
refers to a light fabric, presumably of her underwear). So while she
"stayed not for her robes," she does not seem to be completely naked.
Or have I missed something?
William Empson, reviewing John Carey's 1981 book on John Donne,
famously stated that Elegy 19 contains the first reference to underwear
in English literature. I wonder whether that honour might not belong to
Marlowe instead.
John Leonard
----- Original Message -----
From: William Oram <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Monday, December 4, 2006 4:18 pm
Subject: Re: Sleeping attire
To: [log in to unmask]
> There's certainly literary precedent for sleeping naked.
> Marlowe's Hero
> "stayed not for her robes" when Leander knocks. Bill Oram
>
> >>> Margaret Christian <[log in to unmask]> 12/4/2006 12:51 PM >>>
> Good friends,
>
> Please indulge me and share your learned insights on an off-
> topic
> query. I was discussing Coleridge's Christabel with a
> class today,
> and they were much taken by the detail of the two ladies
> disrobing
> before sharing the bed. "Wasn't it usual to wear dressing
> gowns and
> caps and everything? Why are they undressing in front of
> each other?"
>
> The psychosexual reading appealed to them a lot, but I reminded
> them
> of Sir Gawain, trapped naked under the covers by his hostess
> (and
> Chaucer's characters, who don't seem unduly hampered by layers
> of
> fabric), and suggested that maybe Coleridge assumed that it
> wasn't
> usual to wear gowns, etc.
>
> Anyway, in the real pre-modern world (as opposed to bawdy,
> medieval
> romance, and gothic revival fantasy), what did people wear to bed?
>
> Many thanks,
>
>
> Margaret R. Christian,
> Ph.D.
> [log in to unmask]
> Associate Professor of
> English Office: (610)
> 285-5106
> Penn State Lehigh
> Valley Home: (610) 562-0163
> 8380 Mohr
> Lane fax: (610)
> 285-5220
> Fogelsville,
> PA 18051 USA
> http://www.lv.psu.edu/professional/mrc1/
>
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