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MORAL ESSAYS.

N

EPISTLE II.

то

ALAD Y.

Of the Characters of WOMEN.

OTHING fo true as what you once let fall,

"Moft Women have no Characters at all." Matter too foft a lafting mark to bear,

And beft diftinguish'd by black, brown, or fair.

Of the Characters of Women.] There is nothing in Mr. Pope's works more highly finished than this Epiftle: Yet its fuccefs was in no proportion to the pains he took in compofing it. Something he chanced to drop in a short Advertisement prefixed to it, on its first publication, may perhaps account for the small attention given to it. He faid, that no one character in it was drawn from the life. The Public believed him on his word, and expreffed little curiofity about a Satire in which there was nothing perfonal.

VER. I. Nothing fo true, etc.] The reader perhaps may be disappointed to find that this Epifle, which proposes the fame fubject with the preceding, is conducted on very different rules of method; for, inftead of being difpofed in the fame logical

Here Fannia, leering on her own good man,
And there, a naked Leda with a Swan.
Let then the fair one beautifully cry,
In Magdalen's loofe hair and lifted eye,
Or drest in smiles of fweet Cecilia shine,

With fimp'ring Angels, Palms, and Harps divine;
Whether the Charmer finner it, or faint it,

If Folly grow romantic, I muft paint it.

15

Come then, the colours and the ground prepare!

Dip in the Rainbow, trick her off in Air;

Chufe a firm Cloud, before it fall, and in it

19

Catch, ere the change, the Cynthia of this minute.

Rufa, whofe eye quick-glancing o'er the Park, Attracts each light gay meteor of a Spark, Agrees as ill with Rufa ftudying Locke, As Sappho's di'monds with her dirty fmock;

tain-Leda with a fwan.-Magdalen-Cecilia-] Attitudes in which feveral ladies affected to be drawn, and sometimes one lady in them all. The poet's politeness and complaifance to the sex is obfervable in this inflance, amongst others, that, whereas in the Characters uf Men, he has fometimes made ufe of real names, in the Characters of Women always fictitious.

VER. 20. Catch, ere she change, the Cynthia of this minute.] Alluding to the precept of Fresnoy,

formæ veneres captando fugaces.

VER. 21. Inftances of contrarieties, given even from fuch Characters as are most strongly mark'd, and feemingly therefore moft confiftent: As, I. In the Affected, 21, etc.

Or Sappho at her toilet's greazy task,
With Sappho fragrant at an ev'ning Mask:
So morning Infects that in muck begun,
Shine, buzz, and fly-blow in the fetting-fun..
How foft is Silia! fearful to offend;

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The frail one's advocate, the Weak one's friend. 30
To her, Califta prov'd her condu& nice;
And good Simplicius afks of her advice.

Sudden, she ftorms! fhe raves! You tip the wink,
But fpare your cenfure; Silia does not drink.
All eyes may fee from what the change arofe, 35
All eyes may fee-a Pimple on her nose.

Papillia, wedded to her am'rous fpark,

Sighs for the fhades-" How charming is a Park!” A Park is purchas'd, but the Fair he fees

All bath'd in tears-“ Oh odious, odious Trees!" Ladies, like variegated Tulips, fhow;

'Tis to their Changes half their charms we owe; Fine by defect, and delicately weak,

41

Their happy Spots the nice admirer take.

'Twas thus Calypfo once each heart alarm'd,

45

Aw'd without Virtue, without Beauty charm'd;
Her Tongue bewitch'd as odly as her Eyes,
Lefs Wit than Mimic, more a Wit than wife;
Strange graces ftill, and ftranger flights fhe had,
Was juft not ugly, and was just not mad;

VER. 29, and 37. II. Contrarieties in the Soft-natured.
VER. 45. III. Contrarieties in the Cunning and Artful.

50

How many pictures of one Nymph we view, All how unlike each other, all how true!

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connection, and filled with the like philofophical remarks, it is wholly taken up in drawing a great variety of capital Characters: But if he would reflect, that the two Sexes make but one Species, and consequently, that the Characters of both must be ftudied and explained on the fame principles, he would fee that when the poet had done this in the preceding Epistle, his bufinefs here was, not to repeat what he had already delivered, but only to verify and illustrate his doctrine, by every view of that perplexity of Nature, which his philofophy only can explain. If the reader therefore will but be at the pains to study thefe Characters with any degree of attention, as they are here masterly drawn, one important particular (for which the poet has artfully prepared him by the introduction) will very forcibly ftrike his obfervation; and that is, that all the great strokes in the feveral Characters of Women are not only infinitely perplexed and difcordant, like thofe in Men, but abfolutely inconfiftent, and in a much higher degree contradictory. As ftrange as this may appear, yet he will see that the poet has all the while ftrictly followed Nature, whofe ways, we find by the former Epiftle, are not a little myfterious; and a mystery this might have remained, had not our author explained it at 207. where he shuts up his Characters with this philosophical reflection:

In Men, we various ruling Paffions find;
In Women, two almost divide the kind;
Thofe, only fix'd, they firft or laft obey,

The love of Pleasure, and the love of Sway.

If this account be true, we see the perpetual neceffity (which is not the cafe in Men) that Women lye under of difguifing their ruling paffion. Now the variety of arts employed to this purpofe muft needs draw them into infinite contradictions in thofe

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Arcadia's Countess, here, in ermin'd pride,
Is there, Paftora by a fountain fide.

Actions from whence their general and obvious Character is denominated: To verify this obfervation, let the reader examine all the Characters here drawn, and try whether with this key * he cannot difcover that all their Contradictions arife from a defire to hide the ruling Paffion.

But this is not the worst. The poet afterwards (from ✯ 218 to 249) takes notice of another mischief arifing from this neceflity of hiding their ruling Paffions; which is, that generally the end of each is defeated even there where they are most violently purfued: For the neceffity of hiding them inducing an habitual diffipation of mind, Reason, whofe office it is to regulate the ruling Passion, lofes all its force and direction; and these unhappy victims to their principles, tho' with their attention still fixed upon them, are ever profecuting the means deftructive of their end, and thus become ridiculous in youth, and miferable in old age.

Let me not omit to obferve the great beauty of the conclufion: It is an Encomium on an imaginary Lady to whom the Epifle is addreffed, and artfully turns upon the fact which makes the fubject of the Epistle, the contradiction of a Woman's Character, in which contradiction he fhews that all the luftre even of the best Character confifts:

And yet, believe me, good as well as ill,

Woman's at beft a Contradiction still, etc.

VER. 5. How many pictures] The poet's purpose here is to fhew, that the Characters of Women are generally inconfiftent with themselves; and this he illuftrates by fo happy a Similitude, that we fee the folly, defcribed in it, arises from that very principle which gives birth to this inconfiftency of Character,

VER, 7, 8. 10, etc. Arcadia's Counte's,-Paftora by a foun

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