How we cite our quotes: (Canto.Line)
Quote #1
Know farther yet; Whoever fair and chaste
Rejects Mankind, is by some Sylph embrac'd: (I.67–70)
Here's Ariel the Sylph, telling Belinda in a dream vision that she only merits that entourage of flimsy fairies if she never falls in love or accepts a boyfriend. Hmmm. So to be worthy of the Sylphs, you have to reject men? Where's the glory in all of that?
Quote #2
The Fair each moment rises in her Charms,
Repairs her Smiles, awakens ev'ry Grace,
And calls forth all the Wonders of her Face;
Sees by Degrees a purer Blush arise,
And keener Lightnings quicken in her Eyes. (I.140–144)
These lines describe how Belinda's sees her own face changing for the better as she puts on her makeup. Don't pretend you haven't checked yourself out some mornings, after you get ready for school, and thought yo, I look pretty good. But Belinda takes this to the nth degree. Amazing. We knew Belinda worshiped her own image in the mirror—but here she also seems to be falling in love with it, even to the point of being seduced by her own self. Total narcissism.
Quote #3
But chiefly Love — to Love an Altar built,
Of twelve vast French Romances, neatly gilt.
There lay three Garters, half a Pair of Gloves;
And all the Trophies of his former Loves. (II.37–40)
Here we are, kneeling with the Baron at that altar to love he builds in Canto II. Notice what symbolizes "love" for the man: romance novels, garters, gloves, etc. In other words,
romance equals stuff. Things. The Baron is a total fetishist.
Quote #4
Whether the Nymph shall break Diana's Law,
Or some frail China Jar receive a Flaw,
Or stain her Honour, or her new Brocade,
Forget her Pray'rs, or miss a Masquerade,
Or lose her Heart, or Necklace, at a Ball; (II.105–110)
What was it we were saying about romance equaling stuff, in the previous quote? Here, on our way to the party, as Ariel warns the Sylphs of some impending doom for our heroine, Belinda's bodily chastity is pretty much equated with china pots, fancy dresses, and jewelry.
Quote #5
Gods! shall the Ravisher display your Hair,
While the Fops envy, and the Ladies stare!
Honour forbid! at whose unrival'd Shrine
Ease, Pleasure, Virtue, All, our Sex resign. (IV.103–106)
Obviously the power of the fetish extends beyond the Baron's own individual desire for Belinda's hair as a love trophy. Here in Thalestris's fanning of Belinda's ire just after the Baron snips the lock, it looks like Thalestris (and the rest of Belinda's friends) might read his possession of the lock in the same sexual way.
Quote #6
A Beau and Witling perish'd in the Throng,
One dy'd in Metaphor, and one in Song.
O cruel Nymph! a living Death I bear,
Cry'd Dapperwit, and sunk beside his Chair.
A mournful Glance Sir Fopling upwards cast,
Those Eyes are made so killing—was his last: (V.59–64)
The colossal flirt-fight between the Baron and Belinda in Canto V had a ton of collateral damage in the form of minor male characters like the "Dapperwit" and "Sir Fopling," here. Looks like these other men can't deal with the battle of the sexes in any other way than with the stilted, socially-scripted rules of gallant poetry.