La Belle Dame sans Merci & Early Feminism

      During the 1800's, women were put under many restrictions. They were required to act a certain way and were viewed as only objects that were under man's control. In many cultures, women are not only to be dominated but through this domination they are kept from destroying man's morality. Women who were independent in any way were viewed as taboo and basically something to be avoided at all costs. In "La Belle Dame sans Merci", John Keat's independent female character reflects societies view of independent women during that time period.
    The poem is the story of a knight who falls under the bewitching spell of a mysterious woman. When the reader is first introduced to the knight, he is not the heroic knight that we think of in fairy tales. He is a broken man. He is "alone and palely loitering". Something terrible had to have happened to this man in order for him to become so distraught. The cause of his pain is a woman that he fell madly in love with.
     She seems innocent and beautiful enough, as most female characters in literature do at the time. She is know ordinary woman though, she is a "faery child". This is what sets her apart from other women. Something unusual about her made her stand out from the crowd, this being the fact that she is not human, and has caught great interest from the knight.
     The rest of the poem talks about this great love affair that the knight and faery have. The faery even professes love towards the knight. This affair can be interpreted as a physical affair. In one such line, "I set her on my pacing steed", may refer to the author placing the girl onto a horse. In many literary symbols, horses often refer to sex so it can be safe to say the Kearns was not talking about your average pony ride. This relationship is what leads to the knights downfall however.
    Eventually, the woman tricks the knight and leaves him terrified and lost. Throughout this poem, Kearns links the independent woman to his character of the faery. Because she is so different and so unique the knight takes great interest in her. Forming a relationship with this woman lead to his ultimate downfall. This poem shows that giving in to any independent woman always ends in disaster.