As Arthur, Redcrosse, and Una rest after their
victory at Orgoglio's castle, the lady asks Arthur to tell
them about his name and lineage. This is a sore spot for
Arthur; he says that he does not know who his parents were.
He grew up in Wales (in Great Britain) and was tutored by
the magician Merlin. Una then asks what brought him to
Faerie Land, and this is an even more painful memory. It
was the love of a maid, who had briefly appeared to him and
called herself the Queen of Fairies, which led him to
search for her in Faerie Land for the past nine months.
Redcrosse and Una give their sympathy, but now they must
continue on their quest; after exchanging gifts, they leave
Arthur. They continue toward Una's home, but she is
worried that Redcrosse is now too weak from his
imprisonment to defeat the dragon keeping her parents
captive.
Suddenly, they see a knight running toward them in fright;
his name is Sir Trevisan, and he claims to be fleeing a
terrible man named Despair. This Despair had already
caused one of Trevisan's friends, Terwin, to kill himself. Redcrosse
is eager to challenge Despair, and Trevisan reluctantly leads
them back to the cave where Despair, a gloomy old man,
sits. There they see Terwin's body, and Redcrosse eagerly
desires to exact revenge upon Despair. But the old man
remains calm and wearily asks Redcrosse what problem he has
with death. Death, he says, simply brings an end to a life
of sin and, thus, cannot come too soon. He even knows of
Redcrosse's sins and weaknesses and almost persuades the
knight to take his own life. However, Una steps in and stops
him and pulls him out of the cave of Despair.
Seeing her knight's weakness, Una now knows for certain
that he needs help, and so, she leads him to the House of
Holiness. There, Caelia reigns with her three daughters,
Fidelia, Sperenza, and Charissa, and many other virtuous
people live with them. Caelia greets Una and, hearing of
Redcrosse's condition, commands her daughters to aid his
recovery. First, Fidelia instructs him in discipline and
the gospel; then, Sperenza comforts him, so that his sins do
not again lead to despair. Next, hard Patience and bitter
Penance make him suffer for the crimes he has committed, to
purge himself. Finally, Charissa comes to Redcrosse, and
"Gan him instruct, in every good behest [behavior] / Of
love, and righteousnesse, and well to donne (I.x.33)."
After instructing him, she takes him to a hospital where
seven charitable men tend to his physical ailments. Now
fully recovered in body and spirit, Redcrosse receives one
more grace--he is taken up to a high hill by Contemplation,
a wise old hermit. There, he can see the new Jerusalem
(God's city) and Cleopolis (the city of the Faerie
Queene). Contemplation tells Redcrosse his history and
future: He is not a faerie but born from a mortal king--he
was stolen by a faerie and brought to Faerie Land. He is
destined to become a great saint of England, and his true
name is George. Much amazed by this news, Redcrosse
returns down the hill to the House of Holiness. There, Una
is eager to make for her castle, and so they soon depart.
Commentary
Spenser glorifies Queen Elizabeth by connecting her with
the line of King Arthur in Canto ix. Arthur claims to have
been born in western Wales, which connects him with the
house of Tudor, Elizabeth's family. The history is vague
enough that it cannot be disproved; there is just enough
information that a connection can be guessed at. And so,
in Spenser's mind, Elizabeth has the same secular power and
religious authority that Arthur held. Of course, Arthur
remains partly a Christ figure, as well. In the exchange of
gifts, he gives Redcrosse a "few drops of liquor pure, / Of
wondrous worth and vertue excellent, / That any wound could
heal incontinent (I.ix.19)." This liquid probably
represents the Eucharist, which for Protestants is the
symbol of Christ giving his body and blood to the Apostles
at the Last Supper. Redcrosse, for his part, gives Arthur
"his Saveours testament" (I.ix.19)--that is, the New
Testament, which tells of Christ's life on Earth. This
foreshadows Redcrosse's eventual role as a Christ figure
and, in fact, a more important one than Arthur.
First, though, he must deal with despair. We saw earlier
that the lion could not conquer despair in the form of
Sansjoy; here in its purest form, it almost defeats
Redcrosse, except that he has the truth, Una, and the truth
of God's mercy is greater than despair. This is one of the
lessons that Redcrosse learns in the House of Holiness,
which is an exact counterpart to the House of Pride from
Canto iv.
Instead of Lucifera, there is Caelia ("Heavenly"); instead
of a parade of vices, there is a multitude of virtues. The
three daughters are Faith, Hope, and Charity--the three
greatest virtues, according to St. Paul--and each one
instructs Redcrosse in her own specialty. The seven
physicians who tend to his body are the counterparts to the
seven bodily vices of the House of Pride; however, they do
not all correspond to a specific vice. Rather, they follow
a pattern taken in Christ's words in the Gospel of Matthew:
"For I was hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty,
and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I
was in prison, and ye came unto me (Mt.25.35-36)." Thus,
one of the seven provides food, another provides clothing,
another visits the sick, etc. Spenser's emphasis here is
that holiness is not simply a reaction to evil; it has its
own positive source in Christ. This makes it greater than
evil and gives Redcrosse the strength to ride into battle
again.
