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Ariel is the leader of Belinda’s sylphs, the spirits of coquettish women who live on postmortem in whatever form they choose and watch over single young women. In the mythology of the poem, they are associated with the air, hence his airy name. Ariel takes his job as Belinda’s guardian quite seriously, warning Belinda of danger and arranging the other sylphs in position to guard her from any calamity. As part of what Pope calls the machinery of the poem, Ariel functions as a mechanism that explains Belinda’s behavior. He and the other sylphs have the true power over Belinda’s beauty, chastity, and actions. Ariel explains in Canto 1 that it is sylphs who cause women to flirt but reject suitors. They help young women toe the line between being pleasing to men and maintaining chastity, both of which are essential for a young woman’s social status at Court. The fragility of this balance is why Ariel can so easily lose his powers. The moment he realizes that Belinda is interested in a mortal man, he no longer can protect her.
