The Faerie Queene is centred around the work of arts, but it is seldom seen as a neutral power. The contrary is true: art seems to be a tool of post-lapsarian society, dragging once pure characters into earthly knowledge. Particularly, in Busirane’s house, art serves as both an aid to Eve’s sin and, in secular terms, as a tool for the loss or innocence of the mythological Leda/Danae sexuality. Busirane’s walls are covered with tapestries showing how women are tricked and invaded. Although Busirane’s art has a powerful and intrusive nature, it isn’t entirely evil according to the narration. Busirane’s attempts to display, reenact or recall female falls in history are strong, but it is not often mentioned that art serves a redeeming function. The Faerie Queene is a tale of ascent and decline, much like contemporary Christianity shows the Old Testament Fall being “reversed”. Spenser is not attempting to make art disappear, but he does wish to offer a counterexample. The cases of Eve and Danae will demonstrate that art is more than a tool for lapsarian violence. It can also be used as a rehabilitative and saving force to allow acts of violence against women to end and women to be forgiven.
It is easy to see the potential harm in visual representations of Busirane’s art when it is first described. It is tempting to see the descriptions as mirrors of Busirane’s true situation, which is to hold Amoret hostage, possibly sexually, and attempt to force her to love him emotionally. Busirane not only desires and holds Amoret in his physical grasp, but he also wants to enter her mind, to win her favor. This is the same kind of impure desire that Busirane displays in his tapestries’ first description. Here’s the passage: [The tapestries] were woven using gold and silk so near and dear
It is believed that rich metals lurked in the shadows.
You will be hidden from the envious eye by faining.
But there are wares everywhere, and they’re all around us
It was there, shining uncontrollably:
As a discolored snake with hidden snares
His long, bright-burnished, and green grasses declares.
(Bk. 3, c. 11, s. 28)
This stanza is more than a pure Platonism. It could suggest that all art should be imitation. Instead, it imagines art being connected with the snake in Eden. The tapestries’ gold is linked to the “discoloured Snake” through a metaphor. This image can be read at both the symbolic level (the snakelike weave and deceit) and on the visual level. The rich metal does not appear to declare itself: instead, it “lurk[s] prily/ As unwilling to be hidden” and “sh[ines] willfully.” This is a simile to the “discoloured snake,” which can be seen on the visual level (the snakelike weave) as well the metaphorical level (the tapestry being “woven though” with deceit). Modern readers might be able to praise the versatility of art, but it is more likely that trickery and lures are used than simple work. The snake’s “hidden snares”, or secret purposes, are what reveal its position.
Through this Biblical reference, he directly refers to Eve’s apple eating and, more generally speaking, the fall of Man and the loss or paradise. The work is “lurking” in the post-lapsarian environment, mirroring and maybe even reconstructing that initial fall. The snake “declares his back” in the present meaning suggests that his story is still being told. That is, the content of the tapestries are dynamic. The tapestries show the metal as “as fainingly to be hidden from the envious eye”. The viewer could now perform this function, looking in wonderment and jealousy at what is happening. In fact, this viewer might be performing a modern version Biblical tale about lust and desire. This is how the artwork is brought into the present. The viewer is also involved in Eve’s sins.
This tapestry is a replicating of the Biblical event. In this sense, it is a work, or work, of art. The tapestries’ “unwilling” and hidden shining suggest that it prefers to do its evil unseen. It participates in the traditions as a piece of art by being visible beginning with the first representations. This allows the tapestry to be seen by the viewer, giving him the opportunity to examine its relationship to the original event. The story continues the fall through visual representation, so the viewer can also see how he is participating in the lapsarian act.
This ability to restore and recall a Paradise-related fall is not limited to the Biblical tales of Eve. In fact, it extends to more secular realms of female sexuality. A “fall” from female virginity can cause a loss of purity, or even holiness. Even though this fall is not voluntary, it is difficult to express artistically. The tapestry may allow for the presentation of rape or voyeurism. The brutality of the acts would be difficult to comprehend if the narrative was not presented in a simple way. The act’s nature is hidden as an invasion and fall because of its attractive colors and composition.
It is even more pertinent to mention that these acts are aided by the art of deceit. To be “successful” as a voyeur or rapist, even a god must change his appearance. Some tapestries of Jove depict him as an invasion force and violent god in the Busirane’s house. Jove, the reigning god was also involved in many earthly activities, such as watching Danae, (s. 31), or raping Leda, (s.32).
These narratives are equally as Biblical in depicting a woman’s fall. This isn’t the original fall from paradise. It is a parallel and more secularized version. It is the fall from purity to sexuality. This reference is important not only because it is a reflection of the times, but also because Elizabeth is the “Virgin Princess”. Jove’s transformation from “a golden swan”, and “a silver swan”, allows him to instigate the Fall from virginal Wholeness. The Danae passage (s.31) emphasizes the many other options that Jove has. Danae “kept that iron door shut/ And made sure no one entered nor issued,” but her efforts proved futile. Jove, like the snake, would not want his true identity to be revealed. If it was, Danae would recognize him as the masculine figure Danae is trying hard to keep away. He would be able to clearly identify his physicality. This is what a “golden shade” does not indicate. Jove would also need to make an effort to protect Danae.
The episodes of Danae, Leda and others show how the power of divine illusions and transformations can harm innocents. These Jove stories are about invasion. The invader transforms into many visual forms, facilitating voyeurism and rape. These women are forced to give up their purity because of this transformation. Busirane is likely to admire the content of these tapestries, which are hanging on his wall. The divine can transform itself, but art can also undergo an equivalent visual transformation. These episodes should be displayed with the snake’s. This implies a narrative and even thematic connection.
In a real sense though, art’s ability to aid in transformation is its saving grace.
Although art can transform a person from pure to base, it can also facilitate the reverse. Art can only perform acts that occur through the same artwork, which allows for the full circle of redemption and fall. Busirane forced Amoret to be released by him, demonstrating the power of art’s restorative powers. Busirane is trying to control Amoret’s mind with spells in this episode (c. 12, sec. 31). The spells are described in verse-like language or more generally as a written metaphor. Busirane writes with living blood the “strange characters” of his art and “figur[es] them”, suggesting that the spell can be used to transform the mind by using the physical body. Britomart eventually meets Busirane and attempts to slay him. Amoret’s motivation for doing this is pure self-preservation.
So powerfully [Britomart] beat him to the ground
He was half-dead. Next, he should have been slain.
Had not he lad (which by himself stood bound).
Call her to abstain
He must die. She must suffer.
He should be able to fix it.
The same could be done again.
(Bk. 3, C. 12, s. 34)
Amoret was held captive by Busirane, and only he would be able to free her. It is a striking irony. Busirane dying would bring the cure with it – Amoret’s “pain/ Should not be remedied” and although Busirane would probably have his death sentence served, Amoret will remain uncured. A deed with verbal magic that is committed against Amoret can reverse it and restore her original state.
Busirane’s restorative powers transform him, at most temporarily, into a agent of good. Although Amoret was bound first by Busirane’s hand, he is now Amorets only hope of freedom. Busirane cannot be trusted to perform this act. Britomart must threaten Busirane with the threat that he would “elsedie undoubtedly.” Britomart may have to threaten Busirane or make a deal with him in order for him to cooperate. But it is not the same as killing him right away. Amoret knows that not every spell has the ability to restore her health. In fact, it’s the same spell that gave her power. This passage seems to support the positive power of negative art, as well as the ability of art itself to restore her body. Because a work or spell can only cause harm, the magic of that particular piece of art cannot erase it. Thus, it is important to let evildoers live in order for there to be restoration.
Spenser’s wider restorative plan can be seen in the nature and extent of Amoret’s restoration. She loses the “cruel metal which delighted her dying hearts” and the “great brazenpillar” on which it is placed. Her “rivenbows” are “closed-up as if they had never been bored”. Amoret is now an “unbound/And complete whole” and has been restored to prelapsarian metaphorical virginity. She can also move freely. Busirane forces Amoret to give up her “boring” image and phallic image. Leda and Danae are two women from previous episodes who act in a similar fashion to Amoret. Forceful men invade their privacy and sexuality, but Amoret is freed through the spell that originally bound her. Amoret escapes from the oppressive position represented by the serpent’s fall and the secular deaths of the other women. These tapestries show that the Jove of the women is not here on earth and they are unable to undergo this transformation.
