Daemon Lovers: Will, Personification, and Character

Abstract

Spenser reveals little interest in the representation of free and independent choice. His characters’ choices don’t produce narrative consequences so much as the narrative appears to determine their choices. Yet The Faerie Queene does show intense interest in the expression of will—Duessa exerts a “cursed” will, Arthur asserts a “will to might,” Scudamour’s will is “greedy,” etc. But what would it mean to say that a character wills, but does not choose? And could we call such a character an agent? To answer these questions, this essay revisits the notion of personification allegory as “daemonic possession” and treats it as a form of inspired motivation, one that achieves not choice but rather something we might call volitional mastery. Britomart’s erotic adventures in Busirane’s castle serve as a primary example.