The Faerie Queene

The Faerie Queene

by

Edmund Spenser

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The Faerie Queene: Book IV: Canto XII Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Even after listing so many wedding guests at Proteus’s house, the narrator says he left off several names. At the wedding is also Marinell’s mother the nymph Cymoent (also sometimes called Cymodoce), but Marinell’s father is mortal and so the half-mortal Marinell must stay outside the god’s house. As he’s walking outside the house, he hears a piteous voice.
Although the wedding at Proteus’s house may not have seemed important to the plot in the previous canto, here it becomes clear how it will lead to a resolution in the story of Marinell and Florimell.
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The voice (which belongs to Florimell), complains about how the seas delight in spoiling mortal lives. She says that though waves can pierce rocks, nothing can pierce the heart of the god who is keeping her prisoner. She wishes that she could see her love, Marinell, again. Marinell hears this and realizes he’s been hard-hearted toward Florimell. He decides to break her out of her prison.
The fact that Marinell is there right when Florimell is talking about him is yet another dramatic moment of coincidence (or perhaps destiny) in the poem. The physical prison that Florimell is in also represents the metaphorical prison that she feels like she’s in without her love Marinell.
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Marinell tries to think of a way to help Florimell but no matter what option he chooses, the obstacles seem too great to overcome. He sees the feast is ending and worries that he’ll have to leave her there alone. He returns home with his mother, Cymoent, but remains tormented by thoughts of Florimell.
Marinell is just a mortal, and despite his strength as a knight, he has no power on his own to oppose a god as mighty as Proteus, particularly not during a feast full of other gods.
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Marinell begins to wither away, losing his strength, which upsets his mother. She doesn’t know the cause of her son’s sorrows and thinks maybe it is still related to his wound, so she goes back to the surgeon god Tryphon. Tryphon assures her the old wound is healed and that Marinell has been afflicted with some new malady. This doesn’t satisfy Marinell, so she calls Apollo, who is the god of medicine.
Marinell’s physical lovesickness for Florimell is like Britomart’s lovesickness for Arthegall. “Mental health” wasn’t really a concept until long after the poem was written, but there was nevertheless some understanding that emotional states could have an effect on physical health.
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Apollo says that whatever ails Marinell is in his mind and that it’s probably love. Cymoent is upset about this at first, but eventually she tries to convince Marinell to tell her which nymph he loves. He admits that he loves Florimell, and Cymoent is upset because Proteus told her that Marinell’s downfall will happen because of a maiden.
Given that Proteus is currently imprisoning Florimell, it is reasonable to question whether Proteus’s prophecy really has any truth to it, or whether he only gave the prophecy to fulfill his own selfish purposes. In any case, the prophecy already came true when Britomart severely wounded Marinell.
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Quotes
Cymoent decides that Proteus is just the messenger of her bad news and she knows he is keeping Florimell prisoner, so she goes directly to Neptune to take up the issue. She explains the situation and Neptune agrees that Proteus must release Florimell.
Neptune is a rank above Proteus and so even a god as powerful as Proteus would not dare to disobey an order from Neptune.
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Proteus doesn’t dare contradict an order from Neptune, and so he lets Florimell go. Marinell sees Florimell, and immediately his heavy heart is lifted. He is weak from his period of lovesickness, but soon his strength begins to return. Florimell is sad to see him looking weak but hides it in order to keep up the joyful mood.
Proteus, despite treating Florimell poorly, is a god, and so is perhaps immune to some of the consequences of immorality that a mortal might face. The ending of the book is surprisingly bittersweet, with the happy ending offset by Florimell’s recognition of Marinell’s weakened state.
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