Analysis of Donne's Parody of the Petrarchan Lady

Donne 's "Parody" of the Petrarchan Lady Author(s): Silvia Ruffo-Fiore Reviewed work(s): Source: Comparative Literature Studies, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Dec., 1972), pp. 392-406 Published by: Penn State University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40246080 . Accessed: 19/02/2013 04:17
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Donne 's "Parody" of the Petrarchan Lady
SILVIA RUFFO-FIORE

ABSTRACT The typical Petrarchan apotheosis of the lady mixes Neoplatonic idealiztion with religious analogy. Yet, Petrarch 's often humanized portrayal suggests that he did not fully accept the exalted view of the lady. John Donne extends Petrarch 's approach of probing the inadequacies of this ideal. Donne 's method in "Womans Constancy," "Communitie," and "The Indifferent" undercuts the oversimplified view of innovative revolt. A réévaluation of his parodie and satiric devices traditionally thought as directed against Petrarchan absolutes supports a modified view of his realism and cynicism. Often Donne 's speakers surfacely appear to ridicule Petrarchan ideals; but beneath the virtuosity of the cynical mask, possibly one of Donne 's contributions to the Petrarchist tradition, one speaker betrays his secret affiliation with the ideal, another wistfully desires a return to it, while another with faulty logic undermines his seemingly sincere argument for its demolishment. Donne 's approach to Petrarch is unique, for he neither accepts the ideal with Petrarchist imitation, nor does he deny it with satiric attack. While offering a speaker who seems to do one while actually doing the other, he satirizes the abuse of the ideal, redefining it in an enlarged range of experience. (SRF)

The dominant characteristic of Petrarch 'sCanzoniere is constancy to the lady. His idealized notion of the lady nurtures his constancy despite the prospect of continued rejection. Petrarch builds the details of his exaltation of Lauraon a scaffolding of fiction and personal myth. The imaginative terms used to define her birthplace, origin, and residence combined with her exceptional beauty and ennobling influence all contribute to creating Laura 'sapotheosized image. The place where she was born and lived is described as an arcadianparadise, as seen in the famous canzone "Chiare,fresche et dolci acque." Often he pictures her in the open-air setting of grass, trees, and flowers- an earthly Eden.1 Among the other phenomena of nature she is a spectacle of supreme perfection. Petrarch perpetuates Laura 'smythic quality by conveying her origin through the use of astrological imagery. As "un spirto gentil di paradiso," her 392

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birth was accompanied by the appearance of favorable stars; in fact, she herself is a star on earth:
Bénigne stelle che compagne fersi Al fortunato fiancho Quando '1 bel parto giu ' nel mondo scorse! Ch 'e ' stella in terra . . . (XXIX)2

In sonnets IX and CCXIX he portrays her as a child of the whole universe and as a sun in her own right. Petrarch 'spraise of the lady 's beauty mixes Neoplatonic idealization and religious analogy, as in sonnet CC. But sonnet CCXV offers the finest Petrarchanexpression of Laura 'sinfinite virtue, heavenly beauty, and incomprehensible but visible effect on the world:
In nobil sangue vita humile et quêta Et in alto intellecto un puro core, Frutto senile in sul giovenil fiore £ 'n aspetto pensoso anima lie ta Raccolto a 'n questa donna il suo pianeta, Anzi '1re de le stelle; e '1vero honore, Le degne lode, e '1gran pregio, e '1valore, Ch ' e ' da stanchar ogni divin poeta. Amor sV in lei con honestate aggiunto, Con belta ' naturale habito adorno, Et un atto che parla con silentio ; Et non so che nelli occhi, che 'n un punto Po ' far chiara la notte, oscuro il giorno, E '1mel amaro, et adolcir l 'assentio.

Although Laurarepresents the most perfect of human women, to assume that Petrarch 'sattitude toward her is totally one-sided neglects his ironic ambivalence, simplifies his textual complexity, and miscalculates his clear-cut distinction from previous treatments of the lady figure.3 Because his attitude is not always idealizing, Laura 's image prevails as an essentially human one. On many occasions reality and cynicism intrude, effecting a drastically humanized view. Moreover, Petrarch 'svacillating attitude toward her dictates a similarly inconsistent attitude toward the ideal of constancy. When he idealizes her, he vows his eternal devotion, as in sonnet CXLV in which he swears endless adoration. But when he detects her faults or weaknesses, he ponders other alternatives to his present course, even though he may not have the courage to actuate those alternatives. For example, in sonnet XLV he condemns Laura for loving her own image more than him. Observingher gazing admiringly at her face in a mirror, Petrarchwarns her of the irreversibleconse-

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quences of vain self-love by recalling the mythological story of Narcissus. But his warning is more of a threat which he already imagines realized. Sonnet LX condemns Laurafor not returning his love, and Petrarch apologizes to all those who having faith in his verse lost their way because they had placed hope in love. A substitute symbol, the laurel tree, to whom the sonnet is addressed, elegantly veils his subtle criticism, but his gallantry cannot hide the fact that in reality he is cursing his lady 's scorn and deceit:
Ne ' poeta ne colga mai, ne ' Giove La privilegi; et al Sol venga in ira, Tal che si secchi ogni sua foglia verde.

In sonnet LXXXII Petrarch is bitter in his rejection and unsuccessful in his search for a remedy to cure his diseased passion. He warns the lady that although in the past he endured her unreturned love, now he has grown to hate his submissive and frustratingrole, and become weary of his constant but futile tears. As a way of punishing the lady, he desires to die and to be placed in a marble sepulcher, on which her name will be inscribed as the cause of his death for all future generations to see. In sonnet LXXXVII, by his comparison of Laurato an archer who deliberately draws his bow for a good shot, Petrarch reveals his condemnation of her cold and cruel flirting, which plays unmercifully with sincere human passion. Sonnet CLXXIV reiterates the same theme using much of the same imagery. The lady is compared to a savage, fiery star who ruled the heavens at his birth and who destined his life for torment. He compares her to an archer, who wounded him with love and who cruelly toys with his painful wound. But despite his vivid description of her pitiless and destructive scorn, he vows, "che languir per lei / meglio è, che gioir d 'altra." It is significant that the thought of inconstancy even crosses his mind, and we wonder at the strength of his vow in the light of the intensity of his suffering. In sonnet CLXXI his vow to love Lauraeternally appears ironical in the context of Petrarch 'scriticism of her insufferable pride and cruelty. Yet, despite all this, occasionally Laura softens her pose, dieting subtle hints that the love was not totally unrequited. The opening lines of CXLIX suggest that with time Laurahas relented in her severity and has conceded some favors to her lover. Her concessions have only whetted his appetite for more rewards:
Che ' piu ' m 'arde '1desio, Quanto piu ' la speranza m 'assicura.

Sonnet CLXXII indicates that at one time the love relationship was

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reciprocal, but now the envy of profane people compels Laurato refuse his advances. Petrarch 'ssevere admonition of Laura in sonnet LX seems motivated by the fact that at one time "i bei rami non m 'ebber a sdegno." And again, his philosophical observation on the inconstancy of a woman 's will in sonnet CLXXXIII is motivated by her apparent reciprocation of his love for a time, but he fears she may return to her previous severity. In the Provençal and dolce stil nuovo traditions the lady was the localization of the ideal, "an image that accommodated the infirmities of secular life," and as such most of these poets "did not go beyond this point to question the moral indispensability of the figure they praise."4 Petrarch 'svision of the lady is basically idealized, but often his drastically humanized and critical portrayal, although veiled, suggests that he did not fully accept this unrealistic view.5 He presents a qualifying approach, which John Donne and others would extend, or probing the inadequacies of this ideal lady. Petrarchdoes not exalt his lady to the point of denying her humanity, as many Provençal poets do; yet he retains other characteristics of the courtly system. For example, his poems create an imaginary world of illusion and fiction in which the whole amorous experience is falsified. Fantasy, dreams, imaginings, and meditation replace the reality of action. The lover by replacing "the unattainable lady with her manipulated image" creates a dream world of ". . . surrogate experience free of all the risks and limitations of real experience." The "theater of the animated image" provided a temporary solace or even fulfillment for the lover, who desires a real encounter with the lady but who lacks the courage to face possible disappointment.6 Despite intimations of the lady 's inadequacies, for Petrarch the self-contained, unqualified world of illusion enflâmes and even perpetuates his monogamous constancy. Critics have often claimed that one of Donne 's original contributions to the development of Petrarchanlove poetry was his realistic and cynical portrayal of women.7 "WomansConstancy" or "The Indifferent" are cited as dramatic proof of Donne 's disavowal of Petrarch 'ssoft, musical cadences and misguided, illusory praise of an idealized lady. There are notable differences between the two treatments; and Donne 's portrayal is "original" in several distinctive ways, but not because he is "cynical" (a term needing more specific definition) or because he supposedly spurned the traditional image of the Petrarchanlady-figure. In fact, an analysis of Donne 's method of adapting the Petrarchanideals of woman and constancy undercuts the oversimplified view of innovative revolt, for it will reveal

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how Donne assimilated Petrarch to his own poetic needs and temperament. In evaluating the extent of Donne 's originality and independence, it is too facile to conclude that his poems are un-Petrarchanbecause they show mistrust, cynicism, or sarcasmtoward women. "Cynicism" cannot be used as a comprehensive term to cover all kinds of gradations of feeling, and even Petrarch is not always idealizing in his portrayal. Moreover, we cannot assume that what the poetic persona says in the poems about women is always an indication of what Donne personally believed. The poet may use cynicism as a dramatic technique to present a fictionalized speaker in an ironic light.8 Thus, to ignore the dramatic and ironic perspective is to misinterpret the source and object of Donne 's cynicism in his treatment of women. Donne 's cynical pose shows that he does not purely reject the Petrarchanideals of woman and constancy, but instead, he varies or redefines them in the context of practical experience. He takes the eccentricities of the Petrarchanideals and thoroughly applies them to a particular situation. The idealized Petrarchanattitude persists in his thought as an assumption underlying his explicit statement and functioning as a kind of implied standard of comparison. The "cynical" poem often explores the complexities of a point of view, usually extreme, to which the ideal seems opposed, doing so for the purpose of redefining the ideal in the context of an enlarged gamut of experience. Although Petrarch is aware of his lady 's weakness or faults, and although he may threaten inconstancy or revenge, his awarenessremains essentially introspective and contemplative. Donne 's speakers take the Petrarchansituation to its natural conclusion when placed in a realistic and active world. The women in the Songs represent a joining of the real with the ideal. The realism of Donne 's portrayal resides not in any personal glimpses into the libertine psyche of "Jack" Donne, but in the speaker 's attitude toward the lady or in the situation in which we see her. The noted risque humor, cynicism, and sarcasm in his poems often operate as a mask for his implied juxtaposition of real and ideal in a dramatic situation, which demands an active response from the protagonists, not mere meditative imaginings. Cynicism can result from disappointment and disillusionment when an accepted and cherished ideal is disregarded. Donne 's ruse of the cynical mask, perhaps one of his unique contributions to the evolvement of the Petrarchisttradition, should not be mistaken for a negation of the ideal. It is his original way of showing how the ideal partakes of reality and how human nature,

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although aware of the ideal, refuses to exert the virtuous energy required to make the ideal possible and practical in the real world. Petrarch,in contrast to Dante, regardedwoman as a vessel capable of stimulating an ecstasy that could approximate a state of divine grace. However, the ecstasy or grace remained consummate within the vessel. There is no Platonic ladder or Beatrician ascent. Instead, Petrarch 'shighly personal feelings and statements about man 's love and the nature of woman are effusive, intense, irreverent, and selfconsuming. As the drama of the Canzoniere unfolds, it is Petrarch 'sgrief rather than Laura 'svirtues that are celebrated, especially in the sonnets after her death. Lauracomes to symbolize the artistically unattainable. While Dante submits in the last lines of the Paradiso to the aposiopetic nature of art when confronted with a manifestation of the divine, Petrarchgrieves for failing to commit incest with his own creation. Petrarchbelieved that Lauralived as long as his feelings lived and what immortality she had resulted from the immortal grief his art created. That the fictive Laurawas a woman further represents Petrarch 'sdoubt about lasting unions between men and women. He may imply that in this life we may be certain of our own feelings, but not another 's. For immortality we may be certain of our own art, not our feelings. WhereasPetrarch took the first steps toward humanizing Dante 's totally spiritual conception of woman, Donne extended Petrarch 's partially humanized view into an even more down-to-earth situation. Just as Petrarch did not reject Dante 's vision but built on it, so too, Donne with Petrarch. As a true innovator, Donne interpreted the Petrarchanideal according to his own poetic vision. "Song: goe and catch a falling star" offers an example of how Donne varies the Petrarchanmotif of the ideal lady who elicits her lover 's constancy. It demonstrates how Donne redefines the motif in the light of practical experience and how the attitude toward constancy is directly related to whether the lover idealizes the lady or not. The poem has often been cited as an example of Donne 's attack on the Petrarchanpractice of deifying the lady.9 But the romantic ideal abides in the poem more than commonly thought. In the first two stanzas the speaker lists a series of impossibilities, strange or perverse things, all drawn from an imaginary world of romance. Falling stars, mandrakes, mermaids, a human nature devoid of envy and dishonesty are all characteristic of a "golden world," in which the "woman true and faire" would not be uncommon. The poem is a variation of two specific kinds of sonnets

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appearingfrequently in the Canzoniere. In the first kind, Petrarch compares his lady 's virtue (chastity and constancy are equivalent to Donne 's "true") and beauty ("faire") to the phenomenal in the world of reality. For example, in sonnet CLXXXV he idealizes Laura 'sbeauty by comparing it to the exquisite beauty and rare qualities of the phoenix. He parallels her appearanceand dress to that of the mythical bird purported to have risen from its own ashes. Or again, in sonnet CCX he says that were one to travel to the four corners of the earth, he could find "ne ' 'n ciel ne 'n terra, e ' piu ' d 'una fenice." In sonnet CLXXXVI he says that his lady 's beauty and virtue are of such an exceptional kind that only the great poets of antiquity, Homer and Virgil, could have had the skill to describe it. Sonnet CCXIIIanswers those who say that he must be mad to praise Laura so much, by explaining that the strange "magicians"responsible for his illness are all her rare graces: her blond hair, her humility and chastity, her singing voice, heavenly gait, penetrating speech, and reasonable mind. In the second kind of sonnet, the quest sonnet, Petrarchuses an extended conceit to compare his endless search in other women for his lady 's "la disiata vostra forma vera" (XVI). He says that his quest is like the religious pilgrimageof an old man, who goes to Rome to see the image of Christ. Absent from Laura,he seeks to find in other women a trace or resemblance of the beauty and virtue which Laurapossesses, but his quest is unsuccessful, for her qualities are unique. The speaker of Donne 's poem in the first stanza affirms the Petrarchanassertion that the true and fair lady belongs to a world of magnificent wonders and impossibilities. Ironically, the lover is unknowingly swearing his fidelity to an ideal whose meaning has become lost in the real world. In the second and third stanzas he resorts to the Petrarchanquest imagery with some variation. Petrarch 's old pilgrim is suggested in Donne 's lines:
Ride ten thousand daies and nights, Till age snow white haires on thee, If thou findst one, let mee know, Such a Pilgrimage were sweet.

The poem is, in fact, an expression of the lover 's veiled quest for the lost ideal, which in Petrarch 'simaginary and introspective world is a reality. For after all, in the Petrarchanworld of love impossibilities and miracles are commonplace, and the lady herself is the most dramatic example of this fact. Donne 's speaker does not deny that in the golden world the ideal is possible, and his fascination with

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this idea is heightened by his use of the Petrarchanquest image. The tension in stanza three results from the juxtaposition of the ideal world of romantic Petrarchanlove to a real world of actuality. The cynical comment on the inutility of writing a love letter to the lady suggests that since experience shows that the ideal lady is not possible, then constancy is of little significance also. Yet we recall that the speaker 's cynicism results from his very idealism. He has attempted to extend his high principles to a real world, and cynicism results because he expected far more than he disappointingly received. But it is not the ideal that is at fault. His last lines suggest that earthly women refuse to live up to the ideal; implying that if things were different, he would not be cynical. Our evaluation of the speaker 'spose is qualified by the unwitting revelation that he is a cynic who, although he surfacely denounces women, secretly wishes he could find one who is both true and fair. In evaluating Donne 's "cynical" poems it is revealing to determine the relationship of his versions to the Petrarchanoriginals. Donne 's renditions are not simply iconoclastic parodies, for there is no outright rejection of Petrarchanabsolutes. Rather they function as a basis for further commentary. Often the cynical poems reflect the dual awareness of the lyrical love poet, who recognizes the fruitful rewards that deceptive love can bring.10Moreover, the satirical statements are an expression of an extreme or pessimistic view, not to be taken entirely seriously. The speaker is not a spokesman for the author 's views, nor does he directly reflect what the author believes.11 Somewhere underneath all the cynicism and pessimism, the satiric writer secretly entertains an ideal vision whose survivalis threatened or which is dead already.12 Therefore, an analysis of Donne 's content and parodie devices in relation to the Petrarchanideal supports a qualified view of his realism and cynicism. "WomansConstancy" demonstrates how the cynical pose veils the speaker 's secret affiliation with the Petrarchanideal. He seems to agree with his lady in his call for promiscuity, but the implications of his language expose his true beliefs about love. He assumes the pretended cynical role that constancy is as insignificant to him as it is to the lady, who he detects is tiring of the affair. He suspects her infidelity, and he imagines the excuses she will conjure as a way of ending it. Although his mistress ' speech is intended as a reasonable and unemotional method of ending the affair, the language is subtly pregnant with terms and images- the indissoluble vow, oath, and contract- drawn from a Petrarchanworld in which love is eter-

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nally constant and its stipulations are absolute. The list of possible excuses she will offer are perversions or negations of some ideal value normally assumed in Petrarchanlove. Thus, the paradox of an unfaithful lady misapplying the language of faithful love to justify her inconstancy is compounded because the lady 's justification is spoken by a lover who casually agrees with her inconstancy, yet secretly desires it otherwise. The lover 's call for promiscuity is undermined by the legal and religious imagery. If he were really as unconcerned as he pretends, he would have no need to voice hypothetical excuses and rationalizations. His cynicism is punctured by the inadvertent implications of his language. He is revealed as a disillusioned idealist who assumes the cynical pose in order not to look ridiculous when and if his lady ever does betray him, but he is unable to hide his viewing this affair as an "image" of what a true love relationship should be. Having lost faith in the ability of this specific woman to be constant, he prepares himself for her act of betrayal. As a proud man, he pretends to be of the same mind as the lady, so that the "hurt won 't show." The insulting joke at the end of the poem- that he will be as glad to be rid of her as she is of him- is directed not at the ideal of constancy, but at the woman herself, who he has imagined will abusively distort the language of love for her own ends. She epitomizes human inadequacy and folly failing before the prescribed demands of the ideal. The personal insult discloses that his scorn is directed against human error, and not at the ideal. Inwardly he nurtures the ideal conception of constant lovers, and he implicitly uses it as a standard of comparison to judge his present situation. His disillusionment issues from the tacit comparison of real and ideal, for the ideal lady would respect vows and oaths; she would not change, and her love would not even end with death. But the opening line of the poem, "Now that thou hast loved me one whole day," by its emphasis on time, marks the relationship as a decaying one; her "constancy" barely endures one whole day. In an insecure and untrue love, time imposes a limiting effect, while in the world of true love, hours, days, months and years have no appreciable effect- time is eternal. Donne 's poem is a variation of Petrarch 'ssonnet CLXXXIII, in which he tries to prepare himself for eventual rejection by imagining what will be his fate if his lady leaves him. The sonnet elegantly suggests that Laurahad at one time reciprocated his love, for he has enjoyed her words, smiles, and looks. Petrarch 'sfears of her possible change in behavior are not unfounded, he tells us, since, "Questo temer d 'antiche prove e ' nato." He makes a gallant attempt to ex-

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cuse Laurafrom his fears, but he cannot help but notice her change (". . . veggio cangiata sua figura"). His reluctant acknowledgment of her volatility confirms his cynical but resigned conclusion about woman 's inability to persevere in love, and it seems also to paraphrase what Donne 's speaker knows about the failure and incredibility of women:
Femina e ' cosa mobil per natura: Ond 'io so ben ch 'un amoroso stato In cor di donna picciol tempo dura.

Although Petrarchperceives the fluctuating nature of women, his manner seems naive and helpless when compared to Donne 's speaker. Petrarchcan do nothing but lament his fate. Donne 's lover seems to possess a strong emotional superiority absent in Petrarch. The situation and the conclusion of "WomansConstancy" are very much like that of sonnet CLXXXIII, but Donne 's speaker controls and dominates while Petrarch secedes. Unlike Petrarch, who pitifully begs his lady not to leave him, Donne 's speaker tries to convince her he doesn 't care. But not because he loves her less. Perhaps his is a much sounder method for keeping his lady. That a poem such as "WomansConstancy" seems to advocate sexual promiscuity cannot be cited as a proof of Donne 's rejection of the Petrarchanideal. The speaker of "Communitie" bases his seemingly logical argument for promiscuity on woman 's moral neutrality, but he reasons from a faulty equivocation of moral and ontological good. He authenticates his cynicism with a rational basis, using logic to shield his fundamentally hedonistic nature. The perspective by which to view "Communitie" is different from that of "Song" or of "WomansConstancy." There speakers say one thing, but secretly affiliate themselves with another way of thinking. On the surface they seem to disavow the Petrarchanideal of woman and constancy, while underneath they wish it were so. Here, and in the poem "Confined Love," speakers are making sincere attempts to demolish the idea that woman is pure and ennobling, but their efforts, although seemingly accurate philosophical justifications, are undercut by fallacious reasoning. Thus the speakers achieve the opposite result, of reinforcing what they are attempting to disprove. The poems are examples of how Donne uses an accepted Petrarchan ideal as a springboardfor his own witty exploration of its significance. This approach to Petrarch is unique in that he does not directly accept the ideal by creating a pure imitation of the original, nor does he simply reject the ideal by attacking its value. He instead presents a speaker who seems to do one while actually doing the

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other. It was common for Neoplatonists, as in Book IV of Castiglione 's // Cortegiano, to use high-soundingphilosophical arguments to justify their notions of the ennobling nature of women. The speaker of "Communitie" parodies this practice by using similarly highsounding arguments to justify his plea for promiscuity, but the result is far from a logical proof of his position. The form of his statements gives their fallacious content a philosophical aura. Immoral and irrational behavior cannot be legitimized by the surface form in which the words appear. The shallow thought is exposed for what it is. The careful reader finds himself asking, "Is what he recommends about how men should treat women actually advisable? Can we accept his call for 'communitie, ' knowing how erroneous the " reasoning is behind the call? This speaker who seems so intent on demolishing the Petrarchanideal by using the same methods as his opponents fails miserably to prove his argument. Thus, Donne has created a speaker whom he allows to abuse logic in order to show that the speaker 's argument against the Neoplatonic-Petrarchan view of women is invalid. "The Indifferent" offers another example of varying the Petrarchan motif of constancy through the use of the cynical mask. The poem has been traditionally viewed as "a spoofing of the Petrarchan stereotypes" by the inversion of the conventional pose of the Petrarchanlover. Hunt claims that the inversion takes the form of a "lover who regardsconstancy as a 'vice ' and promiscuity as the path of virtue and good sense, who sees love simply as lust, and who views women unromantically, as creatures who are normally as promiscuous as he is." Thus, the lover, by inverting the cherished values and literary effect of the conventional love poem, has "turned Petrarchanismupside down."13 There are indications in the poem, however, that this is an oversimplification of Donne 's method. His treatment of the Petrarchan materials needs réévaluation in the light of his use of parodie and satiric devices traditionally thought to be directed against Petrarchan ideals. Often Donne appears on the surface to be ridiculing the Petrarchanideals, but sometimes beneath the apparent cynicism abides the speaker 's nostalgic and wistful desire for a return to the Petrarchanabsolutes. In "The Indifferent" the argument for promiscuity seems to deny the Petrarchanideal of constancy, but it is subtly undermined at crucial points by the ambiguous implications of the speaker 's language and by his insight into feminine motives. In the first stanza he seems to dispell the idea that he can love

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only that kind of woman commonly described in Petrarch 'slove sequence as a "blond ideal," and in the second stanza he seems especially critical of Petrarchanlove 's next most cherished ideal, constancy, which some women are attempting to reestablish. But the speaker begins to give himself away when he asks why they have changed from the traditional infidelity which their mothers followed. He designates their desire for constancy as a "vice," but at the same time he calls woman 's customary dedication to infidelity in previous times an "old vice." The speaker 's true position and attitude on constancy are further revealed by his question, "Or doth a " fear, that men are true, torment you? The question is used as a possible explanation for the ladies ' change from infidelity to fidelity, although implicitly carryingwith it a grain of truth. The question also carries the particular tone of a disillusioned idealist, who tries to adjust to a repugnant external reality by pretending to be an advocate of that very reality. The speaker appears to be emotionally uncommitted, but this is only self-defensive. His true attitude- that fidelity is still an important value to him- filters through the apparent denotation of his words. Perhaps realizing the implications of his questions, he quickly tries to cover up with, "Oh we are not, be not you so," but the retort is weak in the face of such forceful words as "fear, true," and "torment" in the preceding question. Moreover, the speaker 's question and answer coupled with his catalogue of different types of women at the beginning, suggest that he is not really convinced that women want to reestablish constancy at all, or if they do their motives are questionable. The impression that he realizes they want to use feigned fidelity as a way of dominating and possessing the lover completely is implied in the lines:
Rob mee, but binde me not, and let me goe. MustI who came to travailethorow you, Growyour fixt subject,becauseyou are true?

It would seem that the ladies want constancy only to apply to the lover, while they are free to act as they please. In addition, the variety and abundance of women he lists as possible objects of his love renders questionable the probability that all of these different types could sincerely desire or adhere to the virtue of fidelity. Moreover, the qualities he cites as the distinguishing traits of each type do not create an idealized picture of woman, which in turn would support their supposed desire to reestablish constancy. The rhetorical questions in stanza two emphasize the speaker 's doubt of their sincerity. The answers naturally expected or imagined,

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granting that the ladies do want constancy, are not the ones we would receive if they were to answer honestly out of the man 's hearing. In other words, the lady secretly favors infidelity and probably is unfaithful, but in order to maintain a position of superiority over the man, the lady says she wants constancy. The speaker, on the other hand, truly favors fidelity, but he tries to give the impression that he desires promiscuity. Thus, it is really the man who maintains the upper hand (or at least tries to) in this situation, since he hides his own feelings while being aware of the lady 's real and feigned attitude. He seemingly opposes her pretended desire (a return to constancy), while he is conscious of the selfish reason why she wants to reestablish constancy as a law of love. As with many of Donne 's poems, "The Indifferent" is best read within the context of a broader dramatic and rhetorical situation, which we must supply in order to understand the significance of the poem 's statements. The speaker makes assertions which we cannot accept at face value, and we must scrutinize his words for indications of the true reality behind them. The lover seems to be using a conventional form to advocate unconventional behavior, but ironically he is not really advocating it at all. He assumes poses which hide his true beliefs and values in order to protect himself. And what of the lady herself? What is her true nature? What are her true beliefs and motives? Is she really advocating fidelity as a value in and of itself, or does she want to use it as a weapon against the lover? That the poem should be viewed within the context of a dramatic situation is strengthened by the break between stanzas two and three. Stanzas one and two are like a dramatic monologue suddenly thrown into perspective by the speaker 's acknowledgment of his ranting and raving. Herbert uses the technique at the end of "The Collar" when he interrupts his speaker 's "raving"against the divine claims of duty by changing the form of his statements from dramatic to narrative, "but as I rav 'd and grew more fierce and wilde / At every word. . . ." Donne uses the same technique at the beginning of stanza three, "Venus heard me sigh this song. . . ," with a narrativecommentary on the dramatic utterance in the previous stanzas. His use of the word "sigh"- a common word in Petrarchan laments- to describe the manner of his delivery is an ironic revelation of his true character. We suddenly realize that he is a disheartened Petrarchanlover who condemns women out of fear that he will never find a faithful woman to love him. He introduces a third character, Venus, into the little drama,just as Herbert introduces God as a speaking character at the end of his poem. Venus ' role is

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to offer a judgment and solution to the question of fidelity versus infidelity, but her final words only strengthen the ambiguity of the lady 's motives and the inutility of the speaker 's argument for promiscuity. After her examination of the world 's lovers, she finds that only two or three women have become "heretics" in her religion of unfaithful love by wishing "to stablish dangerous constancy." Obviously, they should have no appreciable effect on the behavior of the others. Thus, the speaker really has nothing to worry about, since constancy is far from becoming the general rule. Venus ' role in the poem operates as a satiric device to highlight the instability and deceptiveness of human nature. She is true to the dictates of burlesque parody in which ". . . supernaturalfigures are made human, all too human, talk coarsely, behave ridiculously, act ineffectively or absurdly."14 She is introduced by the speaker to give validity to his apparent argument for infidelity, but the intended purpose backfires. All she does is to emphasize even more the misuse of valuable ideals, this time by the gods themselves. Not even the gods can authenticate the value of constancy. If there is cynicism in "The Indifferent," it is directed not at the Petrarchanideals of the ennobling woman or constancy, but at the human abuse or perversion of the ideals for selfish motives. "The Indifferent" shows how Donne 's witty and inventive approach presents the Petrarchanideals in a new way. The poem does not simply parody Petrarchanideals for the explicit intention of disparagingtheir value so that we admire them a little less than before. Instead we are repelled by the kind of speaker who might advocate indiscriminate promiscuity or the kind of woman who would use feigned fidelity as a whiplash to dominate her lover. It may even be that Donne is satirizing Petrarch 'simitators who copied form but failed to capture his spirit. The poem 's satiric attack is directed at the correction of human folly, and its ironic tension results from the ambivalent poses, motivations, and language of the participants. These Donne implicitly juxtaposes to the challenges, demands, and admitted limitations of Petrarchanideal love- an inescapable basis for comparison.
SILVIA RUFFO-FIORE • University of South Florida, Tampa NOTES 1. See sonnets CLX and CLXV for examples. With a few exceptions, Donne 's women are of the "indoor" type.

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2. Citations of Petrarch 's Canzoniere refer to Francesco Petrarca, Canzoniere, ed. Gianfranco Contini and Daniele Ponchiroli (Torino, 1968). 3. For additional information on the relationship of Petrarch to the Provençal, Sicilian, and Tuscan love schools, see Mariâteresa Cattaneo, Francesco Petrarca e la lirica d 'arte del '200, (Torino, 1964), pp. v-xvi; Baldo Curato, Introduzione a Petrarca (Cremona, 1963), pp. 174-241 ; Gianfranco Contini, "Preliminari sulla lingua del Petrarca," Francesco Petrarca, Canzoniere (Torino, 1968), pp. vii-xxxviii; Carlo Calcaterra, "II Petrarca e il petrarchismo," Questioni e correnti di storia le tier aria (Milano, 1968), p. 172. 4. Frederick Goldin, The Mirror of Narcissus (Ithaca, 1967), p. 14. 5. Calcattera points out that the characteristic quality of Petrarch 's contribution to literary history, a quality his successors would attempt to imitate, is his dramatization of love as a conflict between reality and ideal, "II Petrarca e il petrarchismo," p. 200. It is in the extension and development of this essentially Petrarchan quality that Donne makes a significant contribution to the Petrarchist tradition. 6. Goldin, Mirror of Narcissus, p. 82. 7. See The Poems of John Donne, ed. Herbert J. C. Grierson (Oxford, 1912), II, xi-xii, as one example. 8. See Patricia Pinka, "The Voices in John Donne 's Songs and Sonets, " unpubl. diss., University of Pittsburgh (June, 1969), pp. 155-157, for a discussion of Donne 's "Dreaming Cynics." 9. Douglas L. Peterson, The English Lyric From Wyatt to Donne (Princeton, 1967), p. 297. 10. Goldin, Mirror of Narcissus, p. 87. 11. Alvin Kernan, The Cankered Muse: Satire of the English Renaissance (New Haven, 1959), p. 250. 12. Gilbert Highet, The Anatomy of Satire (Princeton, 1962), p. 10. 13. Clay Hunt, Donne 's Poetry (New Haven, 1962), pp. 2-3 and p. 6. 14. Highet, A na to my of Satire, p. 105.

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Citations: of Petrarch 's Canzoniere refer to Francesco Petrarca, Canzoniere, ed. Gianfranco Contini and Daniele Ponchiroli (Torino, 1968). 3. For additional information on the relationship of Petrarch to the Provençal, Sicilian, and Tuscan love schools, see Mariâteresa Cattaneo, Francesco Petrarca e la lirica d 'arte del '200, (Torino, 1964), pp. v-xvi; Baldo Curato, Introduzione a Petrarca (Cremona, 1963), pp. 174-241 ; Gianfranco Contini, "Preliminari sulla lingua del Petrarca," Francesco Petrarca, Canzoniere (Torino, 1968), pp. vii-xxxviii; Carlo Calcaterra, "II Petrarca e il petrarchismo," Questioni e correnti di storia le tier aria (Milano, 1968), p. 172. 4. Frederick Goldin, The Mirror of Narcissus (Ithaca, 1967), p. 14. 5. Calcattera points out that the characteristic quality of Petrarch 's contribution to literary history, a quality his successors would attempt to imitate, is his dramatization of love as a conflict between reality and ideal, "II Petrarca e il petrarchismo," p. 200. It is in the extension and development of this essentially Petrarchan quality that Donne makes a significant contribution to the Petrarchist tradition. 6. Goldin, Mirror of Narcissus, p. 82. 7. See The Poems of John Donne, ed. Herbert J. C. Grierson (Oxford, 1912), II, xi-xii, as one example. 8. See Patricia Pinka, "The Voices in John Donne 's Songs and Sonets, " unpubl. diss., University of Pittsburgh (June, 1969), pp. 155-157, for a discussion of Donne 's "Dreaming Cynics." 9. Douglas L. Peterson, The English Lyric From Wyatt to Donne (Princeton, 1967), p. 297. 10. Goldin, Mirror of Narcissus, p. 87. 11. Alvin Kernan, The Cankered Muse: Satire of the English Renaissance (New Haven, 1959), p. 250. 12. Gilbert Highet, The Anatomy of Satire (Princeton, 1962), p. 10. 13. Clay Hunt, Donne 's Poetry (New Haven, 1962), pp. 2-3 and p. 6. 14. Highet, A na to my of Satire, p. 105. This content downloaded on Tue, 19 Feb 2013 04:17:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions