Saturday, 2 February 2013

The Unpleasentness

Reynard The Fox (1500/1600s) - Stories of the fox encountering beasts, monsters, tales of debauchery/lacking in moral. Bestial (origin of the word bestiality)

Leading monkeys into hell - to lead is to have sex. Damnation of women to have sex with monkeys/apes. Could be read as these miserable women having to sleep with 'apes' as in disgusting men.  (Carving in St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury and Victorian Valentines Day card). Act 2 Scene 1. Lines 35-41. Beatrice "and lead his apes into hell." "So I deliver up my apes and away to Saint Peter fore the heavens."

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