Poet’s Corner: Coleridge–Christabel 5

13 May 2026

(6 February 2015) We’re back . . . with the latest edition of the Poet’s Corner. We recall that last week we heard the lady, named Geraldine, share her sad story, and we pointed out the fact that there were anomalies in her story that cast doubt, for us as readers, on the veracity of her tale. This week we will see Christabel’s response, and it is obvious that our heroine suspects nothing:

Then Christabel stretched forth her hand,
And comforted fair Geraldine:
O well, bright dame! may you command
The service of Sir Leoline;
And gladly our stout chivalry
Will he send forth and friends withal
To guide and guard you safe and free
Home to your noble father’s hall.

She rose: and forth with steps they passed
That strove to be, and were not, fast.
Her gracious stars the lady blest,
And thus spake on sweet Christabel:
All our household are at rest,
The hall as silent as the cell;
Sir Leoline is weak in health,
And may not well awakened be,
But we will move as if in stealth,
And I beseech your courtesy,
This night, to share your couch with me.

Christabel responds as any good person would, finding someone in need: she offers her sanctuary, and conveyance home protected by her father. So the two begin the journey out of the forest and back to the castle. Christabel adds the caution that all are asleep (if so, why is she out alone at night?!?), and her father is in poor health, so must not be awakened–a simple plea for quiet as they enter the castle. She then adds, what seems to us ‘suspect’, an invitation to share the couch, or to sleep together. Now before anyone makes a wrong assumption, this kind of invitation was common among women of the time, and invitation to shared warmth: castles were cold and drafty, and the best way to stay warm at night was through sharing bodily warmth. Thus, her invitation is at this point innocent–a hostess offering to give warmth and comfort to her guest, nothing more. Come back on Friday to learn what happens as these two cross the threshold of the castle! Good reading.