The Rape of the Lock

In “The Rape of the Lock,” Alexander Pope addresses fundamental flaws of human nature. Though satiric in its mood and tone, the poem is quite serious in its conviction to portray what Pope believes are two essential truths: humanity’s desire to ascribe significance to daily life and therefore pursue life’s higher meanings. Written with the intent to instruct readers while delighting us with its language, the poem makes claims about society and the purpose of morality.

In Canto 1, Pope begins the poem with its conceit, “What mighty contests rise from trivial things” (Line 2). Line 2 implies that “trivial things” are in fact not trivial at all. This is due to the fact that people often tend to attribute larger meanings to relatively small actions. The poem goes on to explore its first example of human folly: vanity. Ariel attempts to warn Belinda of this fault, but she does not heed his warnings. A love letter she receives is more meaningful than the dream, and she believes her higher purpose is to find love. She proceeds to beautify herself, placing significance in the things of which she makes use. Her toiletries become meaningful because they allow her to attract suitors.

In Canto 2, society reinforces Belinda’s vanity as a meaningful pursuit because of the attention she receives. The baron, lured by her hair, represents the second instance of human follies: lust and greed. Even though he already has several mementos of past love affairs, his lust for “trophies” (Line 40) is insatiable. The baron gives substantial meaning to these trophies because they represent his masculine virility. The more trophies he acquires the more of a man he becomes. Thus, the baron yields to his greed because he believes it is in pursuit of a higher purpose: power.

In Canto 3, the baron succeeds in attaining power over Belinda by cutting off a lock of her hair. For Belinda, this is not a trivial action, or one committed in jest—it is a personal assault on her wellbeing. Pope introduces a third human folly: jealously. Clarissa, producing the scissors that cut Belinda’s hair, represents yet another flaw in human nature. Wanting to destroy Belinda’s power, Clarissa assists the baron in taking it away from her. For Clarissa, the scissors represent an opportunity for social climbing and thus leads her to a higher purpose. The baron believes his purpose has been realized: “So long my honour, name, and praise shall live!” (Line 170), as if the act has made him immortal.

In Canto 4, Belinda, believing the loss of her hair means the loss of her value, is distraught. Because she attributes meaning to her own beauty, she now believes her life is meaningless without it. She exclaims, “Oh hadst thou, cruel! been content to seize / Hairs less in sight, or any hairs but these!” (Lines 175-76). Without the lock, Belinda believes her higher purpose is compromised. If she is no longer viewed as a beautiful, virginal maid, then she will not marry. This opinion is further confirmed by Thalestris. The suggestion here, again, is that people attribute much significance to small acts—so much so, that a scandal such as this could ruin Belinda’s future.

In Canto 5, the flaws of human nature explored are pride and anger. The baron, too prideful to concede and return Belinda’s lock, revels in his power over her. Violence becomes the greatest of all human errors in the poem when the women and men attack each other. This suggests that one cannot right a wrong after the deed has been done. When the battle is over, Belinda’s hair ascends to the sky and becomes a star. The fact that Belinda’s lock is transformed suggests that the only solution to human conflict is to transform it into something with a higher purpose.

This is essentially what Pope has done in the writing of “The Rape of the Lock.” Understanding human nature and all its faults, he highlighted our tendencies to err. However, our flaws do not resign us to ruin—just as the men who died came back to life. Human beings will continue to give significance to the daily happenings of our lives, but we will also look to the stars for meaning. Therefore, it is the responsibility of art to transform the trivial into the meaningful—to pursue the higher purpose of life.