Christabel and the Stranger Within Herself

Christabel and the Stranger Within Herself

Miniaci Performing Arts Center

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of the six most influential poets of the Romantic period in British literature, wrote his poem “Christabel” in two parts, each with its own conclusion. In this essay, I argue that “Christabel” Part One can be interpreted as a dream of a young adult whose oppressed feelings of sexual anxiety come to the surface. In Part Two of the poem, Christabel’s behavior can be seen a sign of a repressed fear of losing her father’s interest in her as well as the fear of losing lady Geraldine as a lover.

Both parts of Coleridge’s poem describe Christabel’s fight with the “Stranger within herself,” the uncontrollable desires and drives residing in the “id.” The conscious part of her mind, however, is losing the fight. Her behavior becomes neurotic and socially unacceptable.