Tara on FQ 1.10

The Faerie Queene 1.10: The House of Holinesse (Tara Olivero)

Illustration by Walter Crane, showing Caelia surrounded by Speranza and Fidelia, with the other characters of the House of Holinesse along the exterior frame (source here).

Canto 10 begins with a reminder from the narrator that “all the good is Gods,” as Una leads Redcrosse to the House of Holiness to recover after his physical weakening from his imprisonment by Orgoglio and his spiritual weakening after his encounter with Despaire. The ancient house is governed by Caelia (“heavenly one”), the mother of three daughters: Fidelia (faith), Speranza (hope), and Charissa (love), the first two of which are virgins and the last and youngest of which is married with children.

Una and Redcrosse find the door locked upon arrival but the Porter, Humilta (“humility”) lets them in. They meet the host, Zele, and a squire, Reverence, who leads them to Caelia, who embraces Una, whose parental plights Caelia is already aware. Caelia asks Una what “grace” led them to this place and notes that few choose the narrow path to righteousness as she and Redcrosse seem to have done. Una explains that they came to visit Caelia and rest.

Caelia’s virgin daughters arrive and the narrator describes each in turn. Fidelia (faith) is dressed in white, the color of purity, and holds a golden cup of water and wine in one hand and a book in the other, a common representation of St. John the Evangelist. The footnote in the text explains that Fidelia “establishes the priority of faith as the basis for good works” (13). Speranza (hope) is dressed in blue, the color symbolic of hope, and carries a silver anchor on her arm that seems to unbalance her, but she keeps her balance and her course by keeping her eyes set on heaven above. Their other sister, Charissa (love) is not able to visit Redcrosse and Una because she recently had a child. A manservant named Obedience leads Una and Redcrosse to their beds.

After they’ve rested, Una requests Fidelia to teach Redcrosse “celestiall discipline” (18). She teaches him from her book and imparts “heavenly learning” and the wisdom of her divine words. Upon hearing of all this heavenly grace, Redcrosse begins to feel guilty, “greev’d with remembrance of his wicked wayes,” and feels suicidal like he did back in the previous canto with Despaire (21). Speranza comforts Redcrosse, encouraging him to take hold of hope, while Una is described as being confused about Redcrosse’s guilt and unhappiness. Caelia, who has been well acquainted with humans plagued by guilt and regret for their sins, proscribed a Leach named Patience. Redcrosse’s heart is lightened by Patience but not completely cured. Still feeling the corruption of his sin, he fasts and prays with Amendment (correction, reformation) at hand, as well as Penance, Remorse, and Repentance (the three stages of addressing sin: punishment, sorrow, and resolution not to sin again).

During this soul cleanse, Redcrosse often tears at his flesh in torment, which distresses Una to the point of tearing at her own clothing and hair, though she resolves herself to patiently wait for him to bear it out. Finally, once he’s recovered, he is brought to Una, who kisses him. She then brings him to Charissa (love), who is wearing a golden headdress, is surrounded by a number of children, and is seen with a pair of turtle doves (symbols of true love). Una requests Charissa to teach Redcrosse even further, so she begins to instruct him in love and righteousness, teaching him “the ready path” (33). Charissa also calls on help from an ancient matron, Mercie (mercy, obviously), who takes Redcrosse on a narrow path blocked by thorns and briars, which she removes along the way to let him pass, symbolizing God’s mercy clearing the path to righteousness. She leads him to a charitable hostel for the reception of pilgrims and travellers, housing seven pensioners who pray for the welfare of others and help take care of them. The narrator describes the jobs of each one and notes that Mercie is the patroness of this hostel, and Charissa (love) is the founder.

Redcrosse remains there to be instructed in “godly worke[s]” until he has reached mortal perfection (45). After his schooling, Mercie takes him to a Hermitage - though unlike Archimago’s hermitage in Canto 1 down in a valley, this one is on a hill. Contemplation is the blind, white-haired holy man who resides there. He calls Redcrosse a “man of earth,” referencing both his true identity as St. George and his transformation from a man of earth to a man of heaven (52). Contemplation leads Redcrosse to the “highest Mount” compared to many high mountains of revelation from the Bible, upon which they can see the city of Hierusalem in the distance, surrounded by angels.

This leads to one particularly good stanza, stanza 55:

From thence, far off he unto him did shew

A litle path, that was both steepe and long,

Which to a goodly Citie led his vew;

Whose wals and towres were builded high and strong,

Of perle and precious stone, that earthly tong

Cannot describe, nor wit of man can tell;

Too high a ditty for my simple song;

The Citie of the great king hight it well,

Wherein eternall peace and happiness doth dwell.

The stanza contains another reference to the “narrow path” that Caelia mentions in stanza 10, and which has been alluded to throughout The Faerie Queene so far, a path which contrasts the wide path that Redcrosse and Una head down in Canto 1. The walls of the city are built high like those of the House of Pride in Canto 4, but while those walls were “nothing strong, nor thick” (Canto 4, Stanza 4), Hierusalem’s walls are, in fact, strong, and made of pearls, which are white, another symbol of purity. Mortal descriptions cannot do this city justice, which is why the narrator doesn’t go on about it at length.

Contemplation goes on to describe how the city was built by God for his chosen people “purg’d from sinfull guilt” (57). Redcrosse notes that his city, Cleopolis (a stand-in for London), where the Faerie Queene lives, was the most glorious city he had seen until now, and that Hierusalem far surpasses it. Contemplation agrees that Cleopolis is the fairest city on earth, and also that Redcrosse may have supposed himself as “Elfins sonne” but in actuality, he’s from the English race. He says that when Redcrosse has won victory, he should seek this long, narrow path to make a pilgrimage to Hierusalem, because he will one day be called Saint George. Redcrosse wishes to remain with Contemplation and not return back to the “fruitless” joys of the world, but Contemplation reminds him not to forget his commitment to help Una. He also reveals that he knows Redcrosse’s actual identity because Redcrosse was born from a line of Saxon kings but was stolen by a Faerie and brought to Faerieland as a baby. Redcrosse returns from high upon the hill and finds his eyesight to be dazed by the brightness and divinity which he’d seen, and the canto then ends with his departure, with Una, from Caelia and the House of Holinesse.