as the Other because he has lost his power? Likewise, is Geraldine the Other because she is female or does her description change because she has obtained power? These questions do not seem to have a concrete answer from the text alone. The battle between culture and women is very symbolic in the text. Once again, the castle stands as an indisputable symbol of culture and society. Its reach is far and wide, and the castle itself is strong. It is proof that man's power is an insurmountable force in the world that can control nature and the woman in anyway it wants, or is it? Geraldine is a strong symbol of nature and womanly powers in the poem. She appears out of the woods looking weak and fragile, but she is able to use this to her advantage. She is able to infiltrate the castle and take control. The purpose of this is to show that although culture may be able to hold down the threat of women, it can never suppress it completely. Women may appear weak and powerless, but as soon as culture turns its back, they can strike and show who is really in control.This lost of control by culture may not necessarily be seen as positive by Coleridge according to the conclusion we have of Christabel. In the end of Christabel, it seems that powerful Geraldine has polluted her. The innocence, the purity, all those qualities regarded as good are altered through Christabel's interaction with Geraldine. Throughout the poem there is an ongoing theme of this interaction being both desirable and dangerous:And Geraldine again turn'd around,And like a thing, that sought relief,Full of wonder and full of grief,She roll'd her large bright eyes divineWildly on Sir LeolineThrough her interaction with this other woman, Christabel has become something evil and strange to her former self and her father. Geraldine, in some sense, seems to be almost vampiristic in her actions. She literally "sucks" power away from the baron. Perhaps this is why she has often been...
