On pg. 75 we get the “Sonnet to the Lilly” which Adeline
sings while she is sitting in the forest. She has been feeling sad because she
has lost Madame’s affection and she doesn’t know why. However, this morning
nature calls to her and she finds herself in a picturesque scene. The paragraph
leading into the poem describes how the scene make Adeline feel better.
Radcliffe actually wrote this poem for the novel, so unlike
the epigraphs at the start of each chapter that set the scene, the poem is
consistent with the character and expresses Adeline’s emotions. The poem
expresses a very Romantic idea of finding comfort in nature. A few paragraphs
before Adeline lamented the state of her relationship with Madame LaMotte
saying, “I have lost that affection which was my only comfort.” However, in
this beautiful environment she is able find comfort and hope.
Placing a poem in the middle of prose also changes the pace
of the chapter. Up till this point, Adeline hasn’t said much. The narrator
tells us what she is feeling, but in the poem we get to see her emotions fully
expressed, even if it is through song. It reveals a certain amount of innocence
to Adeline. I remember in Catholic school being told that lilies represent
virtue and purity and I think the lily represents the purity and innocence of
Adeline. I think you have to have quite a bit of innocence in you to be able to
be moved to hope by nature when everyone you care about seems to be turning
away from you. She does not harden her heart; she opens it to other things.
Yeah, I found that the poem definitely let Adeline express her emotions and seek comfort through nature after her hardships with Madame La Motte. I also think that you are right in the fact that it changes the pace of the chapter. It shifts the tone, and I think that it is also interesting that this poem is the reason she meets Theodore. Because they meet in nature it almost seems as if it's foreshadowing her comfort with him, while introducing the hero.
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