Umbriel’s Journey to the Cave of Spleen

Answer

Comment on Umbriel’s journey to the Cave of Spleen.

Or What is the significance of Umbriel’s journey to the Cave of Spleen in Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock?”

“The Rape of the Lock” (1712) is renowned as one of the finest mock-heroic poems in English literature. In this work, Alexander Pope (1688-1744) uses sharp satire to critique the aristocratic society of his time. Through his portrayal of a gnome’s journey to the cave of Spleen in the pome’s Canto IV, Pope skillfully paints a vivid picture of human folly and vanity.

Description of the Place: After losing her lock of hair, Belinda falls under the influence of Umbriel, an earthly spirit. He descends to the Cave of Spleen, located in the centre of the world, to intensify Belinda’s despair. Here, only the east wind blows, bringing melancholy. There is a woman who thinks of herself as a teapot, and another woman imagines that she is a pipkin walking like a tripod. Men imagine themselves to be pregnant and women to have been turned into bottles calling for corks. This is evident in the following quotation:

Here living teapots stand, one arm held out…,

A pipkin there, like Homer’s tripod walks…;

Men prove with child, as pow’rful fancy works,

And maids turn’d bottles, call aloud for corks.

Umbriel’s Visit to the Cave of Spleen: Umbriel, the spirit of the earth, visits the underworld known as the Cave of Spleen. Spleen is depicted as a goddess of various ailments like vapours and hysteria. This embodies melancholy and gloom. This setting is filled with ghostly figures and personifications, where Spleen is shown as a gloomy deity surrounded by Pain and Megrim, who represent severe headaches. Pope writes, 

She sighs forever on her pensive bed, 

Pain at her side and Megrim at her head.

Spleen’s Companions (Ill-nature and Affectation): In the cave, Umbriel encounters two maidservants of Spleen. With her withered skin but attractive dress, Ill nature hides a collection of biting satires to lash out at victims. She masks her malice with a facade of piety. Affectation, another maid, feigns modesty and delicacy with an artificial blush and a tendency to swoon. This also mimics the fashionable aristocratic women of the Pope’s time. These portrayals underline Pope’s critique of societal pretences.

The Gifts from Spleen: After overcoming various obstacles, Umbriel reaches Spleen’s throne and asks for help to enhance Belinda’s grief and fury. Though initially reluctant, Spleen finally agrees and fills a bag with “sighs, sobs, and passions, and the war of tongues.” Pope illustrates this vividly: 

There she collects the force of female lungs, 

Sighs, sobs, and passions, and the war of tongues.

She also fills a vial with “fainting fears, soft sorrows, melting griefs, and flowing tears.”

Umbriel’s Return and Its Effects: Armed with these potent gifts, Umbriel returns to the earthly realm. Here,  he pours them over Belinda’s head and amplifies her grief and fury. This act symbolizes the heightening of her emotional turmoil, demonstrating the power of Spleen’s gifts in increasing human distress. Pope’s detailed description describes the unstable  nature of human emotions and the ease with which they can be stirred.

In conclusion, Umbriel’s journey to the cave of Spleen is crucial for understanding Pope’s use of personification and satire. His ability to portray the absurdities of his society through vivid imagery and sharp critique highlights Pope’s mastery of both satire and the use of supernatural elements. The journey in Canto IV, enriched with such supernatural machinery, showcases Pope’s genius in blending humour with poignant social commentary.