How we cite our quotes: (Canto.Line)
Quote #4
Whether the Nymph shall break Diana's Law,
Or some frail China Jar receive a Flaw,
Or stain her Honour, or her new Brocade,
Forget her Pray'rs, or miss a Masquerade,
Or lose her Heart, or Necklace, at a Ball; (II.105–110)
What was it we were saying about romance equaling stuff, in the previous quote? Here, on our way to the party, as Ariel warns the Sylphs of some impending doom for our heroine, Belinda's bodily chastity is pretty much equated with china pots, fancy dresses, and jewelry.
Quote #5
Gods! shall the Ravisher display your Hair,
While the Fops envy, and the Ladies stare!
Honour forbid! at whose unrival'd Shrine
Ease, Pleasure, Virtue, All, our Sex resign. (IV.103–106)
Obviously the power of the fetish extends beyond the Baron's own individual desire for Belinda's hair as a love trophy. Here in Thalestris's fanning of Belinda's ire just after the Baron snips the lock, it looks like Thalestris (and the rest of Belinda's friends) might read his possession of the lock in the same sexual way.
Quote #6
A Beau and Witling perish'd in the Throng,
One dy'd in Metaphor, and one in Song.
O cruel Nymph! a living Death I bear,
Cry'd Dapperwit, and sunk beside his Chair.
A mournful Glance Sir Fopling upwards cast,
Those Eyes are made so killing—was his last: (V.59–64)
The colossal flirt-fight between the Baron and Belinda in Canto V had a ton of collateral damage in the form of minor male characters like the "Dapperwit" and "Sir Fopling," here. Looks like these other men can't deal with the battle of the sexes in any other way than with the stilted, socially-scripted rules of gallant poetry.