Santiago ARGÜELLO

For Man’s Ruin or Salvation. Archetypes of Feminine Power in the Poetry of G. K. Chesterton

Para perdición o salvación del hombre. Arquetipos del poder femenino en la poesía de G. K. Chesterton

Published in Mulier aut Femina. Idealism or reality of women in the Middle Ages

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The paper consists in the analysis and translation of the poem of Chesterton, “The White Witch”. In it the author sets up a contrast between two heathen goddesses –Diana and Hecate– and the Virgin Mary. Chesterton takes the issue up to criticize the interpretation of Tennyson about the medieval Grial. From it, he is able to show the connection between the Puritan model of woman with the heathen model, in contrast with the medieval one.