During her captivity, the Lady's greatest weapons are her chastity and her psychological strength. As she says to Comus when he gloats of his power, he can bind her body but "canst not touch the freedom of my mind." The Lady's steel ultimately allows her to prevail over Comus's charms and keep her chastity intact.
In Milton's world, chastity is more than just the state of virginity (though virginity is certainly a vital part of it for the unmarried). It is a purity of mind that allows the Lady to retain self-control. To be chaste is not to relent to animalistic desire. It means exercising reason and temperance. The chaste Lady is contrasted with the revelers at Comus's party, who sport animal heads as an illustration of their inability to exercise reason during their pursuit of pleasure.
Comus's aim, above all, is to seduce the Lady: he is not interested...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
in raping her, but in having her willingly yield to him. He tries using a twisted version of reason to make her give herself to him. He tells her she is young and beautiful, and that she should imitate the generosity of nature by allowing herself to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh before she is too old. The Lady rebukes Comus's claims, seeing his argument as a perversion of nature:
Impostor! do not charge most innocent Nature,
As if she would her children should be riotous
With her abundance. She, good cateress,
Means her provision only to the good,
That live according to her sober laws,
And holy dictate of spare Temperance.
The Lady's claim that nature is most generous to those that live according to her laws becomes vindicated once Comus loses patience with her. He plans on forcing the Lady to drink a potion that will make her lose all inhibitions, finally allowing him at least physical victory over her body. Divine intervention and the sudden appearance of the Lady's brothers prevent any wrongdoing. While this does suggest that the preservation of goodness ultimately depends upon a higher power, the Lady's firm commitment to remaining chaste is implied to be what prompts such divine favor in the first place.