14
ECOLOGY OF EVERYDAY LIFE
and ideologies of domination within society in general, romantic ecology too
often points its sword toward abstract dragons such as ‘human nature’,
‘technology’, or ‘western civilization’, all of which are held responsible for
slaying “Lady Nature.” In turn, romantic ecology often veils a theme of
animosity toward marginalized groups under a silk cloak of idealism,
protection, and a promise of self-constraint. It not only refuses to make social
liberation a priority, but in some cases,
actually holds
the oppressed
responsible for the destruction of the natural world.
Before exploring the romanticization of nature, we might look briefly at
the romanticization of women in the middle-ages as depicted in romantic love
poetry. Unlike ‘modern romance’ which consists of moon-lit dinners, crimson
sunsets,
and
sexual
contact,
medieval
romanticism
represents
an
unconsummated love. As in the story of Tristan and Iseult, an Arthurian
romance in which two ill-fated young lovers spend their short lives in pursuit
of an unconsummated, yet passionate love, lovers rarely express their desire
for each other physically 2 Instead, classical romance emphasizes he act of
passionate longing, an intensity of feeling that is heightened by deprivation.
Knightly and courtly romance is a love from afar, expressing its desire in he
form of passionate love poetry.
The origins of romantic love may be traced to Plato’s concept of desire.3
Platonic love emerges out of metaphysical dualism which divides he world
into two discrete material and spiritual domains. The realm of spirit, or ‘idea’, is
regarded as superior to he transient and perishable realm of he body, or
matter. According to Plato, intellectual and sexual knowledge is most valuable
when gleaned independent of physical experience for ideal love represents a
disembodied yearning hat remains ‘unpolluted’ by physical contact. For Plato,
he highest form of love is he intellectual ‘fondling’ of eternal, rational ideas
found in geometry, philosophy, and logic. For he romantic, ideal love is he
exercise of sexual restraint and an intellectual expression of passion through
love poetry.
IdEAlizATioN, Protection, AncI Constraint
Romantic poetry often consists of he wistful desire of a man for an idealized
woman to whom he rarely gains sexual access. This ‘noblest desire’ thrives in a
realm of purity, in contrast to marriage, which is seen as merely reproductive.
Courtly romance consists of elaborate rituals of devotion in which he lover
promises to protect he beloved from human and mythical villains, while also
promising to restrain his sexual desire for he beloved lady.
However, he lover’s inauthentic idealization of his beloved is reflected in
he incongruity between he celebratory spirit of he poetry and he actual
social context in which it was written. Certainly, he idealized, pedestaled