Lady Philosophy: A Literary Analysis

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Within the first few pages of The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius laments his circumstances from the confines of a cell. Lady Philosophy arrives to soothe him, but she soon discovers that her former charge suffers from a deep-seated existential crisis that simple sympathy will not cure. In order to fulfill her dual role as teacher and healer, Lady Philosophy incorporates both an extended appeal to Boethius’s poetic sensibilities and a Socratic approach to introspection. The empathetic qualities present in both of these educational methods help her correct the prisoner’s misery because they allow her to gradually overcome Boethius’s initial resistance to advice. Although he ultimately proves to be an eager student, Boethius finds it difficult …show more content…

Initially, the prisoner finds it difficult to separate the painful events of the recent past from the direction of the present discussion: “’But it is also true that the worst kind of misfortune is one that befalls someone who has previously known happiness’” (Consolation, p. 37). Boethius cannot at first break away from the idea that Fortune has such an enormous impact on his life because he has just undergone one of the worst experiences of his life. Although Lady Philosophy urges him to relinquish his passion for the contrived “good” of man in favor of a larger, more wholesome good, the student defaults to the more immediate bitterness of his situation. Eventually, however, Lady Philosophy’s calm appeals to logic soothe Boethius’s emotional resistance. As the teacher progresses with her Socratic questioning, his resistance eventually slips: “’I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t worried, no…’ ‘So you desired the presence of some things and the absence of others?’ ‘That’s right.’ ‘Now everyone lacks something he desires, isn’t that right?’ ‘Of course,’ I had to agree” (Consolation, p. 66). One might perceive a hint of resignation throughout this excerpt, especially within Boethius’s final thought. He slowly realizes that he cannot find a flaw in Lady Philosophy’s logic even though he still feels emotionally primed to reject her attempts to get him to see reason. Nonetheless, Boethius reaches a point where his emotional attachment to the past no longer hinders his ability to internalize Lady Philosophy’s lessons: “’…It occurs to me to ask you whether you find any room at all in your theories for the operation of pure chance. Is there such a thing? And if so, what is it?’” (Consolation, p. 146). The prisoner’s progress is apparent here, involving a movement from his initial struggle to accept the Lady’s advice to an earnest appreciation of the

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