In an incredible display of arrogance, Titaness Mutabilitie explores the theme of divine right in the Mutabilitie Cantos of Sir Edmund Spenser’s The Fairie Queene. First explored through Saul in scripture (1 Samuel 16), Titaness Mutabilitie views herself as an equal to the Gods. Rather than simply stopping at the threshold of divine right and taking her position to be appointed by God, Mutabilitie seeks to be crowned as divine herself. As if placing Earth under Mutabilitiean hegemony wasn’t a sufficient sin to give her a permanent place in the inverse of Heaven, asking the Gods to relinquish their thrones through force would certainly give her a one-way ticket to Hell. Therefore, the Gods re-establish a clear divine between immortal and mortal and follow scriptural doctrine in doing so.
Had Mutabilitie studied a certain anthology, perhaps her views would have changed. As Symeon the New Theologian offers, “When the saint saw me and considered the labor I had endured with him he realized why I had undergone these things…Moved with great compassion, he spoke to me and commanded me, ‘Eat, my child, and drink, and from henceforth be not sad. Had not God willed to have mercy on you, it would not have pleased Him that you should come to us.” God would almost certainly not have similar mercy for Mutabilitie given her interest in worshipping a false God, herself, through her desire to conquer the Heavens. Had Mutabilitie stopped at conquering Earth and not looked to extend her reign to the Heavens, the question of forgiveness may have been a possibility but Mutabilitie shows no remorse whatsoever. It is only appropriate that Mutabilitie would receive pushback from the Gods when she attempts to strong-arm them into submission…”But wote this, thy hardy Titanesse, That not the worth of any living wight May challenge in Heavens interesse, Much less the title of old Titans Right.” (Canto 6, Stanza 33)
Despite Mutabilitie’s clear power over Earth, she is rendered nearly powerless when faced with divine beings, able to disrupt the order of the Heavens enough to force her exile but not enough to reach her goal. While misguided at best, perhaps it speaks to our human nature to explore the ineffable aspects of life, that Mutabilitie continues to seek to disrupt the Heavens. It’s enough for Jove to wonder when it might stop…”Will never mortal thoughts ceasse to aspire, in this bold sort, to Heaven claime to make, and touch celestiall seats with Earthly mire?” (Canto 6, Stanza 29). While Jove cites numerous punishments as a result of attempts to understand that which mortals cannot, he perhaps rightly surmises that efforts to stop inquisitive minds once and for all would be fruitless.
It is intriguing, however, that in following a theme perhaps all-too-common in tales of the period, love forces its way into the climax of the tale and brings an abrupt end to Mutabilitie’s punishment with a tangential reference to the destruction of Arlo Hill. The reader is left to wonder about Mutabilitie’s punishment but perhaps the real question is whether it matters.