fit of flame

Initially, the reader has conflicted impressions of Geraldine; her mere presence in the ?bare forest? frightens Christabel. Geraldine has ghostly qualities; Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes her as bright, and her white robe further enhances this image. However, at the same time, Geraldine?s hair is adorned with jewels and she is ?exceedingly? beautiful. As Christabel lets her guard down, and as Geraldine reveals her ?story? the reader questions whether the tension that Coleridge creates in the opening of the poem is the result of Geraldine and her mystifying appearance or the ?five warriors that seized? her. As the poem progresses, Geraldine seems increasingly less harmless, and finds it difficult to even speak from her exhaustion: ?I cannot speak for weariness.? However, the reader?s view of Geraldine shifts dramatically as she and Christabel pass through the hallway of the castle. As Geraldine walks past the hearth, the fading flames suddenly burst: ?But when the lady passed, there came / A tongue of light, a fit of flame.? The word fit is crucial in the reader?s opinion of Geraldine. Fit carries a negative connotation within the context of the poem; it makes the flames seem wild and uncontrollable. This image of bursting flames coupled with the hints of Geraldine?s supernatural qualities scattered throughout the poem?s beginning reveal Geraldine?s true nature. Not surprisingly, the reader?s new view of Geraldine is reinforced by the events that follow shortly after.