After reading both versions of Keats' work, I find that I
prefer the draft version over his published one. 'Knight-at-arms' just strikes
a chord better than 'wight'. Plus, I find that the imagery comes easier in the
first version of the poem. Incorporating the titles, 'sans merci' means without
pity whereas 'sans mercy' is simply without mercy. Both phrases are ripe with
meaning, but 'without pity' just appeals to me greater than 'without mercy'. In
the draft, Keats has the knight-at-arms making the woman a flower crown,
bracelets, and a zone before he is consumed by her power; it's his attempt to
quell a wild woman and confine her to fit his needs within the patriarchy.
Historically, the Victorian era bound women both by its social propriety and
its fashions. I like that this woman with 'wild eyes', is still able to
entrance a seemingly misogynistic man after his attempts to ensnare her. It shows her command of faculties and refusal
to give up her personal power, or agency. I find it both captivating and
terrifying, but in the best sort of way; as if I too, are under this faery queen's
spell. It reminds me of my favorite archetype in literature: disciples that
love their god too much. For there is nothing crueler than being loved by
something divine made flesh and blood.
I like the use of the crown, bracelets, and the fragrant zone to, as you say, quell her to his needs. The crown, could mean her thoughts, the bracelets her actions and the fragrant zone her sexuality/fertility. This is fitting symbolism for the role of women at the time. We've all heard "eyes are windows of the soul," which is appropriate here because she seemed like a perfect example of a woman expect for her eyes, meaning that women desired more than their constricting gender roles.
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