Duessa is another of the main villains in Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene. She is frequently depicted as being beautiful and seductive, when in fact her true form is much more ugly. When we finally see her seductive form stripped from her, she appears as an old hag, with eagle talons for hands and bear claws for feet.
When we first meet her, she is appearing in disguise as a woman named Fidessa, further contributing to her deceptive nature.
Eventually, she seduces the Redcrosse knight, which leads to a lot of problems on his part.
When we see her in Orgoglio’s castle, she becomes his mistress, and manages to ride a pet monster. She is eventually defeated by Prince Arthur.
🌍 Enter a Massive Shared Universe – Where ALL Mythologies Exist Together
Step into an expansive world where multiple mythologies intertwine to create an epic, multi-era adventure. This is a massive, shared universe imagining if Zeus, King Arthur, and Sherlock Holmes all lived in the same universe.
Here’s what you get when you join:
🌟 All Argovale books for FREE! That’s right, get access to Argovale books that’s worth $499 in value.
✅ Weekly calls and guided sessions with the author.
✅ Get feedback and inspiration from a creative, like-minded community
✅ Access to the best fantasy readers group in the world.
The Etymology of Her Name
Duessa’s name comes in sharp contrast to that of Una, whose name means oneness. Duessa, on the other hand, has a name that suggests a duality, so it makes sense that she is constantly trying to deceive people.
What Does Duessa Represent in the Faerie Queene?
Duessa, as her name suggests, represents duality in every negative sense of the word. She represents the Catholic Church in all of its perceived evil, and is the perfect contrast to Gloriana, the Faerie Queene, who represents Elizabeth I and everything that is good about the Protestant church. At least, that was the perception at the time that Spenser wrote this poem.
See our complete list of Arthurian characters for more entries like this one.
Arthurian Bibliography
- Norris Lacy, Geoffrey Ashe, Debra Mancoff – The Arthurian Handbook (Second Edition)
- Alan Lupack – The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend
- Ronan Coghlan – The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends
- Anonymous – Lancelot-Grail, the French Vulgate
- Sir Thomas Malory – Le Morte d’Arthur
