Sir Leoline and Geraldine. Early 20th century illustration by the American artist Frank Adams.
Christabel is an unfinished narrative poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It is divided into two parts, the first of which was written in 1797 and the second in 1800. Both parts were first published in 1816 in the pamphlet Christabel; Kubla Khan; The Pains of Sleep. Coleridge intended to add a further three parts to Christabel that were never completed.
The poem's title character is a young noblewoman whose mother has died and who lives in a castle with her father, a baron named Sir Leoline. While she is alone in a forest at night, Christabel meets a beautiful woman. The woman says her name id Geraldine and that she was left in the forest by some man on horseback who took her from her home by force. Geraldine warns that the men may come back at any moment. Taking pity on Geraldine, Christabel allows her to spend the night at the castle. Geraldine's arrival at the castle is accompanied by several ominous signs and she behaves strangely once she is inside Christabel's bedroom. When Geraldine undresses to go to bed, Christabel sees that she has a disfiguring mark on one side of her body. Upon waking in the morning, Christabel has the feeling that she has sinned somehow. Christabel introduces Geraldine to her father. Geraldine tells Sir Leoline that her father is an old friend of his. Sir Leoline vows to take revenge on Christabel's abductors. It is clear that he is starting to fall in love with her. Convinced that Geraldine is dangerous, Christabel throws herself at her father's feet and begs him to send the woman away. Sir Leoline finds his daughter's behavior embarrassing and ignores her pleas.
It is strongly implied that Geraldine is a supernatural being who poses some kind of threat to Christabel. Theories about Geraldine include the ideas that she is a witch, a fairy, an angel, a demon, a serpent or a vampire. Since the poem is unfinished, exactly who or what Geraldine is and what her intentions toward Christabel and Sir Leoline are must remain unknown.
The influence of Christabel can be seen in the works of Edgar Allan Poe. It is also likely to have directly influenced Sheridan Le Fanu's vampire novella Carmilla.
Christabel has been adapted as a film and has provided inspiration for musicians.
Adaptations
A 74-minute film adaptation of Christabel directed by the American experimental filmmaker James Fotopoulos was released in 2001.
The p[oem inspired the song "Christabel" by the American folk singer-songwriter Robert earl Keen that is included on the 1994 album No Kinda Dancer. It also influenced the song "Beauty of the Beast" by the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish that is included on the 2002 album Century Child.