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Let this great maxim be my virtue's guide,-- In part she is to blame that has been tried: He comes too near that comes to be denied.
— Lady Mary Wortley Montagu · The Lady's Resolve
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The verse proposes a restrictive rule of virtue that assigns some blame to a woman who has been approached and treats refusal as evidence that an approach came too near. This is the poem’s judgment, not a fair account of responsibility or consent.
Context reviewed