The Facts on File Dictionary of Allusions - Green Valley High School

Lady Bracknell (braknbl) Archetype of a stern,
el der ly female relative. Lady Bracknell is one of
the characters in the comedy <strong>The</strong> Importance of
Being Earnest (1895) by the Irish playwright
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900). She is the epitome of
Victorian respectability and reacts with predictable
horror to the news that her daughter’s suitor,
Jack Worthing, was found as a baby in a handbag
on a railway platform, having lost both his parents:
“To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be
regarded as a misfortune . . . to lose both looks
like carelessness.” This famous line is often adapted
for allusive use in a variety of circumstances. As
Lady Bracknell would have told you, losing your passport
was simply unfortunate, but losing your birth certifi cate
as well was sheer carelessness.
Lady Chatterley (chaterlee) A woman, especially
one with aristocratic connections, who
engages in a passionate sexual affair. <strong>The</strong> novel
Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928) by British novelist
D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) remained unpublished
in its unexpurgated form in the United
Kingdom and the United States until 1960, when
it became the subject of a famous obscenity trial
that was seen as a test throughout the literary
world of the law on censorship. <strong>The</strong> acquittal of
the publishers on charges of obscenity is now
viewed as a major legal landmark. Lady Chatterley
in Lawrence’s novel is a repressed aristocratic
married woman who fi nds sexual fulfi lment with
her gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors. Lawrence is
said to have based his character loosely upon
Lady Cynthia Asquith (1887–1960). He panicked
when he realized he was locked in the bedroom with
this slavering Lady Chatterley.
Lady Godiva (gbdivb) A woman who goes about
in the nude. According to medieval legend, Lady
Godiva was the wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia
(d. 1057). When her husband imposed new taxes
on his tenants, Lady Godiva begged him to lift
them, in return promising to ride naked through
the town of Coventry. <strong>The</strong> earl agreed to her
request and Lady Godiva performed her famous
unclothed ride, her nakedness concealed only by
her long golden hair. <strong>The</strong> people of Coventry were
ordered to stay indoors so that she should not be
embarrassed, and in gratitude all obeyed—with
the single exception of a local tailor (see peeping
tom). “You’re not suggesting I turn up like Lady
Godiva?” (Kristy McCallum, Driven by Love, 1993).
Lady in Red See public enemy number one.
Lady in the Lake See excalibur.
Lady Macbeth (mbkbeth) A coldhearted, murderous
woman, especially one who urges her husband
to commit evil. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the wife of
the central character in William Shakespeare’s
tragedy macbeth (1606), who urges her husband
on when he hesitates to murder the Scottish king
Duncan and claim the throne for himself. Later in
the play, she is driven mad by guilt and is last seen
sleepwalking, trying desperately to rid her hands
of Duncan’s imaginary blood. In her steely ambition
and lack of sympathy for weakness in others she was a
veritable Lady Macbeth. See also out, damned spot!
Lady with the Lamp See fl orence nightingale.
Laelaps (laylaps) Personifi cation of speed. In
Greek mythology Laelaps was the name of a hound
that could outrun any quarry. <strong>The</strong> hound leapt like
Laelaps from the shadows, straight for the duke’s unprotected
throat.
Laelaps
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