"To-bed passed the small Remainder of the Night, not in Rest which she had very much needed, but, in Reflections on all the Passages of the preceding Day:" (Lennox 110)
Does absorption blind an individual from reflecting upon the situation at hand? And if so, what is the difference between absorption and infatuation?
The third book of The Female Quixote is heavily burdened by conversations within the text. Between conversations with Lucy and interviews with Mr. Glanville, Arabella continues to figure out how her story is written. Along with that, she is trying extremely hard to reflect upon her adventures and attempting to sort out her feelings about men.
It seems that Arabella is so absorbed in creating her life story and going on all of these fancy adventures that she isn't taking enough time to step back and reflect upon what she has done. She doesn't want to face reality. She simply has the desire to continue to float along in life. She also seems to be extremely involved in other stories rather than facing her own reality. She is extremely knowledgable upon Thalestris and continues on about how, "thos' the most stout and courageous of her Sex, was nevertheless a perfect Beauty; and had as much Harmony and Softness in her Looks and Person, as she had Courage in her Heart, and Strength in her Blows." (Lennox 125)
The juxtaposition between Arabella and the character Thalestris is quite prominent. She is completely enamored with knowing all that there is to know about this goddess and somewhat reflects the qualities that are described in the quote above. Therefore, because Arabella is so caught up in the fantasy of Thalestris, she is not able to face her own reality with Glanville. It seems that Arabella doesn't want to face the truth within the conversation with Glanville. She emulates Johnson's idea of, "diversified only by accidents that daily happen in the world, and influenced by passions and qualities which are really to be found in conversing with mankind." (Johnson 1) She is extremely passionate about her conversation with Glanville and proves that she really does want to face her fears and speak with him.
The line between absorption and reflection is not greatly crossed by Arabella, but conversing with Glanville in reality is helping her to learn how to reminisce and reflect upon her actions.
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