Summary
The Lady having agreed to follow the disguised Comus to his abode, the masque shifts scenes to show the two brothers traveling together through the woods. The elder brother invokes the stars and the sun, hoping for light to help guide them. The second brother, echoing his sibling, worries that his sister is lost, cold, and afraid. The elder brother attempts to comfort the second brother by assuring him that nothing "Could stir the constant mood of her calm thoughts" (371). He argues that Virtue, Wisdom, and Contemplation are enough to keep their sister safe. The second brother expresses his doubt, noting that Beauty "had need the guard / Of dragon-watch with unenchanted eye," and their sister is therefore more vulnerable than others (394-395).
The elder brother reminds the younger that their sister possesses a "hidden strength" in the form of her chastity (415). He compares chastity to a solider's armor, asserting that no evil thing could try true virginity. He cites examples of powerful virgins from antiquity and says that virgins are always protected by "a thousand liveried angels" (455). Finally, the elder brother argues that the unchaste become "clotted by contagion" and linger on earth after death, too attached to carnality to "leave the body that it loved" (467-473). The second brother is satisfied with the elder brother's speech. Suddenly, the elder brother hears someone approaching. Both brothers draw their swords in anticipation.
The Attendant Spirit appears, and the brother's recognize him as their father's loyal shepherd, Thyrsis. The Spirit tells them he has arrived with unhappy news, and explains how he heard the exchange between their sister and Comus. The brothers vow to free their sister from Comus through violent means, but the Spirit informs them that their weapons are powerless against Comus's charms. Only a small yellow flower, which the Spirit received as a gift from a shepherd well-versed in medicinal herbs, can defeat Comus's magic. The Spirit tells the brothers to smash Comus's charmed cup and steal his sword, and the brothers agree, entreating the Spirit to lead them to the cottage.
Analysis
This section of the masque uses the conversation between the two brothers to further develop the notion of chastity as more than an internal, private virtue. The second brother's anxiety over the safety of their sister aligns well with the narrative of the Lady being weak, helpless, and fearful on her own. This perspective is also, notably, the one espoused by Comus himself. Although Comus anticipates the Lady's weakness as a way for him to overpower her and the brother speaks from a place of care, the two characters share the assumption that a woman alone in the woods is vulnerable to danger. With the elder brother's assertion that the Lady carries with her a "hidden strength," Milton emphasizes the argument already introduced by the Lady herself: that chastity is an active and deployable virtue, more akin to a weapon than a state of being. The elder brother argues, "She that has [chastity], is clad in complete steel" and that "No savage fierce, bandit, or mountaineer / Will dare to soil her virgin purity" (421-427). In his remarks, the elder brother compares chastity to physical protection that thwarts all evil-doers, and as such suggests that the virtuous are guarded more ardently than the most skillful soldier.
However, this section of the masque also highlights the shortcomings in the brothers' perspectives, most notably through their penchant for contemplation over decisive action. The exchange between the brothers is a lengthy one, and after the eldest brother postulates the efficacy of chastity, the younger brother responds, "How charming is divine philosophy!" (476). This moment of irony underscores the brothers' ignorance for their sister's current state and suggests that philosophizing, while useful, does not actually accomplish much. The brothers are therefore portrayed as less capable of fighting off Comus than their sister, who is armed with chastity and virtue. Furthermore, when the Attendant Spirit informs the brothers of their sister's capture, they immediately vow to "drag him by the curls, to a foul death, / Cursed as his life" (607-608). The brothers' instinct to turn to violence contrasts, once again, with their sister's reliance on constancy and chastity. When the Spirit notes that "here thy sword can do thee little stead," the text suggests that traditional understandings of the relationship between "good" and "evil," "weak" and "strong," have been upended (611). Instead, masculine force is replaced by feminine purity, which is ultimately celebrated as its own worthy—and more powerful—form of weaponry.
