Abstract

Erasmus Darwin gave the first comprehensive account of biological mimicry, a phenomenon which he boldly attributed to the instinct for self-preservation in both the plant and animal kingdoms, and ascribed histologically to an involuntary mode of imitation. Coleridge's interest in his idea of physical adaptation can be traced back to 'The Eolian Harp' but becomes central in *Christabel* where it provides, through the vehicle of Bracy's dream, a unifying metaphor for Geraldine's successful strategy of passing herself off for what she is imagined to be. But it serves also to naturalize the concept of deceit, thus critically implicating the status of ethics. The essay places the poem in the context of the deontological critique of utilitarianism that Coleridge offered piecemeal over the years, but intended, at the time, for a book to be published simultaneously with the poem. *Christabel* owes its greatness, nonetheless, to the depth and finesse of its psychological observation.