ABSTRACT
Keats's use of words associated with economy and capitalism, such as 'fee', 'bright gold' and 'richest juice' in stanzas 12-13 is directly related to the idea of the economy of love. Keats's tendency to associate Lorenzo and Isabella's love with money suggests capitalist notions of ownership and materialism. Lorenzo and Isabella's sexual bower does not generate sociability, but rather falls into the category of a selfish love of power and personal gain. Keats wishes to uncover the reality behind Isabella's love by detailing the festering of her social reality. What is incorporated into Isabella is the idea that female objectification, results in women's suffering and self-consummation as they turn to dreams and even masturbation, as in Isabella's case, to fulfil their suppressed sexual needs. The poetic frame of Isabella rejects the patriarchal world of romance and its restrictive view of women's sexuality, which robs Isabella of actual sexual fulfilment.
