[quote]Their chastity represents a response to God. The sterility of Filastrato, Straik, and Fairy Hardcastle is the evil mirror image of this.
quote]
I'd always thought Fairy Hardcastle had something a bit more sinister than just resistance to love. She seemed more along the lines of corruption of love. Perhaps it's the same thing, though. But it seemed like she was generally... I hesitate to say this, being utterly divided on this point... but she embodied lesbians, and Lewis felt that homosexuality was a corruption of love-- he does say as much, I think, in
Mere Christianity. Now, agree or not that homosexuality is just corrupted love, Fairy Hardcastle still would seem the same if she was hetero. She doesn't love anyone, she merely uses them for her own purposes. I think it's implied that she sexually abuses the prisoners taken, or at least really enjoys torturing them... Wither says something to that effect when she has to let Jane go. But then again, maybe I'm just nitpicking.