Bells and mockery

Meaning

The bells attached to the emblematic figure’s clothing stand for the words and mockery attached to her by others. Their abundance makes public disparagement visible, but the interpretation rests on her response: she lets it pass and fixes her eyes upon wisdom. The verses connect contempt for worldly honour with endurance of hostility and suffering, sustained by an inward treasure. “Bells” thus names an attribute whose meaning the poem supplies, not a ritual instrument or a clue to a material operation. The English keeps both the physical attachment and the social meaning of mockery, preserving the verbal bridge on which the emblem depends.