titles be limitations

In Confessions, DeQuincey's credibility is altered by the fact that he's addicted to opium. The title of Confessions is in itself a strange irony as DeQuincey never fully quits the drug. Even if he had, he would've gone through withdrawal symptoms and these would have influenced his writing about opium in either a positive or negative way; and even then he would always have the experiences of opium under his belt. This relates back to Thel and when we pondered as a class if she ever really wipes her hands clean of the things she saw and learned, I feel that in DeQuincey we easily say, "No, once an addict always an addict." and question his state of being in relation to his works. And with Thel I feel it's the same case. She learns what she learns, and can never forget it. At the same time, Thel isn't 'real' and may or may not go by the rules of humans like DeQuincey must.

From the last couplet,

The Virgin started from her seat, & with a shriek
Fled back unhinder'd till she came into the vales of Har.

I'm reading this as Thel fleeing unhindered until she reaches Har. Once she finds herself back in Har she's free to reflect on what she knows and she'll never be what she was before.
Of course the paradox here lies with Thel's desire to know more than she did, which is in itself a form of 'non-innoncence.' Unless the culprit isn't Thel but in fact, Har. Train of thought: Something needs to happen in order for Thel to desire, and unless she was born with it, she picked it up from her surroundings.

Is anything actually perfect in this life? Or after this life? Was anything perfect before this life? If there was perfection before this life, why would we leave it? and then once we know change, how can we go back to perfection? If there wasn't perfection before and isn't perfection after and certainly this life isn't perfect, is there perfection anywhere other than in our minds? Is perfection an abstract or concrete idea? Probably not concrete because nothing is perfect. If it's abstract then it's not real. Perfection must be constant because it need not change. But if everything is changing and nothing is perfect then change can be the only constant. (Duh, right?)
To round back to DeQuincey, once he consumed the opium he lost his innocence to that drug. It becomes or takes over his senses and he is a prisoner to it for the rest of his days. Innocence and perfection are subjects of the past and only exist to those who know the difference between innocence and the future.

To age and become innocent is impossible and then the ultimate paradox, Death.