Literary Analysis : ' A Werewolf ' By Marie De France

Marie de France, supposed author of the series of Lais, recounts her stories through short texts, which are centered on women and their place in the 12th century. There are several supernatural elements throughout her work, which are mainly and explicitly present in ‘Guigemar’ and ‘Yonec’. This can be defined as ‘events or things that cannot be explained by nature or science and that are assumed to come from beyond or to originate from otherworldly forces.’ It is not however the only narrative device she has used in her written pieces. It is with the combination of the supernatural with the self-propelled ship or the transformation of the hawk into a knight, and the natural, the symoblisation of the stick and the rossignol, that Marie de France explores human relations between her characters.

In Seven Monster Theses, Jeffery Cohen develops an idea that “monsters” are essential to society. In fact, they construct what is “normal”, “rational”, and “civilized”. Specifically, “monsters” are foundational to how we view ourselves. “Monsters” contain all the traits deemed unacceptable and odd. It can be concluded that every outlier is a “monster”. In St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, Karen Russell tells the story of a pack of wolf girls who are transitioning into young ladies. Russell delves into society’s need for conformity, gender roles, and change. The story is told from the point of view of the middle wolf girl, Claudette, and follows her on her journey from wolf to woman. In relation to Jeffery Cohen’s idea of monster culture, Claudette’s journey applies to Thesis IV “The Monster Dwells at the Gates of Difference” and part of Thesis I “The Monster’s Body is a Cultural Body”. Claudette is torn between two worlds and she has to learn how to successfully “move between the two cultures”. Through Cohen’s theses, Karen Russell uses character development and dialogue to depict the inner and outer battle of societal femininity and individualized femininity and the consequence of accepting either side. The presence of “monsters” are essential for this acceptance.

Monster by Sanyika Shakur yields a firsthand insight on gang warfare, prison, and redemption. “There are no gang experts except participants (xiii)” says Kody Scott aka. Monster. Monster vicariously explains the roots of the epidemic of South Central Los Angeles between the Crips and the Bloods that the world eventually witnessed on April 29, 1992. As readers we learn to not necessarily give gangs grace but do achieve a better understanding of their disposition to their distinct perception in life.

Willem de Blécourt says in his literary journal “I Would Have Eaten You Too”, where he documents and analyzes werewolf tales local to German, Denmark and Belgium, “The German subtype deals with how a man abandons his wife, comes back as a werewolf, bites into her skirt, petticoat, or apron, or some other piece of clothing, then goes off again, and comes back in human form, and is later revealed as the werewolf by the remnants of her clothing evident between his teeth” (Blécourt 28-29). This references back to the garwolf being a vicious creature, but also hints at the sexually devious nature of werewolves as well. The ripping of female garments is symbolic of an attack on a woman’s virtue. Blécourt describes again later in the journal, “...we can read the woven piece of cloth as representing humanity…” (35), showing that a true werewolf only seeks to defile and kill those who hold the humanity he has lost. Though he toils away in secret, deep in the forest, the knight remains an honorable man in both of his forms. “This beast understands, feels like a man,”(France) says the King, an old and loyal friend of the knight. Even in his beast-like state, the knight does not bow to the primal needs associated with beasthood, for he is unparalleled in his humanity. France uses the werewolf mythos to put the character of the knight on an even higher pedestal. Not only is he an

Marie de France begins her story by describing Bisclavret, her main character, as well as defining what a werewolf is: “a ferocious beast which, when possessed by this madness, devours men, causes great damage and dwells in vast forests” (de France, 68). She wants to relate the two by allowing the reader to decide what she means by the descriptions and why she would correlate them. De France does a little play and twists the monsters throughout her story. Being a werewolf, Bisclavret may start out as a monster without; and, at first, his wife seems to be so beautiful and innocent, but there lied a monster within her. Later in the story, Bisclavret is no more than a human being, and his wife’s monstrousness shows from within and she transforms into a monster without. The themes gathered from this story are the relationship between love and suffering, justice, and the wife who may be at first likable, but then changes the way that “monsters” are viewed. In order to modify the stereotypes of what a monster is, de France made Bisclavret, a werewolf, the “good guy,” and his beautiful wife, an unforeseen “bad guy.” The wife in the story Bisclavret portrays a trustworthy, loving wife, until she reacts quite differently to him being honest with whom he really is. Her character is the very thing, which makes the reader reconsider the definition of a monster and the truth about monsters within.

When the wife finds out that her husband has been sneaking around, she questions. Without hesitate the husband responds, “Wife, I become Bisclavaret. I enter the forest, and live on prey and roots, within the thickets of the wood” (Page 597). Once the wife had finally found out why her husband had been sneaking and disappearing from her sight for days, even weeks at a time, she betrayed him, immediately, without a doubt. The secret that he has kept from his wife, the husband has now told to his loving wife. Now, the wife being jealous sets out on her own mission to become a werewolf. The writer states, “she dared no longer to lie at his side and turned over in her mind, this way and that, how best she could get her from / him” (Page 598). After the wife had found out that her husband is a werewolf, she immediately betrays him and tells the knight, that was her secret lover. The wife knowing, that if anyone had found out that her husband had become a werewolf at nighttime, that he would get in trouble by the

In the reading A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia, the main character Sasha is wandering around looking for a place to stay and things to do. When he discovered the group in the woods, he was able to transform into a werewolf. In the reading, it was expressed that Sasha had never felt more alive and his senses were heightened to amazing capabilities. The idea of having aspects of ourselves becoming stronger or having the ability to change is something that is desirable. Another factor as to why werewolves capitative people is because it portrays to peoples untapped wild side. In the film, Ginger Snaps, the main character undergoes a werewolf transformation that is also seen through her human side. For example, Ginger started dressing differently, acting social, and even started to do things she had not done before she was turned into a werewolf like have sex with people and attend parties. That ability to just let loose and have fun in a way that is not normal for one is something that people desire and hope to do one day. That is why werewolves and vampires fascinate

Bettini, Jessica. "The Rage of the Wolf: Metamorphosis and Identity in Medieval Werewolf Tales." Electronic Theses and Dissertations, May 7, 2011. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1302.

Usually, the werewolf turns back into a human at sunrise, with no recall of the previous night’s actions. Lycanthropy is a clinical name given to werewolves in fiction, but is also a medical term referring to someone who is under the influence that they are a wolf (The Brain Bank North West 2012).

Throughout time, there have been numerous references to lycanthropy, or werewolves, in literature. Causes of this disease have ranged from simple pathological problems to demonic possessions. The one constant in all cases, however, is the diagnosed individual succumbing to melancholy, or finally becoming aware of the implications his or her actions have had on society. In this article, I will be focusing on the fact that due to his internal monstrosity, in regards to his lack of morality and horrid decision making, Ferdinand falls prey to lycanthropy and hallucinates his transformation into a werewolf, becoming the animal that he has always been within himself.

A book claimed that men transmogrified into fearsome creatures once the moon appeared. Another stated, that the Arcadian king Lycaon was the first werewolf, as a punishment from the king of gods, Zeus. The ancient Norfolk were reputed to have warriors that resembled wolves and channeled their spirits to strengthen themselves in battle. It was said that a man or woman could turn into a werewolf if on a certain Wednesday or Friday, slept outside on a summer night with the full moon shining directly on their face. It was believed that the corpses of werewolves could be resurrected if not destroyed.

Over the past a few hundred years, werewolves have been an essential piece of Western Cultures. Werewolves have shown up in motion pictures and been the subject of endless books and stories. Werewolves are dull and compelling animals that frighten us on numerous levels. The werewolf symbolizes the abhorrence that is contained inside all of us. In the relatively recent past, confidence in werewolves was regular. Generally speaking, there was little contrast between the killings and exercises of wolves and werewolves: both would chase around evening time and once in a while chase people. The principle contrast was that the werewolf changed into the human structure eventually. There are a few medical conditions that can emulate the presence of a werewolf and may have helped early faith in the exacting presence of the animals. One is hypertrichosis, which makes strangely long hair on the face and body; these uncommon conditions seldom transforms anybody into a werewolf, obviously, yet hundreds of years back when confidence in witches, vampires, and the enchantment was normal it didn't take much to generate werewolf

Werewolf goes toward the wooden hut and go into it without thinking about anything but only hoping that he will get help. Inside the wooden hut he finds only cloth he makes the best out of it and cover his hand, slowly stopping the blood from leaving his body. As the werewolf is resting he feel a sensation of being watched he quickly turn around to look behind he finds a woman wearing a purple close from her toes to her neck. The werewolf look at the woman face he see a great amount of angry for him, he ask her the reason why she is so angry. Soon as those word came out of his mouth, she kick him on his chest as he went flying across the room breaking the wall and landing on the pond behind the hut.

In 1967 the American gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows (ABC 1966-1971) introduced a vampire, Barnabus Collins, to improve slumping ratings. Originally, he was merely meant to be a short-lived feature to boost viewer’s interest in the show before meeting a traditional vampire’s end. However, producers decided to go in another direction when Barnabus Collins began to get fan mail. Not only were viewer’s enticed by the show’s latest guest appearance, but they also “saw a tragic quality in Barnabus” which served to further intrigue them (Abbott). As a result, writer’s adapted his original storyline to include “an element of self-loathing into his character which subsequently fuelled his desire for a cure to his vampiric

Tales of mythical beasts and creatures have been told for centuries from family to family. The story of the vampire has been a nightmarish epic that was designed to scare the youth of today. The Strain takes this idea even further, however. The vampires in this series are far more sophisticated and less humane than the original blood suckers. The vampires despise the light, weakened when cut with silver, and can’t respawn when their head is cut off and burned to finish the deed. They roam well in groups, are hard to kill, and have a stinger that reaches quite a ways out from their tongue. Relatively speaking, they aren’t very similar to the original vampire and are more like zombies if anything.