Loss Of Innocence In Marie De France's Breton Lai '

Larissa Taylor takes her readers on a journey through the life of the infamous Joan of Arc. Joan can be easily recognized as a historical figure in the 15th century, a female warrior, and a woman that was fiercely independent and determined. Joan’s life has been told again and again, which has slowly taken away from the incredible woman that held so many triumphs. Instead of giving her readers a list of Joan’s accomplishments, Taylor enthralls the reader by detailing every step of Joan’s life, start to finish, so that one can really understand the life of the warrior.

The Queen Guinevere's pride was wounded when she gets rejected by Lanval. Queen Guinevere offers herself to Lanval saying he could have anything he desires. Lanval rejects her by telling her he won't betray his king and that he

Throughout the Lais of Marie de France there are several themes presented as central to the various stories. Some of these themes are present in all of the lais. One such example is that of courtly love and it's implications. Courtly love being one of the more prominent themes in all of medieval literature, it is fittingly manifested in all of the lais as well. Another theme present in two of the lais is isolation. The theme of isolation plays a large role in the stories of Guigemar and Lanval. In each of these lais we see isolation as a factor in determining the fates of the central figures. Within each lai isolation is represented on several different occasions, each time having a direct impact on the outcome. These instances of

Werewolves a very well-known fantasy creature, who have been depicted as vicious beasts who will turn on their best friends. In the lay “Bisclavret” the stereotypes of werewolves is no different. Marie de France redefines the werewolf in a very courageous tale of a man and his loyalty. Bisclavret was a very loyal man regardless being werewolf or not. This was shown in multiple scenarios, such as the interaction with his and wife and with the King. The O.E.D. defines loyalty as “Faithful adherence to one's promise, oath, word of honor” (def.1). Throughout the entire story Bisclavret is faithful to everyone he made an oath too. Others have to break

[Anthony Horowitz once said, “Childhood, after all, is the first precious coin that poverty steals from a child.”] In the novel The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, the Walls children had a rough childhood, enduring many tough things like poverty. Rex and Rose Mary Walls wanted to teach their children resilience and self sufficiency. Despite their good intentions, they were very irresponsible and unstable parents. They put their children in danger in many ways which caused them to have a loss of innocence at a young age. The Walls children proved throughout the book that *having a rough childhood and losing innocence at a young age does not determine a person’s future.*

The women described in the Lais of Marie de France often commit traditionally sinful deeds, such as adultery, murder, and betrayal. However, with a few exceptions, the protagonists often end up living happily with their beloved for the rest of their lives. The Lais advocate for situational judgement rather than general condemnation of specific acts, which can be seen through Marie de France’s treatment of sinful heroines.

On the other hand, Lanval promises the mysterious lady that he would let the lady take control of his life, and therefore he is weak in his own character. On page 74, Lanval states that “Fair lady, if it were to please you to grant me the joy of wanting to love me, you could ask for nothing that I would not do as best I could, be it foolish or wise. I shall do as you bid and abandon all others for you.” In other words, Lanval is offering to do anything to just have her to want to love him. When he states that he would do anything she asks, “be it foolish or wise”, he essentially announces that he would do anything for the woman with reckless abandon. He, therefore, denies the ability to tell the lady “no”. His reckless abandon reveals that he does not value himself, which demonstrates

The extent to which the Lais of Marie de France can be categorized as fairy tales is dependent on the definition of “fairy tale.” Using various scholars’ definitions of “fairy tale” and conceptions of the fairy tale genre, criteria for “fairy tales” arises. Then, close-readings of three lais, “Guigemar”, “Lanval” and “Yonec”, are used as a mechanism for meeting or failing the criteria. This methodology is then evaluated and problematized. The criterion for fairy tales includes origin, form, content, style, and meaning. Etymologically, the word ‘fairy tale’ has disputed origins. Supposedly, it comes from the French “contes des fees” or “tales about fairies”, popular in French courts and salons in the seventeenth century. However, Jack Zipes argues that “conte féerique” actually translates to “fairy tales” and refers to narrative form, rather than content.

The queen began to accuse Lanval of being gay because he had never had a woman show him pleasure. Suddenly, Lanval admits that he is in love with someone else who would be far better than the queen herself, which sent the queen away crying. Soon afterwards, Lanval was commanded to appear in court without delay. The Queen’s assertive power was shown by her ability to punish innocent people, meaning she obviously got what she wanted regardless of whether it was right or not.

In Lanval, one of Marie De France’s twelve Lais, she demonstrates a narrative poem about love and lust set in medieval times. Her short, romantic tale narrates a knight’s love affair with a maiden that is so beyond beautiful that she surpasses all earthly splendors. Lanval, a knight who sat at King Arthur’s Round Table, is the center of Marie’s story and is envied by all the other men and hated for his gallantry, kindness, attraction and courage. The poem’s location is based in the feudal town of Carlisle.

None of my friends from the past were in my classes; hence, I was not able to turn to them for support. I would walk alone in the halls which gave three boys the opportunity to talk to me. In the beginning of the school year, the boys would form an unpretentious dialect with me on occasions. By the end of the first marking period, marching band and color guard ended and the three boys began to hector me daily about my interests. I tried opening up to a few of the girls in my class, but I quickly realized they were not truthfully my friends. I believed that talking to them about the three boys would help me, but they did not seem to understand or care. This caused me to become more insecure. By the middle of the second marking period, I would barely talk to anyone. The bullying grew excessive, which led me into a severely depressed state. The situation made me question my worth and made me feel there was no one who could help. I refused to confide in anyone about what I was going through. The boys’ torture increased as they commented about my physical appearance. Those comments caused havoc in my mind, and caused my self-esteem to continue decreasing. Finally, when the second marking period came to an end, winter color guard started. After a few short weeks, my color guard instructor, Mrs. Annette, noticed a change in my behavior and then gave me advice on how to handle the situation. I did not take advice

Lanval stays loyal to his promise until Queen Guinevere confesses her interest in him, offering herself to him in which he then he delicately rejects her. Speaking his loyalty to King Arthur. Angry, she blames him of being homosexual, Lanval, because of Queen Guinevere’s accusation says, “The poorest girl of all, is better than you, my lady queen, in body, face, and beauty.” The queen asking to be involved in an adulterous relationship is not seen as ideal behavior for modern women or for twelfth century women. During this time men were commonly known for being dishonest and unfaithful, therefore, to have this woman do this, definitely was a different direction than expected. Hurt by the rejection and statement of Lanval, Queen Guinevere tells King Arthur that Lanval came onto her. Arthur upset at the situation orders that Lanval be sent to court where if he could not prove that such a woman existed more beautiful than his beloved queen, he shall be

Even though these qualities are praised in this culture, medieval narratives commonly uphold unrealistic virtues of what a perfect woman is. After Lanval vows to keep their love a secret, the queen of the court tempts the knight with her love. She says, "Lanval, I have honored, cherished and loved you much. You may have all my love: just tell me what you desire! I grant you my love and you should be glad to have me" (pp. 1771). Shortly after Lanval rejects her advances, the queen further establishes her ill will towards the good knight by saying, "I well believe that you do not like this kind of pleasure. I have been told often enough that you have no desire for women" (pp. 1771). The importance of these accusations exemplifies the queen's power and influence over Lanval. Although he graciously declines the queen's love, he regrettably reveals his love to the queen in an attempt to prove himself to the court. He says, "And I will tell you one thing; you can be sure that one of her servants, even the very poorest girl, is worth more than you, my lady the Queen, in body, face and beauty, wisdom and goodness" (pp. 1771). The manner which the queen entices Lanval reveals that both power and evil can be easily compared to this woman's actions, showing readers the other side of the coin. The division between these two women illustrates how often this society feeds off of a virgin/ whore dichotomy, branding such women

Boom! The door flies open and a handsome knight runs into the room and yells, “Come my lady we must go now, for he is on his way”. The lady jumps to her feet and says “My love whom is on their way?” he responds, “your husband is on the way and he has heard of our romance”. The couple joins hands and quickly runs through the castle hoping that they are not seen. Suddenly the king jumps from a dark shadow, stops the couple in a sudden halt, and says, “Where do you think you are going?” With no response from the lady, the king reaches to his side and pulls a rope that releases a large bucket of acid onto the queen and her secret lover, which eats their bodies flesh within minutes only leaving the two skeletons holding each other’s hands. This

In "Lanval," the knight is asked to make a promise to his "ami" not to let anyone know of their affair. Although Lanval does not remain true to his word, the importance of the oath is made clear in the simple fact that his love trusts his word implicitly. It is important to note that, were it not for the implied oath of a knight to remain loyal at all costs to his king, Lanval would have kept his promise