Textual Analysis Of Lanval By Marie De French

Marie De France’s Lanval is a remarkable short narrative that engages the reader into a world filled with unrealistic elements, but enhances on the true meaning of romance, chivalry and nature during the years that King Arthur reigned. “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” unfortunately does not have an author that can be recognized but this epic poem demonstrates the ghastly adventure of a knight who decides to defend the honor of young King Arthur against a supernatural being in this malicious game of cat and mouse. Both of these pieces of literature have enchanting characteristics that define them as a masterpiece of their era and that’s why they both are easily compared and contrasted. In addition, both Lanval and “Sir Gawain and The

The focus of this paper will be to compare and contrast the works of two playwrights. The works that will be considered are Molière’s The Would-Be Gentleman and Beaumarchais’s The Marriage of Figaro. Both considered comedies, Moliere’s is a short play that tells the tale of Monsieur Jourdain, a tradesman who desires to become a gentleman. Beaumarchais’s play, second in the Figaro trilogy, follows the series of event prior to Figaro’s wedding. Figaro and his companions scheme to ensure that his marriage occurs smoothly. Furthermore, the plays are dated 100 years apart from each other, and they deal with the representation of social hierarchy, social mobility, and gender roles in various ways. With that in mind, they become good sources to compare and contrast the changes in society that occurred within those 100 years. This paper will compare both plays to examine how Molière further endorses the social values and ideas of his time, while Beaumarchais’s presents a shift in attitude towards those values and challenges them.

The article “Thematic Irony in Marie de France’s ‘Guigemar,’” by Joan Brumlik, focuses on how motifs are used by Marie de France’s lai “Guigemar” to undermine the themes of an idealized version of courtly love that are expected in lais. Brumlik first does this by exploring the motif of the merveilleux, or “supernatural.” Brumlik explains that the merveilleux is made to “merge with the real world to which it is frequently an antidote” (8). The example Brumlik uses of the merveilleux is that of the magical boat that takes Guigemar to his lover. Brumlik uses the comments of R.W. Hanning, stating that:

“Lanval” by Marie de France and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer are both medieval romances that put a knight on trial by a queen’s court for his treatment of a lady. Throughout the course of this paper, readers will get the opportunity to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and that during the twelfth-century women were superior to men, specifically in their relationships and marriages; however, today men dominant individuals, especially in working world.

Often times in literature the body becomes a symbolic part of the story. The body may come to define the character, emphasize a certain motif of the story, or symbolize the author’s or society’s mindset. The representation of the body becomes significant for the story. In the representation of their body in the works of Marie de France’s lais “Lanval” and “Yonec,” the body is represented in opposing views. In “Lanval,” France clearly emphasizes the pure beauty of the body and the power the ideal beauty holds, which Lanval’s Fairy Queen portrays. In France’s “Yonec,” she diverts the reader’s attention from the image of the ideal body and emphasizes a body without a specific form and fluidity between the forms. “Yonec” focuses on a love not

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

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

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

There is no “belated desire to challenge the traditional ethos of the Arthurian world.” Even in the Medieval period, writers were playing with the ideas of gender and chivalry presented in their time. The Knight of the Cart, the Romance of Tristan, and Lanval all play with these ideas. The Knight of the Cart continuously has a struggle between whether or not Lancelot should follow the laws of chivalry or love. The Romance of Tristan also plays with this idea. Marie de France play with gender by introducing a woman who saves the male character. Most notable is her interaction with Arthur and being the driver of the getaway horse.

Lantin was potentially completely deceived by in his marriage is his wife’s faithfulness to him and him alone...or lack there of. During the beginning years of the Lantin’s marriage, Monsieur Lantin took his wife to the theater, which she dearly loved. He did not enjoy the theater at all, so as time went on, he then asked her to go on without him and invite her girl friends to go with her instead. By him not accompanying her to the theater, that opened up a perfect window of time and opportunity for Madame Lantin to go on dates with other prospective suitors. In an overview by Sara Constantakis, she says:

The sources are not as free range and are usually from the perspective of one party which can hinder how much you can take in about the topic. Therefore, plenty of the sources Karras engages with are poems, stories, paintings, and letters written by men. As a result, Karras cannot exactly provide a definitive answer as to what certain pieces of art or literature exactly mean, or how medieval people viewed them, or even if they carried a sexual meaning or not. However, Karras uses this interpretative aspect to strengthen her argument that medieval sexuality is deserving of a place in academic study—showing that the topic medieval sexuality is not cut and dry, or that you can modern views on sexuality and simply apply them to the Middle Ages. Rather, it illustrates that medieval sexuality is more complex and complicated than what some individuals might

Lavinia Lloyd Dock is a nurse leader that had a huge influence on the profession of nursing. Her actions throughout her life categorize her as a nurse leader, suffragist, and social reformist. She found herself becoming a nurse when she recognized her passion of caring for the suffering. One of her goals was to improve global health. Lavinia accomplished much in her lifetime for females and the nursing community. She can be considered a great pioneer in the evolution of nursing.

Two of the most common themes found in many medieval literature are those of desire and fate. Sometimes these themes are explicitly explored by authors to illustrates their understanding or to make a point about them. Other times the authors make implicit, nuanced suggestions through the plot of their tales that allows the readers to discover their own understandings about two and to make connections between them. Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath’s Tale, as well as Thomas of England’s Le Roman de Tristan and Marie de France’s “Lanval” do just that. These three pieces of medieval literature present a unique connection between the desires of men and the role of fate.

hereas a variety of Canterbury Tales tales are inclined to make the nobility aware of the capability of ordinary people and how beauty presents itself in their lives, other medieval popular romances strive to provide a sense of wish fulfillment for a different audience; the powerless. Thomas Chestre’s Sir Launfal in particular appeals to someone who wishes to escape profound social inequality and injustice. Thomas Chestre speaks to his audience by rewriting a better version of the difficult life of a commoner as a fairytale that idealises familiar views of the peasant; “Her faces wer whit as snow on downe” (l. 251). Radulescu’s statement that anonymous audiences should be acknowledged for embracing the incendiary nature of these medieval popular

“The Wife of Bath’s Prologue” and “The Clerk’s Tale” show what the ideal woman and man were as opposed to the flawed an undesirable versions of women and men. Despite Chaucer utilizing Griselda as a cautionary tale against blind submission and succumbence by exaggerating her traits, she still represents the ideal woman of the Medieval Period. Griselda is a virtuous, fair young woman admired by all. Her husband, Walter, puts her through intense emotional distress by telling her to sacrifice her children, and she complies so she can remain loyal to him. She remains affable, “[meeting guests] so cheerfully… with so much skill… that none could find a fault in how she treated them” despite her inner affliction (Chaucer 350). The ideal Medieval woman is submissive, loyal, affable, beautiful, and virtuous under any circumstance, just as Griselda