Bisclavret Flashcards
When the Knight transforms
he is reduced to sounds and garbles- he becomes the other and in the process is regarded as inferior
Primary characteristic of the Nobility
the idea of Beauty is associated closely with the power and prowess of a knight or someone in power
The characters whose beliefs defy categorization
are imperilled in the Lais
They are always in danger when in Animal form- their positions within society change and
the loup-garou
is a vicious animal that devours all people and must not be trusted. At the start of each lai she introduces the archetypical form of a Knight or a woman or… In this way the she creates a norm which can be challenged to prove that we may be wrong in out initial judgements
the baron
is described as someone who could not be any better- no bad word said of him
In this way she contrasts the two people only then to place the listener in a position where they are to question why, if the Baron and the monster are the same being, do we judge each one differently?
Beastliness in the woman
although her physical form does not change, inside her personality does to the extent where her sexual desires and anger at the events rival the animalistic traits of her husband.
Beastliness in the Baron
he takes a different approach to the situation he finds himself in
He is, in contrast aware of his beastly nature and tries to hide it whereas the wife prostitutes herself to her lover ]
He suggests that we should first reason with our situation and then try and act accordingly and not irrationally
Limitations of the beastly nature
despite his appearance- Marie de France uses him to show that it is very much possible to transcend the image we give off. In this instance the wolf is Loyal to his King and Wife and mirrors the docility of his beast-like self.
Through the contrast between the lovers she condemns the use of selfish love, this seems to be the vice.
Self vanity
the wife fails to accept or even question her own self vanity and in this case does not end up well- whereas the beast attempts to make subservient his beastly side and althought the king is scared at first, he sees this and warms to him
Woman explains to the lover that
since they had seen Bisclavret run off so often, the whole world assumed that he had left for good. The wife is guilty of assuming, she is not willing to venture further into this mystery and only sees the bad in her husband- has he been with another woman?
Torture
Reserved for the sinners of the world- kings has the responsibility to carry out the purpose of God, but on land
the torture also in this case resembles the interrogation of the husband by the wife. She now finds herself in a similar position to the hsuband
Marie Distinguishes bisclavret
from other werewolves by using a definite article when describing him
Abstract Baron
as a result of his appearance and change in physique and also his loss of communicative abilities, he is reduced to a an abstraction based on the associations of fear and danger that come with his appearance - we are confronted to the idea that we may indeed misinterpret what we previously believed as concrete
the king
as a role model for judgement and reason he understands that the wolf is not of the typical variety of garwalf and in fact possesses the admirable qualities expected of a knight. He believes this to such an extent where he pardons le Bisclavret for attacking one of the knights in court
the Court
demonstrates its ability to treat a situation as an individual case stereotyping the wolf and simply react as vicious individuals.
