Yonec Flashcards
What is the purpose of the lady following the hawk to his bedroom in the castle?
it suggests an emergence from the darkness into the light and also stresses the forbidden/ secret/ private factor in their love
Scared love
The love between the two is a sacred one and it will eventually be quashed by a world of the man and the man’s desire
Christianity in ‘Yonec’
There is a special emphasis place on love- the heroic actions of Yonec take place in the abbey suggesting that the power of God will triumph even in a time of sadness and darkness
There is also a transfer from dark to light for the woman and a saviour like feel to the hawk which speaks to Christians, encouraging the idea of hope.
complication
the princess tells of how she is trapped and that the only way out of the position she is in, is death
Recognition
change from ignorance to knowledge
The princess experiences of recognition
who does the wife curse?
her family
good vs bad
using references to christianity Marie de France creates and opposition between the lord and the Knight which goes beyond that of the traditional jealous old love man and the younger lover. She opposes forces of good and evil and the uses of a christian semantic field establishes this
what justifies the actions of Yonec
what happens in the passage before his murder functions as a way of confirming the justness of his actions
function of religion with regards to revenge
by concerning the hawk with religion Marie allows the revenge to be seen as an issue worthy of god concern
l’importance de la femme
c’est la femme qui est centrale dans ce lais- elle propose un avenir elle suit le conseil de l’oiseau et elle elle est n’est pas une femme passive qui se trouve dans beaucoup des contes du genre.
Suppressed beauty
the woman is described as sage and courtoise- yet she is kept in a state of sadness- immediately sets up the woman as the victim yet a woman with hidden prowess
transgression and transformation
the movement into the other world suggests there is a need to leave the normal behind in order to find a worthy lover
love
is seen as a curse. Just like in many of the lais the secrecy of love and in this case, a love that exists outside of the marriage, is condemned as it is exposed.
women defined by
their appearance and their emotions- by tasking the woman with a problem/dilemna, she has to use more than just her image and emotions, she enters into the realm of the man and uses reason and judgement.
Yonec written
Je+neco which meant ‘je tue’ which is eventually exactly what his purpose is in the story
L’image de l’amour
in all the lais is something that is seen as rather unfortunate
incompatibility of the two realities
whilst the knight is in bird form he is injured
otherworld importance in Yonec
once the otherworld has been used to announce the denouement- the knight arrives and causes a marked change in the lady, which ultimately causes the baron to act violently and- it is rendered less significant and the two worlds blend seamlessly, without further repercussions. In Lanval the otherworld is not simply reduced to outlining the destiny of the lovers- but in fact providing an alternative destiny. That is to say the Otherworld in Yonec is shown to be equally as hostile and therefore doesn’t mimic the avalon in Lanval. In this respect there is a progression in the importance of the otherworld.
vengeance
marie uses this narrative as a way of justifying the existence of a love in the face of a reality which had tried to reject it- ie the Baron.
love in MDF work
could also brutalise as well as be something harmonious
How does the lady think of the Baron keeping her in the donjon
elle le déteste and claims that it is a sottise that someone should be so fearful of betrayal
When the Hawk/ man lies with her in bed how is he?
He doesn’t want to cuddle her or touch her- boundary between the two worlds
dark to light movement
when she passes through the coline- where she presumes he has gone- she finds a world where all the buildings are superbe
who has led them to the abby?
c’est Dieu qui a nous conduit ici- she calls to her son- in shouting this she confirms that it is God who condones this revenge and righteousness
