The Knight With the Lion/Yvain, pages 353-380

1. Yvain needs to gain a new identity because his old name was filled with shame and carried a bad reputation. After betraying his wife and going mad, he realized that he couldn’t continue “Yvain”’s lifestyle- one of stupidity and rash, juvenile behavior. The name itself is tainted in his and many others’ eyes (proved by Laudine’s inability to recognize him by his new name- “Everyone there offered to serve their lord, as was proper, without knowing he was; even the lady, who possessed his heart but did not know it” (352). The lion represents Yvain’s new triumphs and achievements as an adult person; with the lion, he has learned to be a responsible and benevolent knight who thinks before acting. In taking care of the lion and having a constant companion, Yvain has matured, and is now simply an honored knight. He has been reborn from being “Yvain” and is the new man his wife needs.
3. Yvain and Laudine meet at the end and reconcile due to trickery on the part of Lunete. This ending is especially ironic, since Laudine has apparently not learned her lesson in trusting Lunete, and they are tricked again. This may mean that they cannot meet without Laudine being manipulated; otherwise they may never be together. Fortunately, this time Laudine knows that she is getting a knight known for being noble and courageous, and realizes that he is now worthy of being with her. He implores her, “I have paid dearly for my foolishness, and I am glad to have paid…I’ll never do you wrong again” (380); and though Laudine is quick to point out that she takes him back only to avoid breaking her oath, one would suspect she is much more satisfied with Yvain the second time around.

The Knight With The Lion/ Yvain, pages 324-353

In his speech, Gawain encourages Yvain to consider himself an entity apart from his wife and to spend some time away from her at the tourneys with King Arthur. Gawain begins by asking what Yvain truly wants in his marriage: “’Would you be one of those men…who are worth less because of their wives?’” (326). Gawain is not demeaning Laudine; he is instead claiming that Yvain must be a better and more respectable man for his wife, and that Yvain will find no purpose in abandoning his knighthood for her. He warns against a loss of reputation, noting that Laudine will “quickly withdraw her love- and she’s not wrong to do so-if she finds herself hating a man who has lost face in any way after he has become lord of the realm” (326). Gawain is counseling Yvain to learn to be both an honored knight and a loyal husband (a strikingly familiar conclusion that Erec journeyed to find for himself). The advice emphasizes how a couple must be honorable for each other, therefore keeping them equal (and a wise recommendation, since we saw how it impaired Erec’s relationship). The struggle for balance between man and woman in marriage is one Chrétien continues to utilize; and he is smart to do so, because these matrimonial issues are prevalent throughout practically all times and cultures (keeping the story still practical for us today).

The Knight With The Lion/ Yvain, pages 295-324

I found the first third of this story to be very interesting, most notably in the way it treats love. Throughout his stories, Chrétien treats love as if it is an instantly affecting occurrence, like a lightning strike immediately impairing the person’s heart; it is even an intent force of its own (Love). This can be seen with Erec and Enide, who fall in love (rather conveniently) just as Erec claims her as his future wife. Chrétien often employs the “love at first sight” phenomenon, making the characters instantaneously affectionate of one another; but it’s worth pointing out that these loving couples have never even conversed (or, like Yvain and Laudine, they have never even met). This means that their sudden love for each other was not based on any personality chemistry or shared characteristics. Instead, both find the other extremely physically attractive, and “Love” works her magic for the two. Chrétien somewhat idealizes the event of falling in love; a naïve reader may be led to believe that two people who recognize the other as handsome or beautiful are destined to be together eternally.
Conversely, though, Chrétien states that this instant love can be somewhat of a punishment or burden, which the person does not choose: “The lady…has fully avenged the death of her husband; she has taken greater vengeance than she could ever have thought possible,” (311). Chrétien gives and takes from his characters: After he gives the couple true bliss in finding one another, they are forced to endure great hardships (often because of their love). Yvain even points out that he "must love whomever Love chooses" (312). As the author points out, “anyone who loves is a prisoner” (319).

Erec and Enide, pages 90 to 122

In the last passage, Enide passes Erec’s test, resolving all conflicts in their love. Though this appears to means that Erec has finally come to trust the loyalty of Enide, it seems to me that it is actually Erec coming to trust himself. Erec now understands that he can be a respected knight and a loving husband simultaneously (his confusion over which caused him to begin his journey in the first place). Unfortunately, both he and Enide suffered a great deal in order to reach this place: “They had endured so much trouble, he for her and she for him, that now they had done their penance” (101). I believe Erec may have let this happen because (perhaps subconsciously) he wanted Enide to suffer for him the way he had earlier felt suffering for her: he could have blamed all of his distress on Enide, since he had sacrificed his knightly honor to dote on her, and had felt great pain due to her revealing speech. Furthermore, he may still blame his loss of peer respect on her, since he doesn’t even grant her an apology for his actions and instead (somewhat absurdly, and despite his cruelty towards her) forgives her misdoings: “’…and if your words offended me, I fully pardon and forgive you for both the deed and the word’” (97). Maybe now, in Erec’s eyes, Enide has atoned for what she has said, and they can be equals in their sacrifice for love.

Erec and Enide, pages 60 to 90

In this section of the text, it becomes even clearer how Enide is really seen and treated by the people around her- the most important of these being Erec. A main point in our discovery of Enide is her name, which we do not learn until her marriage to Erec. This event reinforces the idea that Enide is property and that no one cares for her true identity until she becomes important enough (which is when she marries Erec). Even after the wedding, she is still Erec’s possession- evidenced by his nearly abusive behavior towards her. Though their relationships begins in bliss, their honeymoon stage ends quickly when Enide reveals that Erec’s love for her – and his subsiding interest in knighthood- has led him to be mocked by the kingdom. Afterwards, Erec takes out his anger on Enide, as if his cruel (and stereotypically dominant and masculine) treatment of her will make up for his peers’ view of him as oversensitive to his wife. Erec no longer allows her to speak without being spoken to first; he “threatened her” (83) after her third attempt to save his life from opposing knights. Despite Erec’s words, Chrétien still claims that Erec “had no wish to harm her” (83) and that he loved Enide, but sadly, these words are reminiscent of any abuser trying to convince their victimized partner to stay. Erec’s hurtful but then forgiving pattern of behavior, as well as Enide’s personal view that she owes herself to him (another example of her as property), may convince her to stay; unfortunately, it seems as though she barely has a choice.

Erec and Enide, pages 37-60

In starting the text, I am discovering a huge difference between this story and that of Tristan and Yseut. One vast dissimilarity is the style of the narration: Béroul presents Tristan’s life and romance as being tragic before the story even commences, while Chrétien opens Erec’s tale with almost no introduction whatsoever. Readers of “The Romance of Tristan” are likely accustomed to Béroul’s constant, almost signature foreshadowing of sorrowful events to come; so much so that the story takes on a negative tone. Chrétien’s straightforward, factual storytelling feels almost positive in nature and makes it seem as though even he does not know what will happen until the reader does. Despite this, I still predict harrowing events to come. The reason for this is the perfectly arranged sequence of events, since it appears as though everything goes nearly flawlessly for Erec and Enide. Erec’s swift chain of triumphs is almost suspiciously impeccable: he avenges Queen Guinevere’s maiden, defeats and shames an opposing knight, and finds and becomes engaged to a perfect maiden-all in three days. So far, the text completely lacks serious conflict, so it is almost as though the author and the reader are both waiting and preparing for something to tear the lovers apart and to destroy their perfect lifestyle. I do not believe that the couple itself will separate willingly from each other, but I believe it’s quite possible that the text is providing an immaculate setup for an attack against them.

The Romance of Tristan, parts 14-19

3. Tristan’s madness, though he first suggests it to himself as a disguise and a ploy to access Yseut, appears to truly be the manifestation of his accumulated grief. Tristan has spent an (unspecified) and prolonged amount of time away from his true love, Yseut, and is further grieved by his reception of the news of King Mark’s threats against him. His heartache leads him to commit crazy, outrageous acts (such as “walking night and day...until he reached the sea” (153)) to see his beloved again, the same way people today may obsessively and repeatedly call an unresponsive love interest. Tristan’s overwhelming distress is conveniently concealed with the mask of a fool. Today these symptoms would reveal themselves in what psychology defines as a mental breakdown.

4. I believe Tristan and Yseut must die because there is no true relief for their struggles in love. In addition to being victims of the misplaced love potion, they truly fell in love with each other, becoming further entangled in a giant, complex web of lies, lust and loss. It was clear that no matter how many times the couple deceived the king or was separated, more harm was brought about. The text presents their deaths as a great but inevitable tragedy, perhaps because there was never any real hope for them. Despite this, though, the “branches intertwined” (165) above their graves imply that they are connected to each other, even in death.

The Romance of Tristan, parts 7-13

The text has once again proved engaging by throwing more twists and turns at the reader; I find the most promising plot point to be the question of whether or not Tristan and Yseut are truly stopping their relationship. It appears as though Tristan and Yseut are ending their romance not because of the worn-off love potion or because of their guilt, but instead because their life together is less convenient than it could be (in which case Tristan would be knight at King Mark’s court and Yseut would live the luxurious life of a queen, which they both contemplate (96)). Furthermore, they still seem to be very loving of each other, even without the love potion: in their parting at the King and Queen’s reconciliation, Yseut begs Tristan to stay close by in the forester’s hut, referring to him as “my love” four times throughout the conversation (110); they even “looked at each other affectionately” (112) before Tristan carried out her wish of staying near to her instead of leaving (once again deceiving the king for Yseut’s sake, displaying his true priorities despite his earlier lamenting of how he “caused [King Mark] so much distress” (96)). Regardless of the fact that the love potion has finished its duration, they still appear to be in love, and are simply tired of running. I believe it is very likely that they are only manipulating everyone around them in order to return to a comfortable lifestyle whilst still continuing their affair.

The Romance of Tristan, parts 1-6

Here's my take on the book so far:

So far, I have greatly enjoyed this book. It is full of rich language, engaging stories, and deep-rooted themes that resonate through every page. One of these themes is love: Tristan and Yseut experience, in great euphoria and also agony, the ups and downs of their unstoppable love. The book condenses the traditional path to finding love (a time-consuming, back-and-forth game of courtship) into just a drink of love potion, leaving the lovers vertiginous with what they must suspect was meant to be. Though some could view their chemically-induced love as not real love at all, it is really a metaphor for how real love truly feels: though it may creep up on someone, it will at some point hit them powerfully and leave them feeling incomplete without their love: in a perpetual state of uncontrollable desire. This metaphor is further proved by how Tristan and Yseut did not plan to love each other at all: it simply came over them unexpectedly, and against their wishes (they would never wish to hurt King Mark), as love often does. Tristan and Yseut feel horrible to betray Mark, but cannot do anything to stop their love. One of the main differences, though, between real love and the love induced by potion is that it appears as though the potion amplifies the love to a level where they have no power to stop their secret actions; but we see that this is also true for the people with real love who have affairs.