Perceval, part one

2. In the first scene in which Perceval encounters the knights in the Waste Forest, it becomes clear to the reader how naive and juvenile Perceval is. Firstly, Perceval is completely undereducated as to any life outside of his home forest in Wales (a place Chretien does not represent very positively). Despite having a seemingly very religious mother and understanding the concept of God himself, his grasp on religious details such as what angels are as opposed to knights is embarrassingly weak. (Since we see Perceval ignore and deny his mother's statements at other points in the text, I find it very likely that his mother has explained the concepts of Christianity to him before, and he has simply not listened- until it all became vital to his knighthood.) Perceval is easily distracted and childish, unable to pay attention or heed commands from even the knights he admires: "...And the boy, who lacked instruction, said to him: "'Were you born like this?'" (384). (He also seems to lack the understanding that people are not born with metal hauberks or shields melded to their person.) Meanwhile, the knights are stoic, patient, and quite friendly towards the unhelpful young man with the short attention span. The leader of the knights is especially tolerant of Perceval questions, even noting after scolding him that "'So I'll tell you, come what may, because I've grown to like you'" (384). The text portrays the knights in a very positive light- they appear noble, valiant, and even very polite. On the other hand, the text is sure to point out the dangerous nature of their lives; but Perceval gives knighthood the typical male teenager "awesome" and "thumbs-up" and is enticed by the idea of danger and power (while disregarding all of the rules of basic knighthood- and thus basic humanity- given to him by his mother). Chretien uses this to emphasize how one person's glorified view of knighthood (such as his own readers) can be quite different from the harsh (or even nonexistent) reality.

(I think it is noteworthy that we encounter some medieval "Welsh Racism"- a phenomenon that exists to this day addressing the widespread European-based -- and occasionally United States-based-- mocking of the Welsh culture. Welsh comedian Rob Brydon notes this in his material, which I recommend. Chretien clearly criticizes the underdeveloped Welsh community of the forest several times, including jabs at their manners, intelligence, and clothing).
(Search "QI Welsh Racism on Youtube).

3. In his meeting with his mother, Perceval does essentially everything he can to disregard and disrespect his mother and her words. While his mother is in anguish over his prolonged disappearance, Perceval tells his agreeable mother to "Hush!" (386). She is clearly distraught by his learning of the existence of knighthood and will do everything she can to prevent him from seeking this life- including a harrowing tale of how his whole family save for him and his mother were killed by the profession- but Perceval barely listens, if at all. "The boy paid scarcely any attention to what his mother said. 'Give me something to eat,' he said. 'I don't understand your words, but I would gladly go to the king who makes knights; and I will go, no matter what'" (387). I think that it's fair to say that at this point in the text, Perceval is a complete idiot. He ignores her because he obviously finds no weight in her words, and only selectively listens to the parts convenient to him- such as his twisting of her recommendation to accept a ring as a gift from a woman into a justification for him to attack and steal from one. If Perceval had listened to his mother fully before leaving and had dared to take her suggestions into account, he would have started his journey much more cautiously (and would not have harmed the people he did, including the maiden who was forced to follow her lord naked (391)).

4. In order to become a knight- after assaulting and stealing from a young woman- Perceval bursts into King Arthur's court, bothers King Arthur by repeatedly demanding knighthood, ignores the King's command to dismount, demands the pretty armor of another knight, and causes a woman to be slapped and a jester to be pushed into a fireplace. Shortly after, he kills the knight whose armor he wants in order to obtain that armor. All the while, he rudely commands people and essentially blames his innocent mother for his outrageous actions. Perceval has not become a knight by being noble, valiant, or proving himself helpful or agile; he instead told others what to do until they gave in to his force. This discrepancy between the real behaviors of a knight from the expected behaviors is further commentary from Chretien as to how people tend to inaccurately perceive their heroes; Perceval gets away with ridiculous behavior but still becomes a knight- an obvious error in the typically-praised system. He is even obnoxious to the King whom he would usually have to impress in order to be granted knighthood from: "'Make me a knight, sir king,' he said, 'for I wish to be on my way'" (393). He even sees himself as equivalent to the far nobler knights that inspired him earlier in the text: "'The knights I met in the heath never dismounted, yet you want me to dismount! By my head, I'll not dismount, so get on with it and I'll be on my way'" (393). Sadly, no one ever denies Perceval what he wants- and if they do, they are injured or killed. (Perceval is off to a wonderful start.)